The importance of anatomical constructions in the creative activity of the sculptors animalists naum epelbaum, Nikolai Gabzulin and Vladislav Shevchenko

Abstract

Anatomical constructions are essential for the sculptural animalistic genre. Three-dimensional art objects are rendered through the movements of the animals’ bodies, which presuppose the presence of anatomical knowledge of the skeleton, as the frame on which the muscles are located. In the implementation of the Moldovan animalistic genre of ronde-bosse, two approaches are identified: both realistic and stylized. In general, these two approaches characterized the animalistic genre in the USSR; its best representatives were Ivan Efimov and Vasily Vataghin. In the works of Naum Epelbaum, we find both realistic and stylized images, anatomical structures which are guessed in the sculptural forms. In the compositions of Nikolai Gabzulin, presented in a realistic manner, the anatomical details are decisive. Although the sculptor Vladislav Shevchenko was not deeply familiar with animal anatomy, he worked intuitively and in his naive, but professional works, conveyed forms in motion. These three masters were connoisseurs of the animal world; in their creative activity the anatomical constructions helped to realize true images.