Zurab Tsereteli, the Georgian-born Russian artist, passed away on Tuesday at the age of 91 due to a heart attack.
Born on January 4, 1934, in Tbilisi, Tsereteli graduated from the Tbilisi State Academy of Arts in 1958. His early career involved designing Soviet resort complexes along the Black Sea, where he began experimenting with large-scale mosaics and sculptures.
Tsereteli gained international recognition for his grandiose and often controversial public monuments, including the 94-meter-tall statue of Peter the Great in Moscow, the Tear of Grief memorial in Bayonne, New Jersey, and the Birth of the New World statue of Christopher Columbus in Puerto Rico.
In 1997, he was appointed President of the Russian Academy of Arts, a position he held until his death. He also founded the Moscow Museum of Modern Art in 1999, the first state museum in Russia dedicated exclusively to modern and contemporary art.
Throughout his career, Tsereteli received numerous honors, including the titles of People’s Artist of the USSR and Russia, the Legion of Honour from France, and the UNESCO Five Continents Medal.
His passing marks the end of an era in monumental art, leaving behind a legacy of over 500 works.
