On anniversary of Mark Antokolsky

November 2024 marked the 144th anniversary of Mark Antokolsky’s birth. A world-famous Russian sculptor of Jewish origin, a prominent representative of the academic movement in classical sculpture, he put Russian art on the world sculpture scene in the late 19th – early 20th centuries. To mark this memorable date Grig-film studio shot a documentary “Mark Antokolsky’s Russia” (directed by Grigory Ilugdin). The film was aired in early December and is already available on video resources at the following links:
https://rutube.ru/video/be825297d34c7f18f400220297880d85/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-rdbQcN-Y8
Our Museum offered all possible assistance to the crew creating the film, providing the filming locations inside our permanent exhibition and storerooms. According to the director's idea, this made it possible to convey the atmosphere in which little Mordukh (Mordko) – the future great sculptor Mark Matveevich Antokolsky – showed his talent. One of eight children in a poor religious Jewish family, Mark drew a truly lucky ticket and was able to break free from the usual circle of the Jewish shtetl. St. Petersburg became his home base, and even after leaving, he considered himself a Russian artist until the end of his life.