Why Penzyak Fat Five, what kind of jeweler helps to find a pair and other sculptural oddities on the streets of Penza

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

In the cities of Russia, however, as in many cities of the world, there are many genre sculptures dedicated to various events, characters of literary and visual creativity, professions, animals and much more, to which sculptors could apply the flight of their imagination and creative ideas. So, in the ancient Volga city of Penza, you can contemplate the monument "Fat Fifth Penzyak", read popular proverbs on a casket cast from bronze, and also try on a bronze ring of a famous jeweler for good luck in love affairs.

Fat-heeled Penziaks

In recent decades, the fashion for urban genre sculpture has reached the Russian provinces. These compositions greatly enliven the cityscape and serve as sources of attraction for both city visitors and local residents. One of these objects, opened in Penza in the fall of 2018, can be called a sculptural complex located in a park called the "Piggy Bank of Proverbs".

This is an art object by the Penza sculptor German Feoktistov and Honored Artist of the Russian Federation Valery Kuznetsov. The idea for the creation of urban sculpture for the masters was the legend about the famous passage of Russian troops across the Alps in 1799 under the command of the great commander Alexander Suvorov. The commander once praised his soldiers, dropping the phrase: It was addressed to the Penza soldiers, who, according to legend, when crossing the mountain peaks, one of all Suvorov's soldiers did not rub their feet in blood. And their secret was quite simple: people from Penza and its environs wore double-heeled socks, which were knitted by women in their area. Only because of this, their legs remained intact, unlike other participants in the alpine hike.

As conceived by the authors, the composition consists of two figures - the commander Alexander Suvorov and the soldier, whom, according to legend, he praised for his ingenuity and jokingly called the fat one. A new tradition was immediately established behind the monument: in order to be healthy, happy and prosperous, you need to rub Penziak's big toe.

"Russian folk proverbs" in bronze

In the same park, there is another genre sculpture in the form of a box that serves as a pedestal for a monument to the brave soldier-gunner Ivan Lachinov. This composition called "Russian Folk Proverbs" was created by the Penza sculptor V. Yu. Kuznetsov and installed in 2010.

By the way, the weight of the bronze box is over 600 kilograms, and the height of the entire composition is 2.5 meters. The soldier holds the key to the city and to the box with Russian proverbs, the key to those values that are passed down from generation to generation as parting words.

This monument was erected in honor of the real person Ivan Kharitonovich Lachinov, who was a descendant of the first Penza governor, who collected Russian proverbs and sayings throughout his life. However, the gunman Ivan Lachinov is at the same time a generalized image of a gallant Russian soldier: a dashingly twisted mustache, a tunic with a medal, a saber, a cannon and a cannonball - everything corresponds to the central proverb of the sculpture: "The boldness of the city takes."

The bas-relief with the proverb "You can't catch a fish from a pond without difficulty" depicts the Sursk sterlet, or the royal fish, which was once caught in Sura and delivered to the tsar-father to the table.

Finishing touch

Despite the fact that in the modern world the opportunity to get acquainted with the purpose of creating a family exists not only in the real, but also in the virtual space, many still cannot find their soul mate. In this regard, any solutions to this problem are always relevant. So, the masters known to us, German Feoktistov and Valery Kuznetsov, in a rather original way, offer residents and guests of the city to try to solve this urgent problem.

They created a monument to the jeweler, erecting it at a jewelry store on Moskovskaya Street in 2013. This event was timed to coincide with the 350th anniversary of the city. The initiator and main sponsor of the creation of the sculpture was Maxim Lomonosov, a descendant of the famous Penza jeweler Vladimir Lomonosov.

A bronze master jeweler, comfortably seated in a Viennese chair, carefully examines the ring, as if preparing to put the final touch on the finished product. The statue is complemented by attributes: jewelry tools, a glass of tea in a cup holder, a cat as a symbol of home comfort. A bronze sheet of paper with handwritten text comes down from the work table: "Dedicated to Vladimir Evgenievich Lomonosov."

On the one hand, this monument is dedicated to the famous Penza jeweler Vladimir Lomonosov, on the other hand, the sculpture has no portrait resemblance to the prototype. The idea was to simultaneously perpetuate the memory of a specific person, as well as dedicate this work to all jewelers.

It should be noted that local residents and tourists who come to the city, one might say, very covertly approached this city attraction. Someone came up with it not for fun: in order to speed up the process of finding a partner, you need to stick your finger into the ring that the jeweler is holding in his hand.

And they stubbornly say that in addition to finding a soul mate, the monument helps in the fulfillment of other desires. This requires the following ritual: look through the ring into the jeweler's eye, rub his shoe and make a wish. And it will certainly come true in the near future. And judging by the worn out details of the composition, the townspeople rub not only the jeweler's shoe. Received from cat lovers and his pet …

Bonus

… And by the way, about cats. It was in Penza that the First Cat Bank was opened in 2015.

A sculpture of a cat erected at the entrance, it is also a fundraising piggy bank - an art object created by German Feoktistov, allows you to collect money in favor of homeless animals left without owners.

The composition represents the figure of Mitka the cat with a crutch, sitting on a safe and begging for alms. In front of the poor fellow lies an empty hat, in which there is a hole for coins. Money dropped there goes into the safe. And accordingly, then the collected funds go to the center for helping homeless animals "Pet", where cats and dogs are kept.

Good deed, isn't it?

Continuing the topic of unusual urban sculptures, read: Jerzy Kedzer's "balancing sculptures" defying gravity are a mystery of our time.