Boris Titov (Russian, 1897–1951)

Allo Allo Allo. Podpisyvaites’ na gazetu ‘Novosti radio’ (Hello, Hello, Hello. Subscribe to the newspaper Radio News), c. 1925–1928
Ink, pencil and gouache on paper, 10 x 7 1/2” (26.6 x 19 cm)
Inscribed along top edge: Eskiz k plakatu (study for poster)

Boris Titov (Russian, 1897–1951) was one of the most prolific, original, and sought-after book designers of the Soviet period. After having studied medicine at the Moscow State University, Titov dedicated himself to art. Between 1918 and 1920, he enrolled in the 2-e Gosudarstvennye svobodnye khudozhestvennye masterskie (Second State Free Artistic Workshops), where Abram Arkhipov (1862–1930) became his mentor. He continued his art studies thereafter at VKhUTEMAS (later VKHUTEIN). In his book designs, Titov synthesized various artistic trends of the 1920s and 1930s, including Constructivism, as exemplified by the works shown here. Between 1927 and 1932, Titov was a member of Ob”edinenie khudozhnikov-realistov (OKhR; The Society of Artists-Realists), a Moscow-based group that promoted naturalistic tendencies in art. The group’s aim was “serving the masses in the field of fine arts” and its members excelled in genre painting and landscape.

Four unique maquettes by Titov are shown here, followed by examples of his printed matter.

Maquette for journal cover: Molodoi Mashinostroitel’
(The Young Machine Builder), no. 2, 1930
Cut-and-pasted gelatin silver print, gouache and pencil on paper,
15 1/4 x 10 1/2” (38.7 x 26.6 cm)

Left: [Possibly Boris Titov], Novosti radio (Radio News), c. 1925–1928
Gouache on paper, 10 3/4 x 7 9/16” (17.2 x 19.1 cm)

Right: Nashi Dni (Our Days), 1924
Ink and gouache on paper, 10 5/8 x 7 3/8” (26.9 x 18.7 cm)

Novosti radio (Radio News; 1925–1928) was the first newspaper in the Soviet Union, and the only specialized newspaper in the world during this period, to be exclusively devoted to the topic of the radio. It published radio programs, covered issues of radio technology, and reflected the main directions of the medium’s development in the USSR. Important Soviet political figures such as Feliks Dzerzhinsky (1877–1926; Head of the first Soviet secret police organization), Mikhail Kalinin (1875–1946; the official head of the Soviet state from 1919 until 1946), Nadezhda Krupskaia (1869–1939; Vladimir Lenin’s wife), and Anatoly Lunacharsky (1875–1933; Commissar of Education) contributed to this weekly newspaper.

 Printed Matter

Book cover: Vladimir Lugovskoi, Stradaniia moikh druzei (My friends’ Suffering)
Moscow: Federatsiia, 1930
Lithograph, 6 7/8 x 5” (17.5 x 12.8 cm)

Left: Book cover for Kugel’n, A. and V. Fillipov, eds. Sto let Malomu teatru,
1884–1924 (One Hundred Years of Maly Theater, 1884–1924).
Moscow: Russkoe teatral’noe obshchestvo, c. 1924.
Lithograph, 12 x 9 1/4" (31 x 23.4 cm)

Right: Sheet music cover for M. Krasev (music), I. Doronina (lyrics), Polevaia pesnia. Dlia golosa s fortep’ano (Field Song for voice and piano).
Moscow: Leningrad: Gosizdat-Muzsektor
Lithograph, 14 x 10 1/4" (36.1 x 26 cm)

Sheet music covers for Pesni, Tantsy, Romansy i pr.
(Songs, Dances, Romances, etc.), left to right: A. Chelli, Avtomobil’, Uan-step (Automobile, one-step); Leo Asher. Ruf’, Fokstrot (Ruth, foxtrot); Aleksandr Vertinsky, Ia segodnia smeius’ nad soboi (I am laughing at myself today).
Moscow: Izdatel’stvo “Maski.” c. 1920s.
Each: lithograph, 14 x 10 1/4" (36.1 x 26 cm), approx.

Although in his youth Titov was influenced by the turn-of-the century Style Moderne (Russian version of Art Nouveau) and the refined aestheticism of the Mir iskusstva (World of Art) group, he later distanced himself from such styles. In this series of cover designs for Pesni, tantsy, romansy (Songs, Dances, Romances), Titov appropriated Style Moderne-like theatrical masks and combined them, somewhat jarringly, with Constructivist typography.

December 13, 2022