Theunions of artists – «THE BLUE ROSE» AND «THE JACK OFDIAMONDS»
«A bluerose»
Thelargest art education after «the art World» and «the Union ofRussian artists» was «the Blue rose». Under this name in 1907 inMoscow the exhibition which has united group of young artists, recent pupils ofthe Moscow school of painting, sculpturing and architecture — followers ofBorisov-Musatov has taken place. Though this exhibition was unique, it hasrevealed a generality of initial creative principles and graphic receptions ofthe masters presented by it which have formed a special direction in Russianpainting. The exhibition «Blue rose» has noted only passing moment intheir creative evolution, but the moment significant. It was time of theconfusion which have captured a considerable part of Russian society inatmosphere of reaction after defeat of revolution, time reflected in art by anambiguity of the purposes. The aggravated sensitivity to shades, nuances ofvague moods generated images unsteady, escaping, attracted artists to searchesof the rafinirovanno-refined colour relations, a thin is decorative-ornamentalmelodic rhythm, difficult effects of the matte-flickering picturesque invoice.
Thecharacteristic 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 majorityof masters of «the Blue rose». It consisted in overcoming of thehypertrophied psychologism, in aspiration to come back to primary simplicity ofsensations of a reality. It was not, however, a way of refusal of formerpicturesque system, and its logic development and perfection. So there is aseries of the pictures devoted заволжскимand the Central Asian steppes. Contemplation of immense open spaces,supervision of a measuredly-quiet life of nomad tribes has brought with itselfclearing from under the power of vague moods, has turned the artist frometernally escaping to eternally real.
«AMirage in steppe» (1912) — one of the most perfect products of this cycle.The high sky, quiet lines of horizon, soft outlines of tents freelydisseminated in space, accrete with the earth and repeating outlines of aheavenly dome, simple and rhythmical movements of the people cutting sheep,preparing the food, sleeping, — all it thanks to surprisingly thin, to accordof color, forms and contours develops in поэтическиa complete picture of the world, over which not imperiously time. Before usprimitive patriarchal idyll, «Golden Age», dream of harmony of theperson and the nature, come true in reality.
Paintingof these cloths is based on thin нюансировкеthe colorful surface which have got riches and sonority of color tone, beforeobscured and foggy. Flexible live contours as if are seen through a transparentripple нагретогоby the sun of air. Subjects thanks to it stay on a cloth as though in asuspension, are spiritualized, get a certain magic weightlessness. It seems,that all image is penetrated by a uniform live rhythm, as though a silent waveof the lyrical delight changing a picture of the validity in certain«paradise vision». The thin pathetic lyrics of painting is combinedwith solemn rhythmic of the compositions counterbalanced and symmetric.
Ориентальнаяthe theme organically enters into creativity of other participant of «theBlue rose», together with Кузнецовымstudying in the Moscow school, — M.S.Sarjana (1880-1972). Picturesque method Сарьянаreceives the perfected form in 10th years of XX century under impression oftrips to Turkey, Iran and Egypt. The artist does not write off everything fromnature, that sees an eye, and searches a complete picturesque image, thecolorful formula. As well as at Кузнецова,a basis of expressiveness of its cloths is the color stain and the isornamental-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 ofvision. It not long contemplation, and fast fixing of the basic colorful relationsin sharply contrast comparisons.
Ifpainting Кузнецова is similar tolyrical outpouring, painting Сарьяна- a colorful aphorism concerning seen. prefers the intensive, bright,definitely directed light concealing shades of color and baring contrasts, sharplydesignating borders light and dark. In this respect its painting reminds thecolor drawing, sometimes, as for example, in «The going woman», findsout similarity to application.
Thevalidity on cloths appears condensed in colorful hyperboles, reaching heightsof pathetic sounding. Its palm tree put in the centre of a canvas, it is prouduplifting over poor dwellings the leaves which remind a violent colorfulfountain, with force beating of a trunk upwards and in breadth, it seems anembodiment of spontaneous power of the nature, really «a life tree».So the by, through specific activization of the picturesque form, Сарьянcomes to a condensation ordinary-real to eternal poetic symbols.
Asa direction of Russian painting of the beginning of XX century «the Bluerose» is closest to symbolism poetics. A basis of this affinity is basicinstallation on transformation of images of the validity on purpose to excludepossibility of literal perception of things and the phenomena, having clearedin them not ordinary, high communications and values.
Inthe fine arts it pours out in predilection for any transformations in sphere ofvisual perception — to sharp perspective reductions and the unexpectedforeshortenings altering the form of subjects, to reflex ions in water, onglass, in mirrors, to the stuffy vibration dissolving contours, etc.
Thetheatre becomes sphere of the most effective any more only visual, anduniversal transformation of the validity at that time. It has appeared thatsoil where painting of «the Blue rose» and symbolism have metdirectly. The most interesting variant of this dialogue of painting withsymbolism at theatre represents N.N.Sapunova’s creativity (1880-1912).
Togetherwith other master of «the Blue rose» — S.J.Sudejkinym (1882-1946) itbecame the designer of symbolical dramas first in Russia M.Meterlinka (atTheatre-studio MHT on Cook, 1905). Cooperation with from here originates. Мейерхольдом- in statements «Гедды Габлер»Ibsen, «Балаганчика».
Onthe other hand, «the magic of theatre», forcing to worry artificial,invented and fantastic as original and live, it is transferred to easelpainting. So there is a whole group of the products written «apropos»of corresponding theatrical performances.
Theromantic artist who has become isolated in the world, created by whims ofimagination, 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 stillearlier, 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 atcreativity constantly there are elements of exhibition buffoonery, baste stylizationand grotesque. These tendencies reach the apogee in not finished picture«Tea drinking» (1912)
«A jack ofdiamonds»
Theboundary is noted 1910-1911 by occurrence on arena of an art life of newgrouping under the causing name «a jack Of diamonds». A constantkernel of the society which have existed actually till 1916, the artistsP.Konchalovsky, I.Mashkov, A.Lentulov, A.Kuprin, R.Falk who have becomesubsequently by visible masters of the Soviet art have made. «The jack ofdiamonds», the having charter, exhibitions, collections of articles, was anew influential direction in Russian art of the beginning of XX century
Theimpressionism in all its updating was simultaneously and a starting point ofart development, and that creative method in which overcoming artists of«a jack of diamonds» saw the priority. From the very beginning theyact as furious opponents of previous art — «the art World», therefined psychologist of painting of «the Blue rose» are rejected froma threshold. At the heart of discontent of young artists with a state ofaffairs in the modern art social motives – crisis in Russia, with especialforce shown in revolution 1905-1907, and come then years of reaction (1907 — 1910) laid. This discontent with a «twilight» epoch was expressed in отверженииall vague, mysterious, held back in art.
Ina counterbalance of symbolical painting of «the Blue rose» artists of«a jack Of diamonds» aspired to express most considerably movementfrom concentration on subjective not clear sensations to finding of stabilityof a vision, colors, to the constructive logic of picture construction. Thestatement of a subject and concreteness in a spatiality counterbalance makes aninitial principle of their art.
Inthis connection painting of subjects — a still-life is put forward on the firstplace. Polemic problems of painting of «a jack of diamonds» havefound especially bright embodiment in creativity of one of group I.I founders.Mashkov (1881 — 1944). «Dark blue plums» (1910) it is possible toconsider it as the original slogan of this direction. The image of the fruitlaid in a static decorative composition, as though has fallen asleep halfwayfrom crude substance of paints of a palette to real color of nature. The artistassimilates the work to work of the handicraftsman doing things. In this casesuch thing is the picture. The artist approaches painting to nationalcreativity with feeling of an initial material inherent in it.
Innakedness of the process of creation of a picturesque thing and in pathetic приподнятостиcolorful sounding the initial principle of a folk art is as though formulatedby Mashkov: a combination of two parties of a national life — work and aholiday.
Itis so declarative, as in «Dark blue plums» Mashkov, confirmed by«a jack Of diamonds» the new approach to nature development isexpressed P.P.Konchalovskim (1876-1956) in «G.Jakulova’s Portrait»(1910). The artist brings in traditional area of domination of psychologicalproblems натюрмортное,the substantiating beginning. It eliminates everything that concerns passinginwardness 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 nationalpopular print, a toy, a signboard. Not casually criticism sometimes definedstyle of painting of «a jack of diamonds» as a whole as «styleof a signboard». The Same criticism repeatedly marked a direct connectionof new generation of the Moscow painters with modern it the French paintingascending in the sources to Cezanne. However Cezanne’s painting has been apprehendedby «a jack of diamonds» through a decorative variant, in particularMatisse.
Thecult of a decorative reigning at the beginning at artists of «a jack ofdiamonds», dispersed from Cezanne’s painting in one rather essentialpoint: in easing of sculptural sensation of the form. The impression ofmateriality 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 atthe expense of massiveness of the invoice while the space looked decorativelyspread and is frequent owing to it amorphous. In overcoming of this lack aknown role the cubism — the current of the painting finding theoreticalmotivation to the experiments in the recommendation given once by Cezanne tomake the mental analysis of difficult forms by their approach to the basicgeometrical configurations — to a cube, a cone and a sphere has played. Mastersof «a jack of diamonds» used similar receptions. So, Konchalovsky’s«Agave» (1916) represents a variant of mastering of experience of thecubism, passing extreme measures of schematic splitting of the form. The artisthas seen a way of the analysis of spatial relations in cubism. The picturespace is thought as a certain subject, from it with effort subjects representedwhich form as if breaks, deformed, with effort winning for them the necessaryvital environment take shape. Things actively take root into space surroundingthem, 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, seemhostile to the person, aloof from it.
Thegenre of a still-life begins capable to transfer the new maintenance,conformable the present with its contradictions and sensation of approachingshocks. In painting of «a jack Of diamonds» value of high art hasbeen returned a still-life.
Alongwith a cubism the futurism — one more arisen in Italy in the same years apainting current becomes the important component of graphic style of «ajack Of diamonds» from the middle of 10th years. Proclaiming originallanguage of the future industrial rhythms of an epoch of scientific andtechnical revolution, it demanded introduction of these rhythms in the designof a work of art. One of its receptions is «installation» of subjectsor parts of the subjects taken as though at various times and from differentpoints of the review. Movement of the subject, i.e. the spectator, istransferred on object which is allocated with spontaneous dynamics, by abilityto freakish updating of the form. This effect in a combination to cubic«shift» of forms and stratification of spatial plans we see inA.V.Lentulova’s decorative pictures-panels (1882-1943) «VasilyBlazhennyj» (1913) and «Ring» (1915).
Theimage surface is thought here by similarity of the mirror jingling and split bya powerful sound wave in which the colorful Moscow architecture is reflected.Concerning Russian artists to receptions of modern West European art there wasa known share of ironicalness. At Лентуловаit has affected, for example, in transferring of receptions of the futurismintended for expression of rhythms of an industrial epoch, on absolutely otherin the being object — architecture. From this paradoxical combination of moderngraphic language to images of the Moscow olden time there is unexpectedlybright art effect — the ancient architecture as though excited by invasion ofindustrial rhythms, involved in an orbit of perception of the modern personfeeling and all around in incessant movement.
Toproducts of other representative of «a jack of diamonds» to R.R.Falka(1886 — 1958) are not peculiar decorative scope of cloths Лентулова,брутальнаяbeauty and materiality of painting of Mashkov. The lyric poet on a warehouse ofcreative temperament, avoids intended огрубленияthe form, aspires to thin study of a picturesque surface, achieves refined colorfulharmonies. Penetrated by atmosphere of spiritual concentration and silence,painting differs original psychologist, is allocated by ability to reproducethin shades of moods. Not casually therefore among its products theconsiderable place occupies a portrait. One of the best pictures of pre-revolutionarycreativity — «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-lifegenre.
Somekind of permanent rebelliousness characterizes creativity of one of organizersof «a jack Of diamonds» M.F.Larionov (1881 — 1964). In 1911 it breaksoff with this grouping and there is the organizer of new exhibitions under эпатирующимиnames «Asinine tail», «Target». The primitive tendency ofart has found In Larionov’s creativity «a jack Of diamonds»,connected with assimilation by professional art of stylistics of a signboard, apopular print, a national toy, children’s drawing the most consecutivedevelopment. In a counterbalance to the majority of artists of 10th yearsLarionov consistently defends the rights of genre painting, not refusing thenarrative 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.
Oneof Larionov’s the most typical products — a picture «Having a restsoldier» (1911). Grotesque, утрированнаяtypicalness of a pose indulging in thoughtfulness healthy big fellows with aflush in all cheek is undoubtedly cast by naivety of children’s drawing. At thesame time it is large-scale images and skillfully transferred duration lazy возлежанияbefore the spectator transforms a picture in is thin спародированныйa smart portrait. But thus — sneer shades. The relation of the artist to modellooks as «love irony». If artists of «a jack of diamonds»,especially in a creativity initial stage, preferred a bright palette, strongcolor contrasts Larionov, as a rule, addresses to subjects prosy and rough, dimand not color, cultivating shades of the pull together colors, achievingrefined silvereyes and a color harmony. To products of this artist cloths ofthe constant companion and adherent Larionov in its searches Н.Сwere 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 whichdistinguishes children’s drawings, especially when the child reproduces wellfamiliar, habitual subjects and situations. Here we deal any more withaesthetically-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 ofmodern psychologist and умозрений,to find the lost sources of an is naive-complete sight at the world.
Ina little bit other form the same tendency acts in art of M. 3. Walked(1887-1985). Extraordinary steadfast carefulness in reproduction most that onis prosaic details of conditions of the provincial backward life changed bypaints of a spicy, magnificent palette, is combined at All Walked withfantastic motives of fantastic flights, heavenly signs, etc. it is similar towhims of the romantic fantasy fancifully mixing ennobled and low, castingmemoirs on romantic stories of Gogol.
Pre-revolutionarycreativity of most original of painters adjoins to a primitive line in Russianart — P.N.Filonov (1883-1941). Modern primitiveness is understood by it only asmeans to «simulate» in painting a certain complete picture of theworld, the type of a world view giving in modern зри- тельномexperience representation about mankind myths. For the artist of the XX-thcentury it was a way to remind that makes a back of a machine civilization thatis pushed aside by it on periphery of public attention, namely aboutpatrimonial in the person, about that «part» of the person which itis 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) Filonovsall is molded to each other as though in the chaotic disorder. The complicatedsyntax of a graphic phrase suggests the spectator to seek sense and sequence incombinations of subject forms and figures, following by guessing, that ring ina sheaf of human memory where there could be a key to the code number of thispicture. But the direction of these searches is set by the picture withdrawingin area of primitive natural myths.
Theusual parity top and bottom here is turned: toy small houses are perceived asvisible at a distance from above so, that figures of animals and коровниц«hang» in dark heavens over the world and appear in зооморфныеand антропоморфныеforms with that paradoxical, is angular-exact approximations from what zodiacfigures in a kaleidoscope of constellations in a night sky are outlined by asight. Especially terrestrial scene is shown as mythical праистория,творимаяin heavens, but this heavenly is simultaneously and something isdense-primitive, reminding of primary participation of the person in fauna,about those times and about that condition of consciousness when the Supremedeity of the sky appeared in image of «a heavenly cow», and cattlebreeding work was ritual religious rite, «heavenly service». It is alife what she looks from dark depths of patrimonial memory. ” Impersonal”- this the formula can define a method and simultaneously a theme of artof Filonov recreating in the «hieroglyphic» form habitual for Russianart a way, process, stages of it is impersonal-natural in spiritual.
Specificof graphic language, symbolical on the origin, halves perception of visibleforms and qualities of the subject world between direct and portable values. So«dark» in Filonov’s pre-revolutionary pictures is both night, andmetaphysical «gloom», prehistoric «darkness»; primitivelystocky figures simultaneously both массивны,and бесплотны;light and color are merged in uniform quality, reminding effect of astained-glass window; figures as much remind primitive idols, how many andmedieval «chimeras». Many qualities of graphic system of Filonov, aswell as the way of creation «the new relation to the validity by revisionof a series forgotten a world view», have the nearest prototype in Vrubel’sart.
Propensityof artists of 10th years to experiment, to decomposition of complete artimpression for the sum of elementary influences for the sake of familiarizingwith primary bases of art expressiveness has led to allocation of this area формотворчестваin 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).
Fromthe moment of the origin abstract painting develops in two directions: atKandinsky it is spontaneous, irrational game of color stains, at Malevich — visibility математическиthe verified, is rational-geometrical constructions. The abstractionism appliedto be in art practice by as though incarnate theory of fundamental principlesof painting in general. Painting problems were reduced by it to research ofpossible combinations of primary elements — lines, colors, forms.
IfMalevich and Kandinsky’s abstractionism develops originally exclusively withineasel painting in V.E.Tatlina’s creativity (1885-1953) object of abstractexperiment there is one more element of painting — the invoice. The qualitiesbelonging in painting to one material — paint, Татлинtransforms into combinations of invoices of various materials — tins, a tree,glass, преобразуяa picture plane in similarity of a sculptural relief. In so-called counterreliefs Татлина«heroes» there are not valid subjects and abstract categories of theinvoice — rough, fragile, viscous, soft, sparkling, — entering among themselvesin difficult relations without means of any concrete graphic plot.
Inarchitecture we face ability of art to express, not representing, passingimitation «the life facts». In properties of a graphic surface as архитектоническогоfields are concluded the expressive possibilities not given, but set to theimage just as gravitation laws are set to movement of bodies or a rhythm, thesize, an order of rhymes are set to a verse. Research of these possibilitiesalso was that experiment which has been done by abstract art. On this way to праосновамthe art influence, hidden in the device of human memory, XX-th century artshould is inevitable to meet the art worlds where required laws ofexpressiveness there was no time are carried already out in completeness of aprinciple. New offered a hand well forgotten old — and through such contactthere have passed hardly probable not all masters of so-called avant-guard inXX-th century art.
Amongthem the outstanding place belongs to — to S.Petrov-Vodkin (1878 — 1939). Thelong way of creative formation of this master rich with difficult searchescrowns creation in 1912 of a picture «Bathing of a red horse». Thisproduct is considerable not only the internal maintenance, but also that in itmany thorny questions of art of the beginning of XX century It haveconcentrated sounds as an appeal and a question and first of all that sharpnessand expressiveness of the form recreating, a reality changing images to whichart of XX century so painfully aspired, is reached here through development oflessons of Old Russian painting. Directly declaring successive communication,this product forces to recollect simultaneously and «Abduction ofEurope» Серова at which Petrov-Vodkin studied in the Moscow school. Theimage of the horseman on a game, turning thought to folklore representations,in painful the stood movement gives rise to a question. Celebratory triumph ofcolor and sleepy bewitching rhythm of lines, a powerful horse and the youngman-teenager who has fallen asleep in not clear thought, powerlessly havinglowered reins, being given to the power of force goodness knows where attractingit, memoirs on the past and not clear presentiment of the future — suchcombination of opposite elements symbolically on the internal structure. Owingto it also was perceived by contemporaries as a symbol of the worried moment.
Evenmore consistently Petrov-Vodkin to images of Old Russian art in such works, as«Mother», «Girls on Volga» (1915), «addresses Morning.Bathers» (1917). Here echoes иконописныхimages — in fixed ™ movements, in self-immersing of characters, incontemplation by which heroines of these pictures are got are audible. InPetrov-Vodkin’s creativity value of eternal images and that towers: a dream andawakening, age steps of a life — adolescence, a youth, motherhood, lifecirculation between a birth and death — such is a circle of these that. Intreatment of a similar sort any new epoch expresses those the idealrepresentations about a place of the person in the space whole. In the artworld they play a role универсалийthe philosophical order, towering over variability of the fluid validity.Accordingly in Petrov-Vodkin’s graphic system all qualities of the worldsubject to supervision aspire to the преto efficient, absolute conditions: Color gravitates to pure, released fromatmosphere fluctuations, light has character astral «eternal light»,the horizon line reproduces curvature of a planetary surface of the earthaccording to a principle of so-called spherical prospect which all event inspace translates in a rank of the phenomena of space scale. In variety ofmodern forms of art generalization Petrov-Vodkin allocates what have theconcrete 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 whichdirectly approach to a threshold of the latest differentiation and analyticalsmashing but where the art world and a image of the world in art was stillthought and appeared as the certain integrity informing to ways of artexpression the press of the monumental greatness. As whole in feeling of auniversal link of times and the phenomena — here that thirsts for worldcontemplation to express and revive in the modern art Petrov-Vodkin. Программноappealing to associative ability of art memory, he as if urges to guess, whatshape and an image have the modern world and art feeling peculiar to it in соизмеренииwith 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 visiblemasters of the Soviet painting, having brought with itself during a new epochlive art traditions, high ideas and perfect skill.