Design concepts for the decorative schemes of the first Leningrad Metro station interiors in the 1950s

The research aims to identify the projects developed by students and faculty of the V. I. Mukhina Leningrad Higher School of Art and Industry (LVHPU, now the Saint Petersburg Stieglitz State Academy of Art and Design) for the interiors of the first stage of the Leningrad Metro in the 1950s. For the first time, the article reveals the role of LVHPU faculty and students in shaping design proposals for the decoration of the first metro stations through the academic process, specifically within coursework and graduation (diploma) projects. The scientific novelty lies in the analysis of a vast array of previously unpublished archival materials from the Mukhina School and graphic works from the teaching collection of the Department of Monumental and Decorative Painting at the Stieglitz Academy. New, previously unknown materials regarding well-known sites are introduced into scientific use. The study analyzes the decorative design concepts for 1950s Leningrad Metro stations proposed by both leading architects of the era and LVHPU graduates. As a result of the research, specific qualities of student artistic solutions for metro interior elements are identified, such as monumentality, decorativeness, and thematic consistency with the overall architectural image of specific stations.