Sculptor and Artist I.I. Sevryugin. His Contribution to the Organization of the First Anthropological Exhibition in 1879

Introduction. The work is devoted to an extraordinary person - the sculptor and artist Ivan Illarionovich Sevryugin (1839-?), his contribution to the organization, holding and sculptural embodiment of the Anthropological Exhibition of 1879, which became the starting point in the development of anthropology as an exact and natural-historical science and the basis for the creation of the department and Museum of Anthropology. Materials and methods. This study is based on the printed works of the second half of the 19th century, published by the Society of Amateurs of Natural History, Anthropology and Ethnography (OLEAE), in the research of which historical-typological and historical-descriptive methods were used. The main attention was paid to the analysis of materials and documents related to the preparation and holding of the First Anthropological Exhibition in Moscow in 1879. Archival documents from the Research Institute and the Museum of Anthropology and literary sources were also studied. Results and discussion. The work examines the creative path of the sculptor and artist I.I. Sevryugin. Coming from a poor family of guild artisans, Ivan Illarionovich received an excellent education at the Moscow School of Painting and Sculpture. Studied under Professor N.A. Ramazanov. During his studies, he was repeatedly awarded for his work and upon graduation received the title of third-degree artist. Along with famous sculptors and artists, he took part in the production of collections of mannequins for the Ethnographic Exhibition of 1867. The most significant peak of his activity was the First Anthropological Exhibition of 1879. The development of the exhibition model, its sculptural embodiment, collection and preparation of exhibits (mounds, burial grounds, masks, busts, etc.), a trip to Paris and much more - all this shows him as an incredibly talented person who masters a variety of artistic and sculptural techniques, who was hard working and earned the highest praise from specialists. Conclusion. Analysis of archival and literary sources showed that I.I. Sevryugin, being a talented artist and an excellent sculptor with a colossal capacity for work, took an active part in the preparation of the Anthropological Exhibition of 1879, and contributed to the solution of one of its main tasks - the popularization of anthropology in Russia. Thanks to his talent, he was able to express scientific ideas in artistic form. His works, exhibited in the gallery halls of the Exhibition, clearly showed the general public the unity of the biological and social in human nature. Collections created by I.I. Sevryugin, formed the basis of the sculptural fund of the photo-illustrative department of the Museum of Anthropology of Moscow State University.