Artist · 3 prints
Viktor Deni Prints
About Viktor Deni
Viktor Deni (1893–1946), born Viktor Nikolaevich Denisov, was a Russian and Soviet caricaturist and poster artist who was born and died in Moscow. He had no formal art schooling, though around 1910 he took private lessons from the portrait painter Nikolai Ulianov. That same year he began drawing political cartoons for satirical magazines, and after moving to St. Petersburg in 1913 he became a successful caricaturist.
After the 1917 Revolution, Viktor Deni turned his sharp pen to the Bolshevik cause. He made his first posters in Kazan, then returned to Moscow in 1920 and worked for the ROSTA poster studio. During the Civil War he produced around fifty political posters, mocking capitalists and foreign enemies with exaggerated, cartoonish figures. Examples held by Tate include Capitalists of the World, Unite! (1920) and Capital (1924). From 1921 his cartoons ran in Pravda, and in the Second World War he went back to posters attacking the German invasion. His work is held by Tate and the State Tretyakov Gallery.
Viktor Deni prints: reproductions of the Soviet propaganda posters Viktor Deni drew in the 1920s. The collection includes The three grenadiers (1921), The Third International (1921) and Long live the First of May! (1929).
This selection shows his poster work across the decade, from the political posters of the early Soviet years to a celebratory design for May Day at its end. The drawing reflects his background as a magazine cartoonist, with exaggerated figures, clear outlines and a direct message that could be read at a glance from across a street.
The graphic style suits a study, office or hallway, and the posters work well alongside other early Soviet designs on a gallery wall. All prints are museum-quality reproductions, available unframed or framed with acrylic glazing, with free shipping and import duties covered.
