Battleship Potemkin
Броненосец «Потёмкин»
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| Poster Origin : | Russia / USSR |
| Poster Size : | Russian / 25 x 40" |
| Poster Artist : | Sergei Datskevich |
| Poster Year : | 1963 |
| Poster Version : | Re-Release |
| Film Origin : | Russia / USSR |
| Film Director : | Sergei Eisenstein |
| Film Year : | 1925 |
The Potemkin mutiny was part of the widespread Russian uprising of 1905, and the events were an initial step towards the revolution of 1917. It remained an important symbol for the long struggle of the working classes and by 1925 the event was immortalised as socialist propaganda in Sergei Eisenstein’s seminal film.
Key symbolic themes are expressed in this striking visual, the domestic USSR re-release poster by acclaimed artist Sergei Datskevich, and quite typical of post-war Soviet promos. It is one of the first posters I decided I wanted to own when I first became interested in originals, and thirty years later here it is.
In person this poster is quite domineering, printed mostly in black it is very oppressive and grim, a clear indication of unpleasant times. The Tsar’s Imperial Standard, the two-headed eagle, looms large in the darkness, but it is visually overwhelmed by the fluttering flag of revolution. The flag also becomes a gaping wound or splash of blood, as the ruling elite is literally ripped apart by the dramatic red slash.
Sailing on the Black Sea, the ship is silhouetted against a red sky, which may be the hopeful dawn of the new era of socialism, or the bloodsoaked sun setting on the previous regime. Similar to Datskevich’s 1961 poster for Ballad of a Soldier, the highlights contrasting against black shadow gives a woodcut-like aesthetic.