Dekova, Galina2026-07-102026-07-1020263033-0599 (Online)https://doi.uni-plovdiv.bg/handle/store/1040This article aims to examine the artistic evolution of the prominent Bulgarian sculptor Lyubomir Dalchev – from his early fascination with symbolism and his explorations of the realistic form to his later modernist stylized human figures. Always rooted in the human form, Dalchev succeeds in modernizing the understanding of socialist realism to such an extent that the concept itself becomes meaningless. His education in Rome and Paris during the interwar period laid the foundation for the later development of his artistic language. The article pays special attention to the image of the male body in his work and, through the analysis of several examples from different periods, explores how the treatment of the male figure distances the author from the ideological use of the image.otherLyubomir Dalchevclassicismsculpturemodernismsocialist realismBulgariainterwar periodstereotypesOther