Nathan Altman was commissioned to design the festive decorations for Uritsky (Palace) Square. The artist set himself the task of altering the entire outward appearance of the square, contrasting the beauty of the victorious people to the beauty of Imperial Russia. According to the principle of contrast, the angular, uneasy and brightly painted planes of the building the artist covered in red constructions, which served as a background for all of Petrograd s holiday decorations.

Altman Nathan

Altman, Nathan Isayevich (1889, Vinnitsa - 1970, Leningrad)
Painter, graphic artist, sculptor, book, theatrical and cinema designer. Studied under Kiriak Kostandi and Gennady Ladyzhensky at the Odessa School of Art (1903-07) and at the Maria Vasilyeva Free Russian Academy in Paris (1910-11). Contributed to exhibitions (from 1906). Contributed to the exhibitions of the Fellowship of South Russian Artists (1910), Union of Youth (1913-14), World of Art (1913, 1915, 1916) and the Jewish Society for the Encouragement of Artists (1915-19; founding member). Taught at Mikhail Bernstein's studio (1915-16) and the State Free Art Studios in Petrograd (1918-20). Member of Department of An, People's Commissariat of Education (1918-21). Research assistant of the Institute of Artistic Culture (1923). Designed for theatres. Honoured Artist of the Russian Soviet Federater Socialist Republic (1968).