| The unions of artists - "THE BLUE ROSE" AND "THE JACK OF DIAMONDS"
"A blue rose"
The largest art education after "the art World" and "the Union of Russian artists" was "the Blue rose". Under this name in 1907 in Moscow the exhibition which has united group of young artists, recent pupils of the Moscow school of painting, sculpturing and architecture - followers of Borisov-Musatov has taken place. Though this exhibition was unique, it has revealed a generality of initial creative principles and graphic receptions of the masters presented by it which have formed a special direction in Russian painting. The exhibition "Blue rose" has noted only passing moment in their creative evolution, but the moment significant. It was time of the confusion which have captured a considerable part of Russian society in atmosphere of reaction after defeat of revolution, time reflected in art by an ambiguity of the purposes. The aggravated sensitivity to shades, nuances of vague moods generated images unsteady, escaping, attracted artists to searches of the rafinirovanno-refined colour relations, a thin is decorative-ornamental melodic rhythm, difficult effects of the matte-flickering picturesque invoice.
The characteristic sample of such painting is "the Blue fountain" (1905) - an early cloth of one of leading masters of a direction of P.V.Kuznetsova (1878-1968). The further evolution of this artist is typical for the majority of masters of "the Blue rose". It consisted in overcoming of the hypertrophied psychologism, in aspiration to come back to primary simplicity of sensations of a reality. It was not, however, a way of refusal of former picturesque system, and its logic development and perfection. So there is a series of the pictures devoted заволжским and the Central Asian steppes. Contemplation of immense open spaces, supervision of a measuredly-quiet life of nomad tribes has brought with itself clearing from under the power of vague moods, has turned the artist from eternally escaping to eternally real.
"A Mirage in steppe" (1912) - one of the most perfect products of this cycle. The high sky, quiet lines of horizon, soft outlines of tents freely disseminated in space, accrete with the earth and repeating outlines of a heavenly dome, simple and rhythmical movements of the people cutting sheep, preparing the food, sleeping, - all it thanks to surprisingly thin, to accord of color, forms and contours develops in поэтически a complete picture of the world, over which not imperiously time. Before us primitive patriarchal idyll, "Golden Age", dream of harmony of the person and the nature, come true in reality.
Painting of these cloths is based on thin нюансировке the colorful surface which have got riches and sonority of color tone, before obscured and foggy. Flexible live contours as if are seen through a transparent ripple нагретого by the sun of air. Subjects thanks to it stay on a cloth as though in a suspension, are spiritualized, get a certain magic weightlessness. It seems, that all image is penetrated by a uniform live rhythm, as though a silent wave of the lyrical delight changing a picture of the validity in certain "paradise vision". The thin pathetic lyrics of painting is combined with solemn rhythmic of the compositions counterbalanced and symmetric.
Ориентальная the theme organically enters into creativity of other participant of "the Blue rose", together with Кузнецовым studying in the Moscow school, - M.S.Sarjana (1880-1972). Picturesque method Сарьяна receives the perfected form in 10th years of XX century under impression of trips to Turkey, Iran and Egypt. The artist does not write off everything from nature, that sees an eye, and searches a complete picturesque image, the colorful formula. As well as at Кузнецова, a basis of expressiveness of its cloths is the color stain and the is ornamental-decorative organization of the image on a plane. Such products Сарьяна, as "Street. Midday.
Constantinople "(1910)," The going woman "(1911)," the Date palm tree "(1911), distinguishes that it would be possible to name dynamism of vision. It not long contemplation, and fast fixing of the basic colorful relations in sharply contrast comparisons.
If painting Кузнецова is similar to lyrical outpouring, painting Сарьяна - a colorful aphorism concerning seen. prefers the intensive, bright, definitely directed light concealing shades of color and baring contrasts, sharply designating borders light and dark. In this respect its painting reminds the color drawing, sometimes, as for example, in "The going woman", finds out similarity to application.
The validity on cloths appears condensed in colorful hyperboles, reaching heights of pathetic sounding. Its palm tree put in the centre of a canvas, it is proud uplifting over poor dwellings the leaves which remind a violent colorful fountain, with force beating of a trunk upwards and in breadth, it seems an embodiment of spontaneous power of the nature, really "a life tree". So the by, through specific activization of the picturesque form, Сарьян comes to a condensation ordinary-real to eternal poetic symbols.
As a direction of Russian painting of the beginning of XX century "the Blue rose" is closest to symbolism poetics. A basis of this affinity is basic installation on transformation of images of the validity on purpose to exclude possibility of literal perception of things and the phenomena, having cleared in them not ordinary, high communications and values.
In the fine arts it pours out in predilection for any transformations in sphere of visual perception - to sharp perspective reductions and the unexpected foreshortenings altering the form of subjects, to reflex ions in water, on glass, in mirrors, to the stuffy vibration dissolving contours, etc.
The theatre becomes sphere of the most effective any more only visual, and universal transformation of the validity at that time. It has appeared that soil where painting of "the Blue rose" and symbolism have met directly. The most interesting variant of this dialogue of painting with symbolism at theatre represents N.N.Sapunova's creativity (1880-1912).
Together with other master of "the Blue rose" - S.J.Sudejkinym (1882-1946) it became the designer of symbolical dramas first in Russia M.Meterlinka (at Theatre-studio MHT on Cook, 1905). Cooperation with from here originates. Мейерхольдом - in statements "Гедды Габлер" Ibsen, "Балаганчика".
On the other hand, "the magic of theatre", forcing to worry artificial, invented and fantastic as original and live, it is transferred to easel painting. So there is a whole group of the products written "apropos" of corresponding theatrical performances.
The romantic artist who has become isolated in the world, created by whims of imagination, starts to accept generations of own imagination for the validity. There is a transformation symbolical "the magic world" in "buffoonery" - are that "теза" and the symbolism "antithesis", noted by the Block in 1910, and still earlier, in the 1906 which have become by a theme of a lyrical drama "Балаганчик", which statement made out. From the moment of work on this performance at creativity constantly there are elements of exhibition buffoonery, baste stylization and grotesque. These tendencies reach the apogee in not finished picture "Tea drinking" (1912)
"A jack of diamonds"
The boundary is noted 1910-1911 by occurrence on arena of an art life of new grouping under the causing name "a jack Of diamonds". A constant kernel of the society which have existed actually till 1916, the artists P.Konchalovsky, I.Mashkov, A.Lentulov, A.Kuprin, R.Falk who have become subsequently by visible masters of the Soviet art have made. "The jack of diamonds", the having charter, exhibitions, collections of articles, was a new influential direction in Russian art of the beginning of XX century
The impressionism in all its updating was simultaneously and a starting point of art development, and that creative method in which overcoming artists of "a jack of diamonds" saw the priority. From the very beginning they act as furious opponents of previous art - "the art World", the refined psychologist of painting of "the Blue rose" are rejected from a threshold. At the heart of discontent of young artists with a state of affairs in the modern art social motives - crisis in Russia, with especial force shown in revolution 1905-1907, and come then years of reaction (1907 - 1910) laid. This discontent with a "twilight" epoch was expressed in отвержении all vague, mysterious, held back in art.
In a counterbalance of symbolical painting of "the Blue rose" artists of "a jack Of diamonds" aspired to express most considerably movement from concentration on subjective not clear sensations to finding of stability of a vision, colors, to the constructive logic of picture construction. The statement of a subject and concreteness in a spatiality counterbalance makes an initial principle of their art.
In this connection painting of subjects - a still-life is put forward on the first place. Polemic problems of painting of "a jack of diamonds" have found especially bright embodiment in creativity of one of group I.I founders. Mashkov (1881 - 1944). "Dark blue plums" (1910) it is possible to consider it as the original slogan of this direction. The image of the fruit laid in a static decorative composition, as though has fallen asleep halfway from crude substance of paints of a palette to real color of nature. The artist assimilates the work to work of the handicraftsman doing things. In this case such thing is the picture. The artist approaches painting to national creativity with feeling of an initial material inherent in it.
In nakedness of the process of creation of a picturesque thing and in pathetic приподнятости colorful sounding the initial principle of a folk art is as though formulated by Mashkov: a combination of two parties of a national life - work and a holiday.
It is so declarative, as in "Dark blue plums" Mashkov, confirmed by "a jack Of diamonds" the new approach to nature development is expressed P.P.Konchalovskim (1876-1956) in "G.Jakulova's Portrait" (1910). The artist brings in traditional area of domination of psychological problems натюрмортное, the substantiating beginning. It eliminates everything that concerns passing inwardness of the person, underlining all of what there are the steadiest, bright, in the true sense words picturesque signs of individual external shape. Here we deal with the specific system of simplifications peculiar to a national popular print, a toy, a signboard. Not casually criticism sometimes defined style of painting of "a jack of diamonds" as a whole as "style of a signboard". The Same criticism repeatedly marked a direct connection of new generation of the Moscow painters with modern it the French painting ascending in the sources to Cezanne. However Cezanne's painting has been apprehended by "a jack of diamonds" through a decorative variant, in particular Matisse.
The cult of a decorative reigning at the beginning at artists of "a jack of diamonds", dispersed from Cezanne's painting in one rather essential point: in easing of sculptural sensation of the form. The impression of materiality of a subject which artists in the first products tried to achieve, arose not at the expense of sculpturing-volume construction of the form, and at the expense of massiveness of the invoice while the space looked decoratively spread and is frequent owing to it amorphous. In overcoming of this lack a known role the cubism - the current of the painting finding theoretical motivation to the experiments in the recommendation given once by Cezanne to make the mental analysis of difficult forms by their approach to the basic geometrical configurations - to a cube, a cone and a sphere has played. Masters of "a jack of diamonds" used similar receptions. So, Konchalovsky's "Agave" (1916) represents a variant of mastering of experience of the cubism, passing extreme measures of schematic splitting of the form. The artist has seen a way of the analysis of spatial relations in cubism. The picture space is thought as a certain subject, from it with effort subjects represented which form as if breaks, deformed, with effort winning for them the necessary vital environment take shape. Things actively take root into space surrounding them, as if overcoming its resistance. From here impression of dramatic character. Things as though are on guard of the won place, they do not yield easily, seem hostile to the person, aloof from it.
The genre of a still-life begins capable to transfer the new maintenance, conformable the present with its contradictions and sensation of approaching shocks. In painting of "a jack Of diamonds" value of high art has been returned a still-life.
Along with a cubism the futurism - one more arisen in Italy in the same years a painting current becomes the important component of graphic style of "a jack Of diamonds" from the middle of 10th years. Proclaiming original language of the future industrial rhythms of an epoch of scientific and technical revolution, it demanded introduction of these rhythms in the design of a work of art. One of its receptions is "installation" of subjects or parts of the subjects taken as though at various times and from different points of the review. Movement of the subject, i.e. the spectator, is transferred on object which is allocated with spontaneous dynamics, by ability to freakish updating of the form. This effect in a combination to cubic "shift" of forms and stratification of spatial plans we see in A.V.Lentulova's decorative pictures-panels (1882-1943) "Vasily Blazhennyj" (1913) and "Ring" (1915).
The image surface is thought here by similarity of the mirror jingling and split by a powerful sound wave in which the colorful Moscow architecture is reflected. Concerning Russian artists to receptions of modern West European art there was a known share of ironicalness. At Лентулова it has affected, for example, in transferring of receptions of the futurism intended for expression of rhythms of an industrial epoch, on absolutely other in the being object - architecture. From this paradoxical combination of modern graphic language to images of the Moscow olden time there is unexpectedly bright art effect - the ancient architecture as though excited by invasion of industrial rhythms, involved in an orbit of perception of the modern person feeling and all around in incessant movement.
To products of other representative of "a jack of diamonds" to R.R.Falka (1886 - 1958) are not peculiar decorative scope of cloths Лентулова, брутальная beauty and materiality of painting of Mashkov. The lyric poet on a warehouse of creative temperament, avoids intended огрубления the form, aspires to thin study of a picturesque surface, achieves refined colorful harmonies. Penetrated by atmosphere of spiritual concentration and silence, painting differs original psychologist, is allocated by ability to reproduce thin shades of moods. Not casually therefore among its products the considerable place occupies a portrait. One of the best pictures of pre-revolutionary creativity - "At the piano. E.S.Potehinoj-Falk's portrait" (1917). Relatives on style to painting are A.Kuprin and V.Rozhdestvenskogo's products - artists of "a jack Of diamonds", working mainly in a still-life genre.
Some kind of permanent rebelliousness characterizes creativity of one of organizers of "a jack Of diamonds" M.F.Larionov (1881 - 1964). In 1911 it breaks off with this grouping and there is the organizer of new exhibitions under эпатирующими names "Asinine tail", "Target". The primitive tendency of art has found In Larionov's creativity "a jack Of diamonds", connected with assimilation by professional art of stylistics of a signboard, a popular print, a national toy, children's drawing the most consecutive development. In a counterbalance to the majority of artists of 10th years Larionov consistently defends the rights of genre painting, not refusing the narrative story in a picture, But the life in Larionov's genres is a special, "primitive" life of provincial streets, cafe, hairdresser's, soldier's barracks.
One of Larionov's the most typical products - a picture "Having a rest soldier" (1911). Grotesque, утрированная typicalness of a pose indulging in thoughtfulness healthy big fellows with a flush in all cheek is undoubtedly cast by naivety of children's drawing. At the same time it is large-scale images and skillfully transferred duration lazy возлежания before the spectator transforms a picture in is thin спародированный a smart portrait. But thus - sneer shades. The relation of the artist to model looks as "love irony". If artists of "a jack of diamonds", especially in a creativity initial stage, preferred a bright palette, strong color contrasts Larionov, as a rule, addresses to subjects prosy and rough, dim and not color, cultivating shades of the pull together colors, achieving refined silvereyes and a color harmony. To products of this artist cloths of the constant companion and adherent Larionov in its searches Н.С were close. Гончаровой (1881 - 1962). In a picture "canvas Washing" (1910) figures of two women against лубочно "размалеванного" a rural landscape, stocky, with heavy ступнями, are written with that is naive-touching liking to represented which distinguishes children's drawings, especially when the child reproduces well familiar, habitual subjects and situations. Here we deal any more with aesthetically-game stylization of a demotic life, as for example, at Кустодиева, and with attempt through primitive thing art to find a way out of labyrinths of modern psychologist and умозрений, to find the lost sources of an is naive-complete sight at the world.
In a little bit other form the same tendency acts in art of M. 3. Walked (1887-1985). Extraordinary steadfast carefulness in reproduction most that on is prosaic details of conditions of the provincial backward life changed by paints of a spicy, magnificent palette, is combined at All Walked with fantastic motives of fantastic flights, heavenly signs, etc. it is similar to whims of the romantic fantasy fancifully mixing ennobled and low, casting memoirs on romantic stories of Gogol.
Pre-revolutionary creativity of most original of painters adjoins to a primitive line in Russian art - P.N.Filonov (1883-1941). Modern primitiveness is understood by it only as means to "simulate" in painting a certain complete picture of the world, the type of a world view giving in modern зри - тельном experience representation about mankind myths. For the artist of the XX-th century it was a way to remind that makes a back of a machine civilization that is pushed aside by it on periphery of public attention, namely about patrimonial in the person, about that "part" of the person which it is with the nature, with its dark, is tenacious-inert, mysterious night, forces, "contact" with which forms the essential maintenance labor, in particular country, a life. So, in "Коровницах" (1914) Filonovs all is molded to each other as though in the chaotic disorder. The complicated syntax of a graphic phrase suggests the spectator to seek sense and sequence in combinations of subject forms and figures, following by guessing, that ring in a sheaf of human memory where there could be a key to the code number of this picture. But the direction of these searches is set by the picture withdrawing in area of primitive natural myths.
The usual parity top and bottom here is turned: toy small houses are perceived as visible at a distance from above so, that figures of animals and коровниц "hang" in dark heavens over the world and appear in зооморфные and антропоморфные forms with that paradoxical, is angular-exact approximations from what zodiac figures in a kaleidoscope of constellations in a night sky are outlined by a sight. Especially terrestrial scene is shown as mythical праистория, творимая in heavens, but this heavenly is simultaneously and something is dense-primitive, reminding of primary participation of the person in fauna, about those times and about that condition of consciousness when the Supreme deity of the sky appeared in image of "a heavenly cow", and cattle breeding work was ritual religious rite, "heavenly service". It is a life what she looks from dark depths of patrimonial memory. " Impersonal "- this the formula can define a method and simultaneously a theme of art of Filonov recreating in the "hieroglyphic" form habitual for Russian art a way, process, stages of it is impersonal-natural in spiritual.
Specific of graphic language, symbolical on the origin, halves perception of visible forms and qualities of the subject world between direct and portable values. So "dark" in Filonov's pre-revolutionary pictures is both night, and metaphysical "gloom", prehistoric "darkness"; primitively stocky figures simultaneously both массивны, and бесплотны; light and color are merged in uniform quality, reminding effect of a stained-glass window; figures as much remind primitive idols, how many and medieval "chimeras". Many qualities of graphic system of Filonov, as well as the way of creation "the new relation to the validity by revision of a series forgotten a world view", have the nearest prototype in Vrubel's art.
Propensity of artists of 10th years to experiment, to decomposition of complete art impression for the sum of elementary influences for the sake of familiarizing with primary bases of art expressiveness has led to allocation of this area формотворчества in independent sphere of art. In 1913 Larionov publishes the book "Лучизм" which was one of the first manifestos of abstract art. However original leaders - theorists and abstractionism experts in Russia V.V. Kandinsky's steels (1866-1944) and K.S.Malevich (1878-1935).
From the moment of the origin abstract painting develops in two directions: at Kandinsky it is spontaneous, irrational game of color stains, at Malevich - visibility математически the verified, is rational-geometrical constructions. The abstractionism applied to be in art practice by as though incarnate theory of fundamental principles of painting in general. Painting problems were reduced by it to research of possible combinations of primary elements - lines, colors, forms.
If Malevich and Kandinsky's abstractionism develops originally exclusively within easel painting in V.E.Tatlina's creativity (1885-1953) object of abstract experiment there is one more element of painting - the invoice. The qualities belonging in painting to one material - paint, Татлин transforms into combinations of invoices of various materials - tins, a tree, glass, преобразуя a picture plane in similarity of a sculptural relief. In so-called counter reliefs Татлина "heroes" there are not valid subjects and abstract categories of the invoice - rough, fragile, viscous, soft, sparkling, - entering among themselves in difficult relations without means of any concrete graphic plot.
In architecture we face ability of art to express, not representing, passing imitation "the life facts". In properties of a graphic surface as архитектонического fields are concluded the expressive possibilities not given, but set to the image just as gravitation laws are set to movement of bodies or a rhythm, the size, an order of rhymes are set to a verse. Research of these possibilities also was that experiment which has been done by abstract art. On this way to праосновам the art influence, hidden in the device of human memory, XX-th century art should is inevitable to meet the art worlds where required laws of expressiveness there was no time are carried already out in completeness of a principle. New offered a hand well forgotten old - and through such contact there have passed hardly probable not all masters of so-called avant-guard in XX-th century art.
Among them the outstanding place belongs to - to S.Petrov-Vodkin (1878 - 1939). The long way of creative formation of this master rich with difficult searches crowns creation in 1912 of a picture "Bathing of a red horse". This product is considerable not only the internal maintenance, but also that in it many thorny questions of art of the beginning of XX century It have concentrated sounds as an appeal and a question and first of all that sharpness and expressiveness of the form recreating, a reality changing images to which art of XX century so painfully aspired, is reached here through development of lessons of Old Russian painting. Directly declaring successive communication , this product forces to recollect simultaneously and "Abduction of Europe" Серова at which Petrov-Vodkin studied in the Moscow school. The image of the horseman on a game, turning thought to folklore representations, in painful the stood movement gives rise to a question. Celebratory triumph of color and sleepy bewitching rhythm of lines, a powerful horse and the young man-teenager who has fallen asleep in not clear thought, powerlessly having lowered reins, being given to the power of force goodness knows where attracting it, memoirs on the past and not clear presentiment of the future - such combination of opposite elements symbolically on the internal structure. Owing to it also was perceived by contemporaries as a symbol of the worried moment.
Even more consistently Petrov-Vodkin to images of Old Russian art in such works, as "Mother", "Girls on Volga" (1915), "addresses Morning. Bathers" (1917). Here echoes иконописных images - in fixed ™ movements, in self-immersing of characters, in contemplation by which heroines of these pictures are got are audible. In Petrov-Vodkin's creativity value of eternal images and that towers: a dream and awakening, age steps of a life - adolescence, a youth, motherhood, life circulation between a birth and death - such is a circle of these that. In treatment of a similar sort any new epoch expresses those the ideal representations about a place of the person in the space whole. In the art world they play a role универсалий the philosophical order, towering over variability of the fluid validity. Accordingly in Petrov-Vodkin's graphic system all qualities of the world subject to supervision aspire to the пре to efficient, absolute conditions: Color gravitates to pure, released from atmosphere fluctuations, light has character astral "eternal light", the horizon line reproduces curvature of a planetary surface of the earth according to a principle of so-called spherical prospect which all event in space translates in a rank of the phenomena of space scale. In variety of modern forms of art generalization Petrov-Vodkin allocates what have the concrete art address, - an Old Russian icon and a fresco, and also Italian кватроченто, i.e. those phenomena in scales of national and European art tradition which directly approach to a threshold of the latest differentiation and analytical smashing but where the art world and a image of the world in art was still thought and appeared as the certain integrity informing to ways of art expression the press of the monumental greatness. As whole in feeling of a universal link of times and the phenomena - here that thirsts for world contemplation to express and revive in the modern art Petrov-Vodkin. Программно appealing to associative ability of art memory, he as if urges to guess, what shape and an image have the modern world and art feeling peculiar to it in соизмерении with the nature and history in space of the world cultural experience.
Petrov-Vodkin, as well as variety of other masters of its generation, years one of visible masters of the Soviet painting, having brought with itself during a new epoch live art traditions, high ideas and perfect skill.
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