A naked female torso is topped with an open envelope, revealing a left hand with thin and elegant fingers. This sculpture reflects an extraordinary love story between two great poets — Marina Tsvetaeva and Rainer Maria Rilke — who never met in person but wrote letters to each other. In a small and crowded Europe, they followed each other’s footsteps, hoping to meet, but always falling short or getting ahead of each other.

They began writing to each other in 1926 when Rilke was already terminally ill. He sent Tsvetaeva, with whom he was not acquainted, a volume of his poems at the request of Boris Pasternak. She replied immediately, not merely grateful but passionate and enthusiastic,

Their literary dialogue went on to become a love affair that took place against the backdrop of war-torn Europe and Russia devastated by revolutions.

For both of them, this correspondence was a reflection of their search for harmony, ideals, and creative and intellectual connection, combined with an idealized and unrestrained passion. The fact that it was impossible for them to meet shaped the setting for this poetic love story with lofty sentiments and tragic circumstances.

This love story in letters is reflected in Alexander Burganov’s artwork. The nude female torso is perfect in shape and relief, like the statues from the early period of classical antiquity. There is no passion or sensuality in the depiction of a human body but instead the cold logic of harmonious structure as a reflection of an ideal form. The dialogue with classical art is emphasized by the small bronze capital which supports the torso.