Olga Vladimirovna Rozanova (also spelled Rosanova, Russian: Ольга Владимировна Розанова) (22 June 1886 – 7 November 1918,

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

) was a

Russian avant-garde The Russian avant-garde was a large, influential wave of avant-garde modern art that flourished in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union, approximately from 1890 to 1930—although some have placed its beginning as early as 1850 and its e ...

artist painting in the styles of

Suprematism Suprematism (russian: Супремати́зм) is an early twentieth-century art movement focused on the fundamentals of geometry (circles, squares, rectangles), painted in a limited range of colors. The term ''suprematism'' refers to an abstra ...

Neo-Primitivism Primitivism is a mode of aesthetic idealization that either emulates or aspires to recreate a "primitive" experience. It is also defined as a philosophical doctrine that considers "primitive" peoples as nobler than civilized peoples and was an o ...

, and

Cubo-Futurism Cubo-Futurism (also called Russian Futurism or Kubo-Futurizm) was an art movement that arose in early 20th century Russian Empire, defined by its amalgamation of the artistic elements found in Italian Futurism and French Analytical Cubism. Cubo ...

Biography

Early life

Olga Rozanova was born in

Melenki Melenki (russian: Меленки) is the name of several inhabited localities in Russia. Ivanovo Oblast As of 2010, one rural locality in Ivanovo Oblast bears this name: * Melenki, Ivanovo Oblast, a village in Privolzhsky District Kaluga Oblast ...

, a small town near Vladimir. Her father, Vladimir Rozanov, was a district police officer and her mother, Elizaveta Rozanova, was the daughter of an Orthodox priest. She was the family's fifth child; she had two sisters, Anna and Alevtina, and two brothers, Anatolii and Vladimir. Rozanova's father died in 1903, and her mother became the head of the household. She graduated from the Vladimir Women's Gymnasium in 1904. Due to her interest in the avant-garde movement, she moved to

to study painting.

Artistic career

After arriving in Moscow, she attended the Bolshakov Art School, where she worked under

Nikolai Ulyanov ''Nikolai Ulyanov can also refer to Vladimir Lenin'' Nikolai Pavlovich Ulyanov (russian: Николай Павлович Улья́нов, – 5 May 1949) was a Russian painter, scenic designer, and graphic artist. Gallery 1975 CPA 4490.jpg, ' ...

and sculptor Andrey Matveev. She audited courses at the Stroganov School of Applied Art in 1907 but was not accepted for admission. After this, she trained in the private studio of Konstantin Yuon. From 1907 to 1910, fellow drawing and painting students studying in these private studios included Lyubov Popova, Nadezhda Udaltsova, Aleksei Kruchenykh, and

Serge Charchoune Serge Charchoune or Sergey Sharshun (russian: Сергей Иванович Шаршун) was a Russian painter and the first Russian Dada poet. Born August 4, 1888, in Buguruslan, Russia, Charchoune lived most of his life in France where he di ...

. Unlike most of the other female avant-garde artists, Rozanova was the only one who did not study abroad to learn about European art. By 1910, she was fairly well-known in Russian art circles. She moved to St. Petersburg and joined ''

Soyuz Molodyozhi Soyuz Molodyozhi (Union of the Youth, russian: Союз молодёжи) was an artistic group and an art magazine of Russian avant-garde organized in 1910. There were more than 30 members of the group and most of other Russian avant-garde par ...

'' (Union of Youth) in 1911. She became one of the most active members of this organization, which organized art exhibitions, lectures, and discussions. Two of her canvases, ''Nature-morte'' and ''The Café'' debuted at the second ''Soyuz Molodyozhi'' exhibition in April 1911. She would submit her canvases to their group exhibitions until 1913. Razanova briefly studied at the art school of

Elizabeta Zvantseva Elizaveta Nikolaevna Zvantseva (russian: link=no, Елизавета Николаевна Званцева 18 November 1864 OS/30 November 1864 (N. S.)–22 August 1921) was a Russian painter and art instructor who founded "the most progressive ...

, which housed many Russian

art nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...

artists. In January 1912, her two works, ''Portrait'' and ''Still-Life,'' appeared at the next ''Soyuz Molodyozhi'' exhibition in January 1912. This exhibition was the first appearance of the

Donkey's Tail Donkey's Tail (, Romanized: Osliniy khvost) was a Russian artistic group created from the most radical members of the Jack of Diamonds group. The group included such painters as: Mikhail Larionov (inventor of the name), Natalia Goncharova, Kazi ...

, a Moscow-based artistic group led by

Mikhail Larionov Mikhail Fyodorovich Larionov (Russian: Михаи́л Фёдорович Ларио́нов; June 3, 1881 – May 10, 1964) was a Russian avant-garde painter who worked with radical exhibitors and pioneered the first approach to abstract Rus ...

. Rozanova later traveled to Moscow to try to establish joint projects between the two groups; these negotiations proved to be unsuccessful. ''Soyuz Molodyozhi'' disbanded in 1914. From 1913 to 1914,

Cubo-Futurist Cubo-Futurism (also called Russian Futurism or Kubo-Futurizm) was an art movement that arose in early 20th century Russian Empire, defined by its amalgamation of the artistic elements found in Italian Futurism and French Analytical Cubism. Cubo- ...

ideas appeared in her work, but she appears to have been especially inspired by

Futurism Futurism ( it, Futurismo, link=no) was an artistic and social movement that originated in Italy, and to a lesser extent in other countries, in the early 20th century. It emphasized dynamism, speed, technology, youth, violence, and objects suc ...

. Of all the Russian Cubo-Futurists, Rozanova's work most closely upholds the ideals of Italian Futurism. During

Filippo Tommaso Marinetti Filippo Tommaso Emilio Marinetti (; 22 December 1876 – 2 December 1944) was an Italian poet, editor, art theorist, and founder of the Futurist movement. He was associated with the utopian and Symbolist artistic and literary community Abbaye d ...

's visit to Russia in 1914, he was very impressed with her work. Rozanova later exhibited four works in the ''First Free International Futurist Exhibition'' in Rome, which took place from April 13 to May 25, 1914. Other Russian artists featured in the exhibition included

Alexander Archipenko Alexander Porfyrovych Archipenko (also referred to as Olexandr, Oleksandr, or Aleksandr; uk, Олександр Порфирович Архипенко, Romanized: Olexandr Porfyrovych Arkhypenko; February 25, 1964) was a Ukrainian and American ...

Nikolai Kulbin Nikolai Ivanovich Kulbin (russian: Николай Иванович Кульбин; 1868, Helsinki – 6 March 1917, Petrograd) was a Russian Futurist Futurists (also known as futurologists, prospectivists, foresight practitioners and hori ...

, and

Aleksandra Ekster Alexandra () is the feminine form of the given name Alexander (, ). Etymologically, the name is a compound of the Greek verb (; meaning 'to defend') and (; GEN , ; meaning 'man'). Thus it may be roughly translated as "defender of man" or "pr ...

. She met the poet Aleksei Kruchenykh in 1912; he then introduced her to the Russian Futurist concept of zaum (translated as "beyonsence") poetry, a language with no fixed meanings and constant neologisms, which is probably used by birds. Rozanova would write her own poetry in that style, and also illustrated books of zaum poetry, two examples being ''A Little Duck's Nest of Bad Words'' and ''Explodity'' (both 1913). With Kruchenykh, she would invent a new kind of Futurist book, the ''samopismo'', where the illustrations and the text would be literally connected. Rozanova joined the avant-garde group '' Supremus'' that year, which was led by former fellow Cubo-Futurist

Kazimir Malevich Kazimir Severinovich Malevich ; german: Kasimir Malewitsch; pl, Kazimierz Malewicz; russian: Казими́р Севери́нович Мале́вич ; uk, Казимир Северинович Малевич, translit=Kazymyr Severynovych ...

. By this time, her paintings have developed from the influences of Cubism and Futurism, and took an original departure into pure abstraction, where the composition is organized by the visual weight and relationship of color. In the same year she exhibited at the 0,10 Exhibition, and, together with other Suprematist artists (

, Nina Genke, Liubov Popova, Ksenia Boguslavskaya, Nadezhda Udaltsova, Ivan Kliun, Ivan Puni and others) worked at the

Verbovka Village Folk Centre Verbovka Village Folk Centre was an artisan cooperative in the village of Verbovka founded by Natalia Davidova in the Ukrainian province of Kiev. Natalia Davidova, one of the founders and the head of the Kiev Folk Center, was an Avant-garde art ...

. From 1917 to 1918 she created a series of non-objective paintings which she called ''tsv'etopis. Her ''Non-objective composition, 1918'' also known as ''Green stripe'' anticipates the flat picture plane and poetic nuancing of color of some

Abstract Expressionists Abstract expressionism is a post–World War II art movement in American painting, developed in New York City in the 1940s. It was the first specifically American movement to achieve international influence and put New York at the center of the ...

. Rozanova also published literary works, which included the essay ''The Bases of the New Creation and the Reasons Why it is Misunderstood''. This was written in response to critics of modern art and held that the world is a raw material - that it is the back of a mirror for the unreceptive soul and a mirror of images for the reflective soul. She maintained that the creation of pictures based on the "Abstract Principle" constitute three stages: the intuitive principle; the individual transformation of the visible; and, abstract creation. In her criticism of photography, Rozanova agreed with

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...

that photography is for the "servile artist".

Death and legacy

She died of

diphtheria Diphtheria is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Corynebacterium diphtheriae''. Most infections are asymptomatic or have a mild clinical course, but in some outbreaks more than 10% of those diagnosed with the disease may die. Signs and s ...

at the age of 32 in Moscow in 1918, following a cold she contracted while working on preparations for the first anniversary of the October Revolution. Her work is now in the collections of the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of t ...

, the

Philadelphia Museum of Art The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMoA) is an art museum originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The main museum building was completed in 1928 on Fairmount, a hill located at the northwest end of the Benjamin ...

, the

Carnegie Museum of Art The Carnegie Museum of Art, is an art museum in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Originally known as the Department of Fine Arts, Carnegie Institute and was at what is now the Main Branch of the Carnegie Library of Pittsbu ...

, and the

Harvard Art Museums The Harvard Art Museums are part of Harvard University and comprise three museums: the Fogg Museum (established in 1895), the Busch-Reisinger Museum (established in 1903), and the Arthur M. Sackler Museum (established in 1985), and four research ...

Major Works

* '' In a Cafe'' (c.1911-1912) - One of Rozanova's earlier pieces, ''In a Café'', depicts a man and a woman on opposing sides of a table, the man with his head in his hand and the women with a drink in hers. Rozanova makes use of vibrant colors and thick lines to create a piece with aspects of French avant-garde and Russian Neo-Primitivistic art. * '' The Factory and the Bridge'' (c. 1913) - ''The Factory and the Bridge'' was included in the First Free International Futurist Exhibition in 1914. This piece had inspiration from the Italian Futurism movement, and its bright colors gives it an expressionist tone. * ''Metronome'' (c. 1914) - A piece from the middle of her career, ''Metronome'' was displayed at the Last Futurist Exhibition 0,10 in Petrograd in 1915. * ''Playing Cards'' series (1915) - One of her most famous works, the series represents the height of her artistic career. It consists of portraits of her peers set as designs for playing cards.

Gallery

File:Female Portrait (Rozanova, 1907).jpeg, ''Female Portrait'' (1907) File:Jug with Flowers (Rozanova, 1911-1912).jpg, ''Jug with Flowers'' (1911-1912) File:Dissonance (Rozanova, 1913).jpg, ''Dissonance'' (1913) File:Factory and Bridge (Rozanova, 1913).jpg, ''Factory and Bridge'' (1913) File:Cityscape (Rozanova, 1914).jpg, ''Cityscape'' (1914) File:Colour Composition (Rozanova, 1914) 03.jpg, Third ''Colour Composition'' (all 1914) File:Still-life (Futurist Composition) (Rozanova, 1915).jpg, ''Still-Life (Futurist Composition)'' (1915) File:Watches and Cards (Rozanova, 1915).jpg, ''Watches and Cards'' (1915) File:Automobile (Rozanova, 1915).jpg, ''Automobile'' (1915) File:Suprematism (Rozanova, 1916 (UK)).jpg, ''Suprematism'' (1916) File:Non-Objective Composition (Suprematism) (Rozanova, 1916-1917) - anagoria.jpg, ''Non-Objective Composition'' (1917) File:Green Stripe (Rozanova, 1917 (Costakis collection)).jpg, ''Green Stripe'' (1917) File:Non-Objective Composition. Color Painting (Rozanova, 1917 (RM)).jpg, ''Non-Objective Composition'' (1917) File:Hand Fan, Design for Verbovka (Rozanova, 1917).jpeg, ''Hand Fan - Design for Verbovka'' (1917)

References

Sources

*''

'', Andrei Nakov, Art Data, 1986 *''Abstract Art'', Mel Gooding, Tate Publishing, 2001 * "Shishanov V.A.'' Vitebsk Museum of Modern Art history of creation and collection. 1918–1941. – Minsk: Medisont, 2007. – 144 p.

'
Russian Books Catalog. Vitebskii muzei sovremennogo iskusstva : istoriia sozdaniia i kollektsii, (1918--1941), Visual Arts, Belarus, Минск, Belarus, Russian
'' ;Further Reading
Olga Rozanova Paintings, Bio, IdeasRozanova, Olga
* Tedman, Gary. Soviet Avant Garde Aesthetics, chapter from Aesthetics & Alienation. pp 203–229. Zero Books. 2012. * Gur'yanova,Nina. Ol'ga Rozanova i rannii russkii avangard (Olga Rozanova and early Russian avant garde. 318 pp. Gileya, Moscow, 2002 (ISBN9785879870213)

External links

50 pictures of art-works by Olga Rozanova, on Wikiart
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rozanova, Olga 1886 births 1918 deaths 20th-century Russian painters Ukrainian painters Russian avant-garde Russian women painters Russian watercolorists Ukrainian women painters Suprematism (art movement) 20th-century Russian women artists Women watercolorists Infectious disease deaths in Russia Respiratory disease deaths in Russia Deaths from diphtheria Painters from the Russian Empire