Moscow, 14 September 1913. A performance is taking place
Artists with strange designs painted on their faces are being pursued by the press down
a fashionable street in Moscow
This is the energetic and optimistic spirit
of the new avant-garde. And at its centre is 32-year-old Natalia Goncharova.
She is a leader of the Russian avant-garde. And the first modern artist to have a retrospective
exhibition in Russia
This performance is a publicity stunt to advertise her show
But she is already notorious, having been
charged with obscenity and had her paintings confiscated
Her crime? Transgression
- The authorities think that women should not
paint the female nude quite so… explicitly
She also offended the church
- Apparently, there is no place for religious themes in modern art
Goncharova is a modern renaissance woman. She is a painter and a printmaker
She also designs textiles, fashion, theatre costumes and sets
Born in Russia in 1881, she grew up in the countryside surrounded by traditional folk
arts and crafts, which had a lasting influence on her
When she is 11, her family moves to Moscow
The loss of her childhood home has a profound effect on her
This mirrors the seismic upheavals happening
in Russia, which is changing from an agricultural society to an industrial one
She’s 19 years old and studying art when she meets Mikail Larionov, a fellow student
[Russian] 'Mikhail… my working conscience, my tuning fork.'
From then on they worked side by side, and remained together for the rest of their lives
These are turbulent times in the city, with political activists fighting in the streets
and artist dissidents performing in the theatres
Goncharova and Larionov embrace this revolutionary
atmosphere and seek to establish a radical art scene
They joined societies and founded new movements. But throughout, they remain committed to the
idea that the beginnings of modern art could be found in traditional and religious art of the East
They even invented their own style…
Rayonism. It describes the way light rays intersect
and break around objects, distorting an image
But Goncharova’s restless nature cannot
be tied to just one style
She is interested in exploring all forms of art, and does soprolifically
So that her famous exhibition in 1913 features
an astonishing 800 works
It is a resounding success and captivates Russian society
Including Sergei Diaghilev of the Ballet Russes
[Russian] ‘The funny thing is that the young crowd don’t just emulate her art, they imitate
her appearance too.’
Diaghliev invites her to collaborate and she
conquers Paris with her epic designs for the opera-ballet ‘Le Coq d’Or’
In 1915 Goncharova and Larionov go on tour with the Ballets Russes and never return to Russia
They settle in Paris
They become the centre of a vibrant émigré avant-garde, and are surrounded by other artists
fleeing the atrocities of the First World War and the Russian Revolution
She works as a fashion designer and teaches rich Americans to paint
They buy her work
and soon she’s receiving commissions from Chicago and New York
She collaborates with international artists, and when her glorious designs for Stravinsky’s
‘The Firebird’ are celebrated in the press, invitations for exhibitions follow
In Russia, the backlash against the intelligentsia makes it impossible for Goncharova to return
- She embraces her outsider status and remains in Paris for the rest of her life
Her wit, energy and passion for Russian folk culture had helped spark a revolution in modern art
And it was her genius that enabled her to
defy artistic and social conventions to become the first woman of the Russian avant-garde