Favorskii, Vladimir, wrapper design; Kritiko-bibliograficheskii nauchnoissledovatel'skii institut (Critical and Bibliographical Research Institute).

[SOVIET VISUAL CULTURE AND POSTER ART] Obzor iskusstv: izo, teatr, muzyka [An overview of the arts: visual arts, theater, music]. Wrapper title: kritika i bibliografiia [critical reviews and bibliography]. Nos. 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11 (1935).

Moscow: Izdatel'stvo Kritiko-bibliograficheskogo instituta, 1935. Octavos (24.5 × 17 cm). Original decorative staple-stitched self-wrappers; 40 pp. per issue. Illustrations throughout. Very good. Item #50117

Six issues of this monthly journal dedicated to Soviet visual culture, published 1932–1936, with wrapper design by the master graphic artist Vladimir Favorsky. Illustrated with reproductions of contemporary propaganda posters and paintings, with accompanying reviews, the issues offer a glimpse into the editorial criteria for Soviet poster art and Socialist Realist painting in the early years of their development. Each issue opens with reviews of political posters by artists such as Gustav Klutsis, whose work is discussed as departing from Socialist Realism, agitational posters of Galina Shubina, who is critiqued for making “too masculine” the faces of female workers, and anti-religious posters by Daniil Moor, whose caricatures are said to be popular with workers during collective review sessions. Reviews of art exhibitions, art publications, theater performances, as well as publications on musical performances and the opera close each volume. Art exhibition reviews include critiques of the exhibition “Soviet Turkmenia”, “Spring exhibition of Moscow painters”, and the individual show of the avant-garde painter Alexandr Labas, an OST member and VKhUTEMAS teacher whose work would not be exhibited after 1936. The periodical appeared under different titles in 1932–1936, including “Fine art production,” “Overview of the Arts,” and “Poster Art and Reproductions.”

The journal was published by the Critical Bibliographic Institute established by Narkompros in 1930. The objective of the Institute was to provide critical reviews and bibliographies of all print matter published in the Soviet Union, with the goal of improving the general quality of the publications. At its inception, in addition to visual culture, the institute published ten other industry bulletins: “Social and political literature,” “Technical literature,” “Children’s literature,” etc. Due to the broad scope of the publications the quality of the reviews began to suffer, and by 1936 the publications were transferred to respective specialized institutes staffed with appropriate experts. Publishers catalog to rear wrappers. One of 1800 copies printed. A striking, clearly under-studied research source on early Soviet visual culture.

As of February 2026, KVK, OCLC only show two holdings in North America, with scattered issues at one additional institution.

Price: €950.00

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