Natalia Goncharova and the Women of the Russian Avant-Garde

1 - 30 June 2019
  • Natalia GONCHAROVA, Misticheskie Obrazy Voiny [Mystical Images of War], 1914 (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Alexander RODCHENKO, Portrait of Lilya Brik, 1924 (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Alexander RODCHENKO, Varvara Stepanova, 1924 (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Alexander RODCHENKO, Portrait of Varvara Stepanova, 1924 (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Alexander RODCHENKO, V. F. Stepanova, 1925 (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Natalia GONCHAROVA, Misticheskie Obrazy Voiny [Mystical Images of War], 1914

  • "THE MOST FAMOUS OF THESE PROGRESSIVE ARTISTS IS A WOMAN [GONCHAROVA]. THE YOUNG CROWD BOTH IN MOSCOW AND ST. PETERSBURG BOWS TO HER"

    – SERGEI DIAGHILEV
  • When we talk about the Russian avant-garde, a movement in art history that flourished from the late 19th century to...

    When we talk about the Russian avant-garde, a movement in art history that flourished from the late 19th century to the early 20th century and from which emerged Suprematism, Constructivism, Russian Futurism and Neo-primitivism, among others, we often talk of Wassily KANDISNKY, Kazimir MALEVICH or Vladimir TATLIN.

     

    Those who are often left behind – and out of the spotlight of art history – are the great women artists of this period, who emerged with some of the most radical and progressive ideas in a time of great political and social upheaval.

     

    This online exhibition pays tribute to these great women, particularly the leading modernist Natalia GONCHAROVA, whose first UK retrospective is on view at Tate Modern from 6 June until 8 September.
  • Natalia GONCHAROVA was a natural trailblazer. Born in 1881, she enrolled at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture...

    Natalia GONCHAROVA was a natural trailblazer. Born in 1881, she enrolled at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture after moving to the city with her family in 1901. There she met her lifelong partner and fellow artist Mikhail LARIONOV. Together they dominated the Russian art scene of the time, producing complex manifestos that challenged the status quo and spearheading the development of 'rayism' – a new artistic style that built on futurism and cubism but instead focused on the rays reflected from objects and their intersections in space.  

     

    Throughout her career, Goncharova created powerful and innovative paintings and sculptures that both enraged and bedazzled, earning her a lasting reputation as a key figure of the Russian avant-garde. Her experimental approach to art and design is currently the subject of an exhibition at Tate Modern. 
  • Unlike many female artists of the time, Goncharova earned the respect of her peers and male counterparts. Although not a...

    Unlike many female artists of the time, Goncharova earned the respect of her peers and male counterparts. Although not a specific intention of the artistic movement, the Constructivists and their avant-garde comrades were inclined to support the Bolshevik policies aimed at the emancipation of women, encouraging their careers by inclusion in their networks. 

     

    Alexander RODCHENKO’s photographs of friends and colleagues provide evidence of such support and proof of Russian constructivsts' rejection of female stereotypes inherited from capitalism. The photographs by Rodchenko on view here provide rare, behind-the-scenes documentation of women of the Russian avant-garde. These include intimate and affectionate portraits of Rodchenko's wife Varvara STEPANOVA together with the writer and muse Lilya Yuryevna BRIK and artist Lyubov POPOVA.
  • While gender imbalance in the art world still persists today, the opportunities presented to female artists in the early 20th...

    While gender imbalance in the art world still persists today, the opportunities presented to female artists in the early 20th century were even more limited. A rare exception was that of Liubov POPOVA, whose extraordinary talent marked her as a driving force of the Russian avant-garde. With an oeuvre spanning painting, works on paper, textile and design, Popova was a pioneer of Cubo-Futurism, Constructivism and a strong proponent of utopian efforts to establish a scientific basis for the creation of art. Her career was cut short in 1924 with her death at the age of 35. 

     

    Lilya Yuryevna BRIK was described by Pablo Neruda as a "muse of the Russian avant-garde." Known for befriending some of the movement's most exciting artists, Brik inspired the writings of her husband Osip Brik, the poetry of Vladimir Mayakovsky and the art of Alexander Rodchenko. The latter's photographs of Brik – often incorporated into photomontages for political posters, pamphlets and publications – provided an important place for the socialite in Russian history and culture.