Koretsky, V.B. Poster mock-up "Red Army Soldier, Save!" for publication in the newspaper "Pravda" on August 5, 1942. Moscow, August 1942.

Koretsky, V.B. Poster mock-up "Red Army Soldier, Save Us!" for publication in the newspaper "Pravda" on August 5, 1942. Moscow, August 1942. Photograph, author's retouching, white paint. 1 sheet. 29.2×20 cm. On the corners of the photograph—strips of adhesive tape. On the reverse side of the sheet there is a schematic pencil drawing by the artist and editorial notes in ink with the date: "4.8.42". One of the most famous posters of the Great Patriotic War—the poster by Viktor Koretsky "Red Army Soldier, Save Us!"—was first printed in the newspaper "Pravda" on August 5, 1942. Shortly thereafter, the actual poster was printed in a run of more than 10 million copies. At the same time, some changes were made to the poster: the inscription was changed to red, and the blood dripping from the bayonet was also colored red. Viktor Borisovich Koretsky (1909–1998) was a Soviet graphic artist and poster designer; Honored Artist of the RSFSR (1961); Laureate of two Stalin Prizes (1946, 1949). During the Great Patriotic War, he created more than 40 posters. He was the author of the first Soviet postage stamp dedicated to the Great Patriotic War, "Be a Hero!", which was issued on August 12, 1941. Since 1956, he worked in the "Agitplakat" association. The artist's creative method was based on a combination of life photographs with pencil and gouache drawing. Provenance: comes from the family of the theater artist and graphic artist Boris Borisovich Strakhov (1932–2021), to whom the presented mock-up was given by the author.