Tatlin, Vladimir (Yevgrapovich)

Russian artist. He was a cofounder of constructivism. After encountering cubism in Paris in 1913, he evolved his first constructivist works, using such materials as glass, metal, plaster, and wood to create totally abstract sculptures, some of which were meant to be suspended in the air. He worked as a stage designer 1933–52.

Although unbuilt, his design for a Monument to the Third International 1919 came to symbolize the constructivist style: a large, spiralling openwork tower of glass and painted steel, with geometric shapes revolving within its central core. By the 1920s he had become strongly opposed to the spiritual aims of suprematism, and argued for an art that, in support of Soviet communism, was totally utilitarian.