Nudes and monumental propaganda

In a previous post I showed a beautiful example of nude sculpture in bronze, even though it's used for propaganda purposes. Here is the full view of the monumental group in Flers, Normandy. You can see more on the Normandy photo journal. 

Monumental propaganda was a concept developed in the early days of the Soviet Union by Lenin and other bolsheviks, who suggested knocking down monuments dedicated to tsars and replacing them by sculptures glorifying revolutionary figures and working class heroes. Here is a concise description of this idea.

Bronzed nudes

This is a beautiful example of a patinated bronze nude. Marble is often thought of as the material for nude sculpture. However bronze is often more expressive. Look how the patina diffuses soft winter sunlight giving life to the sculpture.

The French republican 'monumental propaganda' paradoxically employed many compositional features of Christianity. The naked young woman, presumably Marianne, the symbol of France, veneratingly raises her arms towards - who? the God Almighty?

Full picture in next post.