Artist
Viktor Koretsky
1909-1998
Moscow, Russia
Poster artist, graphic artist
Viktor Borisovich Koretsky was born in Kiev. In 1922-1929 he studied at a Secondary Professional Art School in Moscow.
Koretsky began his career as a poster artist in 1931 and found inspiration in the new visual techniques of photomontage artists working in the 1920’s, such as Gustav Klutsis (1895-1938). Klucis was one of the leading propaganda artists during this time. He was heavily involved with the design of posters for the streets of Moscow and also worked in various other capacities as a book and magazine illustrator, and his designs appeared on the front pages of major newspapers including Pravda (The official newspaper of the Communist Party). He was a pioneer in the use of photomontages—an innovative technique that used multiple photo images, painstakingly merged with hand illustration to great effect.
During World War II, Koretsky became famous for the powerful, emotion-charged images he produced on behalf of the war effort. His design for the anti-Nazi poster Save Us!, which depicts a Soviet woman and child being threatened by a bayonet, is arguably the best-known work of Soviet propaganda from the entire era. In the postwar years Koretsky diversified his art by taking on new subjects, many of them dealing with themes of international cooperation, such as Soviet-led campaigns for human rights and nuclear disarmament.
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Koretsky’s art continued to gain international recognition, as younger generations of Eastern European poster artists adopted his aggressive, confrontational visual style.
In 1946 and 1949 Viktor Koretsky was awarded the USSR State Prize and in 1964 he was awarded the title of an Honoured Artist of the RSFSR.
Koretsky began his career as a poster artist in 1931 and found inspiration in the new visual techniques of photomontage artists working in the 1920’s, such as Gustav Klutsis (1895-1938). Klucis was one of the leading propaganda artists during this time. He was heavily involved with the design of posters for the streets of Moscow and also worked in various other capacities as a book and magazine illustrator, and his designs appeared on the front pages of major newspapers including Pravda (The official newspaper of the Communist Party). He was a pioneer in the use of photomontages—an innovative technique that used multiple photo images, painstakingly merged with hand illustration to great effect.
During World War II, Koretsky became famous for the powerful, emotion-charged images he produced on behalf of the war effort. His design for the anti-Nazi poster Save Us!, which depicts a Soviet woman and child being threatened by a bayonet, is arguably the best-known work of Soviet propaganda from the entire era. In the postwar years Koretsky diversified his art by taking on new subjects, many of them dealing with themes of international cooperation, such as Soviet-led campaigns for human rights and nuclear disarmament.
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Koretsky’s art continued to gain international recognition, as younger generations of Eastern European poster artists adopted his aggressive, confrontational visual style.
In 1946 and 1949 Viktor Koretsky was awarded the USSR State Prize and in 1964 he was awarded the title of an Honoured Artist of the RSFSR.