Urbetis, Konstantin Kazimirovich

Konstantin Kazimirovich Urbetis was a Soviet graphic artist and cartoonist. During the 1920s, Urbetis began studying at the art studio of Dmitrii Nikolaevich Kardovskii, and in that same period, he attended the Handicraft and Industrial School of Moscow (a.k.a., Stroganov Art School) under the tutelage of Apollinarii Mikhailovich Vasnetsov, the noted Russian painter and graphic artist. Urbetis graduated 1930 from the Moscow-based VKhUTEIN (Higher Art and Technical Institute). Following graduation, around 1936, the artist became involved in production and costume design for motion pictures. He reportedly worked in Soviet cinema until the late 1950s.

During his young adult life in Moscow, Konstantin Urbetis lived with the family of Dmitri Moor, the influential graphic artist of the early Soviet era. As a result of the family relationship, Urbetis was strongly influenced Moor’s design work. He also co-authored posters with him.

Early in his career, Urbetis worked as an illustrator, collaborating heavily with the satirical magazine Bezbozhnik (Atheist), and with other publications. Around 1930, the artist initiated his foray into poster design. He is noted for a series of large-format, anti-religious posters designed for Izogiz Publishing House. The artist also designed posters for the State Publishing House and for Iskusstvo (Art) Publishing.

Some of the noted poster titles Urbetis designed are: “There will be not a single shirker on Easter Day” (c. 1925-31); “As a Response to Attackers, Let’s strengthen the Capacity of Chemical Defense Protection of the Soviet Union” (1932); "15 Years of the Red Army" (1933), "Fight the Kulak Fiercely, Protect the Collective Farm like the Apple of Your Eye!” (1933); "This is My Beloved Son, by him I am Proud" (1934), "Under Soviet Power, What Once Was Dreamed of in Fairy Tales Has Happened" (1935), and "In a New Way!" (1936). From 1960 onward, Urbetis worked in the Agitplakat workshop creating posters with political and social themes.

Konstantin Kazimirovich Urbetis was a member of the Union of Artists of the USSR.