Vladimir Dimitrov - View of Istanbul

Vladimir Dimitrov (1882-1961) - View of Istanbul
Bulgaria cm13 Stamp Issued 1982

I've not been able to determine the exact location or timeframe for the creation of this rather abstract view of Istanbul, although this work comes from a highly regarded artist from Bulgaria.  This is one of 5 stamps that were issued in his honour in 1982.  The artist was at his peak in the 1920s and 1930s.

Vladimir Dimitrov - Majstora (Master)

Vladimir Dimitrov (1882-1960) - Majstora (Master) 
Bulgaria cm25 Stamp Issued 1982 
Vladimir Dimitrov Art Gallery Kjustendil

This is one of five stamps issued to commemorate the 100th anniversary of this artist's birth, as  he is considered to be one of the most accomplished Bulgarian artists of the 20th Century.  This work contains elements of socialist realism, that was popular through Eastern Europe at the time, and depicted on many Eastern European stamps in the 1960s to 1980s.

Pyotr Konchalovsky - Returning from the Fair

Petr Konchalovsky (1876-1956) - Returning from the Fair (1926)
1k USSR Russia Stamp Issued 1976
State Russian Museum St Petersburg 

Petr Konchalovsky Пётр Петро́вич Кончало́вский) completed this work in the middle of his career, and it is often thought to be one his best works,  The artist was influenced by Cezanne, and he produced many avant garde works before progressing on to produce many works of socialist realism, which was more common during the late 20s and early 30s as socilaism took hold with the rise of Stalin.


He completed this wiork when he was living in Novgorod in the USSR, but he also spent a lot of time living in Paris and elsewhere in Europe.  The Petr Konchalovsky Foundation has a website dedicated to him.

Nikolai Yaroshenko - Kursistka

Nikolai Yaroshenko (1846-1898) - Kursistka (1863)

Russian USSR Stamp Issued 1971

Russian Museum in Kiev.

Yaroshenko was an artist who depicted he realism of life in the late 19th century in Russia. His paintings were often depressing in nature, with torture, struggles, gothic fashion and hardships being common in Russia at the time.  The artist also managed to maintain a very good career in the army, as he achieved the rank of Major General by the time he retired in the 1890s.

Tatyana Yablonskaya - Sacking Grain

Tatyana Yablonskaya (1917-2006) - Sacking Grain (1949)

Russia Stamp Issued 1967

Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow

This painting screams joy - telling us about the pleasant existence that communist people must have wanted to experience under the idealogies of the communist in the Soviet Union.  The nature of these scenes are similar to those depicted in Chinese propaganda scenes of the same era - farm people having a wonderful time, frollicking around in the wonderful sunshine while also attaining new levels of productivity, where there would be lots of food for everyone....  

Ilya Repin - Arrest of a Progandist

Arrest of the Propagandist 1889 - Ilya Repin (1844-1930)

Russia Stamp Issued 1967

Tretyakov Gallery Moscow Russia

Repin was a leading Russian painter and sculptor of the Peredvizhniki artistic school.  This artist's works were ground breaking as they were a predecessor to the large number of Socialist Realism works that became popular and acceptable in the Soviet Union and Russia in the 20th Century.  The artist had a versatile career with many works having religious or mythical themes, while other works included portraits or depictions of historical events.


This painting depicts the mood of the time.  It was completed shortly after the death of Tsar Alexander II who brought about some reforms for the release of serfs in Russia, although his overall record was also one of suppression in order to prevent more radical social change.  The Tsar survived several assassination attempts before finally being killed by terrorists in a bomb in 1882.

Boris Ioganson - Interrogation of the Communists

Boris Ioganson (1893-1973)  - Interrogation of the Communists (1933) 

Russia Stamp Issued 1967

Tretyakov Gallery Moscow

This is another example of socialism realism art being depicted in stamps by the Soviet Union during the height of the Cold War in the 1960s.   The interrogated figures are calm and in control.  

The artist retained positions of power in the art world during his career, becoming the head of the Tretyakov Gallery in 1954, while eventually becoming the President of the USSR Academy of Arts from 1961 to 1964.  Socialist realism art obviously paid off during the Cold war.

Eugene Lansere - Building the Metro

Eugene Lansere (1875-1946)  - Building the Metro (1935) 

(now a mosiac in Metro station in Moscow, Komsomolskaya 1935)

Russia Stamp issued in 1975

This Russian painting is quite unusual in that the art work adorns the wall of a subway station in Moscow's Metro subway system in the form of a mosiac tile display.  The Moscow Metro is incredibly ornate as it was designed to last for a long time - the leaders of Moscow must have decided to spend up big on this once in a lifetime construction project.

According to Wikipedia, the Moscow Metro is the busiest subway system in the world, except for Tokyo.  The painting in this stamp is typical of much of the socialist realism art that exists on many stations throughout the system.   It also dates back almost as far as the London Underground, as the Moscow Metro began operation in 1935.

Gely Korzhev - Homer

Gely Korzhev (1925 -   ) -  Homer (1959)

Russian Stamp Issued 1968

Korzhev was a painter who did his work in the socialist realism style that was sponsored by the Soviet Union in the 1950s and 1960s.  Many of his works conveyed messages that were not wholly in a style that promoted the state sponsored propaganda of the communist era in Russia.