About this piece of art

A portrait of Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov (22 April [O.S. 10 April] 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known by his alias Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 1924 and of the Soviet Union from 1922 to 1924.

The photographer of this portrait is Pyotr Adolfovich Otsup (Пётр Адо́льфович Оцу́п; July 21 [O.S. July 8] 1883 – 23 January 1963), a Soviet photojournalist. Otsup made nearly 40,000 photographs. Among many historic events Otsup made portraits of Russian artists who worked before the revolution, including Leo Tolstoy and Sergei Rachmaninoff. His work included portraits of revolutionary politicians and leaders of the USSR, among which 35 portraits are of Vladimir Lenin, which were made between 1918 and 1922, and also portraits of Joseph Stalin, Nikita Khrushchev, Sergei Kirov and Vyacheslav Molotov. From the pictures taken by Otsup the bas-relief was made for the Order of Lenin and the images of Lenin were used on the Soviet ruble, the Soviet currency.

Also, please take a look at a painting of Lenin, after this famous photograph.