Tatlin is one of the most important figures heading the Russian
Avant-Garde art movement in the 1920s. His work and his philosophies
eventually became the foundation of the Constructivist movement,
although he later rejected the role as “father of constructivism”.

Tatlin’s early work confronted the notion of a flat two-dimensional
painting as the primary art form. His so-called “corner-reliefs”
consist of planks of wood, planes of metal, pieces of twine, etc. that
are arranged hanging from a corner. These pieces appear to be an
abstract or cubist painting, blown out into three dimensions.

Art history most frequently mentions his name in relation to his
attempt to create Monument to the Third International. This project
was envisioned to a be a huge tower, dwarfing the Eiffel Tower, which
was, at the time, the tallest man-made structure. It was conceived to
be a revolutionary utopian force – a new version of the classical
monument, which at once inspires political allegiance and depicts a
heroic, historical context. The monument would be all of this, function
as the headquarters of the international Communist movement and embody
a new industrial aesthetic built on modern technology.