Knave Of Diamonds (arts Association)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Knave of Diamonds (,
Romanized In linguistics, romanization is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and transcription, ...
: Bubnovyi Valet), also called Jack Of Diamonds, was a circle of
avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...
artists in Russia, heavily influenced by French styles, who sought "to unite the stylistic system of Cezanne with the primitive traditions of folk art, the Russian ''lubok'' (popular prints) and tradesman's signs." Named for the eponymous exhibition held in
Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
in 1910, the group's intention was to provoke the art establishment in Russia, challenge "good taste," and shock. The group remained active until December 1917.


Inception: The ''Knave of Diamonds'' First Exhibition, Moscow, 1910

The inaugural ''Knave of Diamonds'' exhibition opened in Moscow in Levisson Building on 10 December 1910, and ran through to January 16, 1911, and included works by thirty eight artists. The exhibition featured
French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...
cubist Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement which began in Paris. It revolutionized painting and the visual arts, and sparked artistic innovations in music, ballet, literature, and architecture. Cubist subjects are analyzed, broke ...
paintings by
Henri Le Fauconnier Henri Victor Gabriel Le Fauconnier (; July 5, 1881 – December 25, 1946) was a French Cubist painter born in Hesdin. Le Fauconnier was seen as one of the leading figures among the Montparnasse Cubists. At the 1911 Salon des Indépendants Le ...
,
André Lhote André Lhote (5 July 1885 – 24 January 1962) was a French Cubist painter of figure subjects, portraits, landscapes, and still life. He was also active and influential as a teacher and writer on art. Early life and education Lhote was bor ...
,
Albert Gleizes Albert Gleizes (; 8 December 1881 – 23 June 1953) was a French artist, theoretician, philosopher, a self-proclaimed founder of Cubism and an influence on the School of Paris. Albert Gleizes and Jean Metzinger wrote the first major treatise on ...
,
Jean Metzinger Jean Dominique Antony Metzinger (; 24 June 1883 – 3 November 1956) was a major 20th-century French painter, theorist, writer, critic and poet, who along with Albert Gleizes wrote the first theoretical work on Cubism. His earliest works, from 1 ...
and
Luc Albert Moreau Luc Albert Moreau (9 December 1882 – 25 April 1948) was a French painter. In 1910-1911, participated in the first inaugural exhibition of Knave of Diamonds in Moscow with 3 canvases (''Groupe'', ''Tête'', ''Paysage''). His work was part ...
. Curated by
Alexandre Mercereau Alexandre Mercereau (22 October 1888 – 1945) was a French symbolist poet and critic associated with Unanimism and the Abbaye de Créteil. He founded the Villa Médicis Libre, which helped impoverished artists and operated as charitable reforma ...
,Camilla Gray, ''L'Avant-garde russe dans l'art moderne, 1863-1922'', Édition Thames et Hudson 2003 p. 122, the exhibition additionally included works by Russian-German expressionists from
Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
Wassily Kandinsky Wassily Wassilyevich Kandinsky ( – 13 December 1944) was a Russian painter and art theorist. Kandinsky is generally credited as one of the pioneers of abstract art, abstraction in western art. Born in Moscow, he spent his childhood in ...
and his partner Gabrielle Munter, Alexey von Jawlensky and
Marianne von Werefkin Marianne von Werefkin (born Marianna Vladimirovna Veryovkina; , ; – 6 February 1938) was a Russian artist, whose work is celebrated as a central part of German Expressionism. Life and career In Russia 1860–1896 Werefkin was born to ...
, Germans (including
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (6 May 1880 – 15 June 1938) was a German Expressionism, expressionist Painting, painter and printmaker and one of the founders of the artists group Die Brücke or "The Bridge", a key group leading to the foundation of Expr ...
,
Otto Mueller Otto Melller (16 October 1874 – 24 September 1930) was a German painter and printmaker of the Die Brücke expressionist movement. Life and work Mueller was born in Liebau (now Lubawka, Kamienna Góra County), Kreis Landeshut, Silesia. ...
,
Alexander Kanoldt Alexander Kanoldt (29 September 1881 – 24 January 1939) was a German Magic realism, magic realist painter and one of the artists of the New Objectivity. Early life and education Alexander Kanoldt was born on 29 September 1881 in Karlsruhe i ...
, Adolf Erbslöh, Italian Erma Bossi, the Dutch from Paris (including
Kees van Dongen Cornelis Theodorus Maria "Kees" van Dongen (26 January 1877 – 28 May 1968) was a Dutch-French painter who was one of the leading Fauves. Van Dongen's early work was influenced by the Hague School and symbolism and it evolved gradually into a ...
), Russian-French
Léopold Survage Léopold Frédéric Léopoldowitsch Survage (; 31 July 1879 – 31 October 1968) was a Russian-French painter of Finnish origin. Trained in Moscow, he identified with the Russian avant-garde before moving to Paris, where he shared a studio with A ...
and Russian artists active in the Moscow scene, including the group of young artists recently expelled from the
Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture The Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture (), also known by the acronym MUZHVZ, was one of the largest educational institutions in Russia. The school was formed by the 1865 merger of a private art college, established in Moscow ...
due to their "leftist tendencies". A stated objective of the exhibition was "to offer young Russian artists who find it extremely difficult to get accepted for exhibitions under the existing indolence and cliquishness of our artistic spheres, the chance to get onto the main road." But exhibition's name itself, coined by
Mikhail Larionov Mikhail Fyodorovich Larionov (; – May 10, 1964) was a Russian avant-garde painter who worked with radical exhibitors and pioneered the first approach to abstract Russian art. He was founding member of two important artistic groups Knave ...
because "he liked the sound of it." was itself a salvo at the exhibition-attending public of the period. While one contemporary account blandly concluded: "Organizers regard the title Knave of Diamonds as a symbol of young enthusiasm and passion, 'for the knave implies youth and the suit of diamonds represents seething blood,'" the public itself understood the symbolism to trend in a different direction: "unaccustomed to such novel titles," they assumed the show to be "a gambling house or brothel," and "in no way an art exhibition." The reviews that followed were commensurately critical. The Moscow painters, admirers of modern French artistic styles and frequent visitors to collectors
Sergei Shchukin Sergei Ivanovich Shchukin (; 10 January 1936) was a Russian businessman who became an art collector, mainly of French Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art. Early life and family Sergei Ivanovich Shchukin was born on in Moscow, one of ten c ...
's and his rival Ivan Morozov's houses (from 1909, Shchukin's mansion was open every afternoon Sunday for public viewing) where they could admire canvases by Cézanne, Henri Matisse, Van Gogh, Gauguin and Pablo Picasso, included
Mikhail Larionov Mikhail Fyodorovich Larionov (; – May 10, 1964) was a Russian avant-garde painter who worked with radical exhibitors and pioneered the first approach to abstract Russian art. He was founding member of two important artistic groups Knave ...
and his wife Natalya Goncharova,
Pyotr Konchalovsky Pyotr or Petr Petrovich Konchalovsky (; 21 February 1876 – 2 February 1956) was a Russian and Soviet painter. He was a founding member and Chairman of the Knave of Diamonds group. Biography Early life Pyotr Konchalovsky was born in the vi ...
,
Aristarkh Lentulov Aristarkh Vasilyevich Lentulov (; 15 April 1943) was a major Russian avant-garde artist of Cubist orientation who also worked on set designs for the theatre. Biography Aristarkh Lentulov was born in the town of Nizhny Lomov in Penza Gover ...
,
Ilya Mashkov Ilya Ivanovich Mashkov (; – 20 March 1944) was a Russian artist, one of the most significant and at the same time most characteristic painters of the circle of " Jack of Diamonds" (). Biography He was born in the cossack village Mikhailovska ...
,
Aleksandr Kuprin Aleksandr Ivanovich Kuprin (;  – 25 August 1938) was a Russian writer best known for his novels ''The Duel'' (1905)Kuprin scholar Nicholas Luker, in his biography ''Alexander Kuprin'', calls ''The Duel'' his "greatest masterpiece" (ch ...
, Vasily Rozhdestvensky,
Robert Falk Robert Rafailovich Falk (, October 15, 1886 – October 1, 1958) was a Russian and Soviet avant-garde painter. Biography Falk was born in Moscow in 1886. In 1903 to 1904 he studied art in the studios of Konstantin Yuon and Ilya Mashkov, in 1905 ...
,
David Burlyuk David Davidovich Burliuk (; 21 July 1882 – 15 January 1967) was a Russian poet, artist and publicist of Ukrainian origin associated with the Futurist and Neo-Primitivist movements. Burliuk has been described as "the father of Russian Futurism ...
and his brother
Vladimir Burlyuk Vladimir Davydovych Burliuk (; ; – 1917) was a Ukrainian avant-garde artist (Neo-Primitivist and Cubo-Futurist) and book illustrator from the Russian empire. He died at the age of 32 in 1917 in World War I. Biography Vladimir Davydovych Burli ...
, Alexey Morgunov,
Artur Fonvizin Artur Vladimirovich Fonvizin (, from ; 11 January 1883 – 19 August 1973) was a Soviet painter of watercolours. Biography Artur Fonvizin was born on 11 January 1883 in Riga, Governorate of Livonia, Russian Empire (now Latvia), the son of ...
, Boris Takke, Sergei Lobanov and Victor Savinkov, brother of revolutionary
Boris Savinkov Boris Viktorovich Savinkov (; 31 January 1879 – 7 May 1925) was a Russian revolutionary, writer, and politician. As a leading figure in the Socialist Revolutionary Party's (SR) Combat Organization in the early 20th century, he was a key organ ...
.
Kazimir Malevich Kazimir Severinovich Malevich (
and
Alexandra Exter Aleksandra Aleksandrovna Ekster (née Grigorovich; ; ; 18 January 1882 – 17 March 1949), also known as Alexandra Exter, was a Russian and French painter and designer. As a young woman, her studio in Kiev attracted all the city's creative lum ...
also participated in the first exhibition.


Notable members and associates

The group was founded by
Pyotr Konchalovsky Pyotr or Petr Petrovich Konchalovsky (; 21 February 1876 – 2 February 1956) was a Russian and Soviet painter. He was a founding member and Chairman of the Knave of Diamonds group. Biography Early life Pyotr Konchalovsky was born in the vi ...
(elected Chairman),
Aristarkh Lentulov Aristarkh Vasilyevich Lentulov (; 15 April 1943) was a major Russian avant-garde artist of Cubist orientation who also worked on set designs for the theatre. Biography Aristarkh Lentulov was born in the town of Nizhny Lomov in Penza Gover ...
(founding member, ensured funding for the first exhibition through his rich father-in-law Pyotr Rukin and his merchant colleagues from Nizhny Novgorod),
Mikhail Larionov Mikhail Fyodorovich Larionov (; – May 10, 1964) was a Russian avant-garde painter who worked with radical exhibitors and pioneered the first approach to abstract Russian art. He was founding member of two important artistic groups Knave ...
and Natalya Goncharova,
Ilya Mashkov Ilya Ivanovich Mashkov (; – 20 March 1944) was a Russian artist, one of the most significant and at the same time most characteristic painters of the circle of " Jack of Diamonds" (). Biography He was born in the cossack village Mikhailovska ...
(elected secretary),
Aleksandr Kuprin Aleksandr Ivanovich Kuprin (;  – 25 August 1938) was a Russian writer best known for his novels ''The Duel'' (1905)Kuprin scholar Nicholas Luker, in his biography ''Alexander Kuprin'', calls ''The Duel'' his "greatest masterpiece" (ch ...
(elected treasurer), Vasily Rozhdestvensky (founding board member), and included
Robert Falk Robert Rafailovich Falk (, October 15, 1886 – October 1, 1958) was a Russian and Soviet avant-garde painter. Biography Falk was born in Moscow in 1886. In 1903 to 1904 he studied art in the studios of Konstantin Yuon and Ilya Mashkov, in 1905 ...
,
David Burliuk David Davidovich Burliuk (; 21 July 1882 – 15 January 1967) was a Russian poet, artist and publicist of Ukrainian origin associated with the Futurism (art), Futurist and Neo-Primitivist movements. Burliuk has been described as "the father of ...
,
Wladimir Burliuk Vladimir Davydovych Burliuk (; ; – 1917) was a Ukrainian avant-garde artist ( Neo-Primitivist and Cubo-Futurist) and book illustrator from the Russian empire. He died at the age of 32 in 1917 in World War I. Biography Vladimir Davydovych Bur ...
,
Vasily Kamensky Vasily Vasilyevich Kamensky (; – November 11, 1961) was a Russian Futurism, Russian Futurist poet, playwright, and artist as well as one of the first Russian Aircraft pilot, aviators. Biography Kamensky was born in Perm, Russia, Perm, whe ...
,
Velimir Khlebnikov Viktor Vladimirovich Khlebnikov, better known by the pen name ( rus, Велими́р Хле́бников, p=vʲɪlʲɪˈmʲir ˈxlʲɛbnʲɪkəf; – 28 June 1922), was a Russian poet and playwright, a central part of the Russian Futurist ...
,
Kazimir Malevich Kazimir Severinovich Malevich (
,
Alexander Osmerkin Alexander Alexandrovich Osmerkin (; – 25 June 1953) was a Russian painter, graphic artist, stage designer, and art teacher. He was a member of the Knave of Diamonds avant-garde group, AKhRR, and ''Society of Moscow Artists'' (OMKh) groups. ...
, Alexander Shevchenko,
Aleksey Kruchenykh Aleksei Yeliseyevich Kruchyonykh (; 9 February 1886 – 17 June 1968). Original name at birth ( Ukrainian: Олексій Єлисейович Кручений) also romanized Kruchenykh due to confusion about , was a poet, artist, and theo ...
,
Adolf Milman Adolf Izrailevich Milman () (born c. 1886 in Kishinev (Russian Empire); died 15 January 1930 in Paris) was a Russian and France, French painter. Biography Milman was born into a large Jewish family in Kishinev, where he studied at a commercia ...
,
Lyubov Popova Lyubov Sergeyevna Popova (; April 24, 1889 – May 25, 1924) was a Russian-Soviet avant-garde artist, Painting, painter and designer. Early life Popova was born in Ivanovskoye District, Ivanovskoe, near Moscow, to the wealthy family of Sergei ...
,
Vladimir Mayakovsky Vladimir Vladimirovich Mayakovsky ( – 14 April 1930) was a Russian poet, playwright, artist, and actor. During his early, Russian Revolution, pre-Revolution period leading into 1917, Mayakovsky became renowned as a prominent figure of the Ru ...
,
Antonina Fedorovna Sofronova Antonina Fedorovna Sofronova (14 March 1892 – 14 May 1966) was a Russian artist and illustrator. Biography Sofronova was born in Droskovo, Oryol Governorate. She went to the Girls' Commercial College in Kyiv, finishing in 1909 when she moved ...
, and
Moisey Feigin Moses (Moisey) Aleksandrovich Feigin (; 23 October 1904 – 26 April 2008) was a Soviet and Russian artist of Jewish descent. Feigin held the Guinness World Records, Guinness World Record for the world's oldest professional working artist until ...
. Their works demonstrate the artists’ interest in the developing of the new styles (Russian Primitivism, Russian Cezanneism, Moscow School of Neo-Primitivism, among others) that emerged around their first exhibition as a result of their integrating folk art of the provinces in the artworks. Other new styles and genres, such as performance and body-art, emerged from this unlikely blending of fine European art, Russian folk art, and urban folk of the masses in Russia. The artistic significance of the individual members of The Knave of Diamonds aside, their activities conditioned a qualitative shift in Russian art of the 1910s. Among the most important changes was the democratization of the art society in Russia.


Moscow's Fractious Avante-Garde

The show's title was subsequently adopted to form a new artistic association in Moscow, an association which soon became the largest and one of the most significant exhibition societies. This group of artists contended that Moscow would be the future of the contemporary art scene, with its artists revitalizing depleted Western European culture with the purity and vitality of their work. With a nod to
Dadaist Dada () or Dadaism was an anti-establishment art movement that developed in 1915 in the context of the Great War and the earlier anti-art movement. Early centers for dadaism included Zürich and Berlin. Within a few years, the movement had s ...
ideas, the group as a whole paid close attention to traditionally crafted toys, indigenous art forms, signboards, and even icons. The
lubok A ''lubok'' (plural ''lubki''; ) is a Russian popular print, characterized by simple graphics and narratives derived from literature, religious stories, and popular tales. ''Lubki'' prints were used as decoration in houses and inns. Early exampl ...
print style was exalted, and folklore motifs embraced. "The Russian artists were following the paths that Gauguin, Matisse and Picasso had gone down in discovering the primitives of Africa and Oceania, with the only difference that they did not need to go far away to find inspiration but got it at home - in shop signs, in tin-ware or the works of other non-professional folk artisans." In 1912, the more radical members of the group, including Mikhail Larionov and Goncharova, split to form 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, Kazim ...
.


Exhibitions

* Knave of Diamonds (10 Dec 1910 — 16 Jan 1911) at Levisson house, Bolshaya Dmitrovka Street, Moscow * Knave of Diamonds (23 (or 25) Jan — 26 Feb 1912) at Moscow Military District Economic Society of Officers, 10 Vozdvizhenka str., Moscow * Knave of Diamonds (7 Feb — 7 Mar 1913) at Levisson house, Bolshaya Dmitrovka Street, Moscow, 3 – 28 April, St. Petersburg * Knave of Diamonds (5 Feb — 2 Mar 1914) at Society of Lovers of Art, Moscow * Artists of Moscow for Victims of the War (6 Dec 1915 — 18 Jan 1916) * Knave of Diamonds (6 Nov — 19 Dec 1916) at Kira Mikhailova Art Salon, Bolshaya Dmitrovka Street, Moscow * Knave of Diamonds (21 Nov — 3 Dec 1917) at Kira Mikhailova Art Salon, Bolshaya Dmitrovka Street, Moscow * Vystavka proizvedenii khudozhnikov gruppy 'Bubnovyi valet' nave of Diamond Retrospective (1927)Moscow


The Second Exhibition (1912)

The Second Exhibition (23 Jan — 26 Feb 1912) at Moscow Military District Economic Society of Officers, 10 Vozdvizhenka str., Moscow included the French
Pablo Picasso Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...
,
Albert Gleizes Albert Gleizes (; 8 December 1881 – 23 June 1953) was a French artist, theoretician, philosopher, a self-proclaimed founder of Cubism and an influence on the School of Paris. Albert Gleizes and Jean Metzinger wrote the first major treatise on ...
,
André Derain André Derain (, ; 10 June 1880 – 8 September 1954) was a French artist, painter, sculptor and co-founder of Fauvism with Henri Matisse. In 2025, all of Derain’s work entered the public domain in the United States. Life and career Early ...
,
Robert Delaunay Robert Delaunay (; 12 April 1885 – 25 October 1941) was a French artist of the School of Paris movement; who, with his wife Sonia Delaunay and others, co-founded the Orphism (art), Orphism art movement, noted for its use of strong colours and g ...
,
Charles Camoin Charles Camoin (; 23 September 1879 – 20 May 1965) was a French expressionist landscape painter associated with the Fauves. ''Les Fauves: A Sourcebook'', by Russell T. Clement, p. 2, web: -->&lpg=PA2 Google Books History Born in Marsei ...
, Fernand Leger,
Henri Le Fauconnier Henri Victor Gabriel Le Fauconnier (; July 5, 1881 – December 25, 1946) was a French Cubist painter born in Hesdin. Le Fauconnier was seen as one of the leading figures among the Montparnasse Cubists. At the 1911 Salon des Indépendants Le ...
,
Henri Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual arts, visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a drawing, draughtsman, printmaking, printmaker, ...
,
Othon Friesz Achille-Émile Othon Friesz (6 February 1879 – 10 January 1949), who later called himself Othon Friesz, a native of Le Havre, was a French artist of the Fauvist movement. Biography Othon Friesz was born in Le Havre, the son of a long line of ...
, German
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (6 May 1880 – 15 June 1938) was a German Expressionism, expressionist Painting, painter and printmaker and one of the founders of the artists group Die Brücke or "The Bridge", a key group leading to the foundation of Expr ...
,
August Macke August Robert Ludwig Macke (3 January 1887 – 26 September 1914) was a German Expressionist painter. He was one of the leading members of the German Expressionist group Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider). He lived during a particularly activ ...
,
Franz Marc Franz Moritz Wilhelm Marc (8 February 1880 – 4 March 1916) was a German painter and printmaking, printmaker, one of the key figures of German Expressionism. He was a founding member of ''Der Blaue Reiter'' (The Blue Rider), a journal whose ...
,
Otto Mueller Otto Melller (16 October 1874 – 24 September 1930) was a German painter and printmaker of the Die Brücke expressionist movement. Life and work Mueller was born in Liebau (now Lubawka, Kamienna Góra County), Kreis Landeshut, Silesia. ...
, Max Pechstein, Heinrich Nauen,
Erich Heckel Erich Heckel (31 July 1883 – 27 January 1970) was a German people, German Painting, painter and printmaker, and a founding member of the group ''Die Brücke'' ("The Bridge") which existed 1905–1913. His work was part of the art competition ...
and
Wassily Kandinsky Wassily Wassilyevich Kandinsky ( – 13 December 1944) was a Russian painter and art theorist. Kandinsky is generally credited as one of the pioneers of abstract art, abstraction in western art. Born in Moscow, he spent his childhood in ...
with Gabrielle Munter,
Kees van Dongen Cornelis Theodorus Maria "Kees" van Dongen (26 January 1877 – 28 May 1968) was a Dutch-French painter who was one of the leading Fauves. Van Dongen's early work was influenced by the Hague School and symbolism and it evolved gradually into a ...
, Norwegian Xan Krohn, Russians
Alexandra Exter Aleksandra Aleksandrovna Ekster (née Grigorovich; ; ; 18 January 1882 – 17 March 1949), also known as Alexandra Exter, was a Russian and French painter and designer. As a young woman, her studio in Kiev attracted all the city's creative lum ...
,
Pyotr Konchalovsky Pyotr or Petr Petrovich Konchalovsky (; 21 February 1876 – 2 February 1956) was a Russian and Soviet painter. He was a founding member and Chairman of the Knave of Diamonds group. Biography Early life Pyotr Konchalovsky was born in the vi ...
, Nikolai Kulbin,
Aleksandr Kuprin Aleksandr Ivanovich Kuprin (;  – 25 August 1938) was a Russian writer best known for his novels ''The Duel'' (1905)Kuprin scholar Nicholas Luker, in his biography ''Alexander Kuprin'', calls ''The Duel'' his "greatest masterpiece" (ch ...
,
Aristarkh Lentulov Aristarkh Vasilyevich Lentulov (; 15 April 1943) was a major Russian avant-garde artist of Cubist orientation who also worked on set designs for the theatre. Biography Aristarkh Lentulov was born in the town of Nizhny Lomov in Penza Gover ...
,
Ilya Mashkov Ilya Ivanovich Mashkov (; – 20 March 1944) was a Russian artist, one of the most significant and at the same time most characteristic painters of the circle of " Jack of Diamonds" (). Biography He was born in the cossack village Mikhailovska ...
,
Adolf Milman Adolf Izrailevich Milman () (born c. 1886 in Kishinev (Russian Empire); died 15 January 1930 in Paris) was a Russian and France, French painter. Biography Milman was born into a large Jewish family in Kishinev, where he studied at a commercia ...
,
Robert Falk Robert Rafailovich Falk (, October 15, 1886 – October 1, 1958) was a Russian and Soviet avant-garde painter. Biography Falk was born in Moscow in 1886. In 1903 to 1904 he studied art in the studios of Konstantin Yuon and Ilya Mashkov, in 1905 ...
, Victor Savinkov,
David Burlyuk David Davidovich Burliuk (; 21 July 1882 – 15 January 1967) was a Russian poet, artist and publicist of Ukrainian origin associated with the Futurist and Neo-Primitivist movements. Burliuk has been described as "the father of Russian Futurism ...
and his brother
Vladimir Burlyuk Vladimir Davydovych Burliuk (; ; – 1917) was a Ukrainian avant-garde artist (Neo-Primitivist and Cubo-Futurist) and book illustrator from the Russian empire. He died at the age of 32 in 1917 in World War I. Biography Vladimir Davydovych Burli ...
, Alexis Gritchenko.


The Third Exhibition (1913)

The Third Exhibition (7 Feb — 7 Mar 1913) at Levisson house, Moscow, and 3 – 28 April, St. Petersburg included the French
Pablo Picasso Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...
and
Georges Braque Georges Braque ( ; ; 13 May 1882 – 31 August 1963) was a major 20th-century List of French artists, French painter, Collage, collagist, Drawing, draughtsman, printmaker and sculptor. His most notable contributions were in his alliance with ...
,
Henri Rousseau Henri Julien Félix Rousseau (; 21 May 1844 – 2 September 1910)
at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, Gug ...
,
Maurice de Vlaminck Maurice de Vlaminck (; 4 April 1876 - 11 October 1958) was a French painter. Along with André Derain and Henri Matisse, he is considered one of the principal figures in the Fauve movement, a group of modern artists who from 1904 to 1908 were ...
,
André Derain André Derain (, ; 10 June 1880 – 8 September 1954) was a French artist, painter, sculptor and co-founder of Fauvism with Henri Matisse. In 2025, all of Derain’s work entered the public domain in the United States. Life and career Early ...
,
Henri Le Fauconnier Henri Victor Gabriel Le Fauconnier (; July 5, 1881 – December 25, 1946) was a French Cubist painter born in Hesdin. Le Fauconnier was seen as one of the leading figures among the Montparnasse Cubists. At the 1911 Salon des Indépendants Le ...
,
Paul Signac Paul Victor Jules Signac ( , ; 11 November 1863 – 15 August 1935) was a French Neo-Impressionist painter who, with Georges Seurat, helped develop the artistic technique Pointillism. Biography Paul-Victor-Jules Signac was born in Paris on ...
,
Albert Marquet Albert Marquet (; 27 March 1875 – 14 June 1947) was a French painter. He initially became one of the Fauve painters and a lifelong friend of Henri Matisse. Marquet subsequently painted in a more naturalistic style, primarily landscapes, bu ...
, Swiss-French
Félix Vallotton Félix Édouard Vallotton (; December 28, 1865December 29, 1925) was a Swiss and French painter and printmaker associated with the group of artists known as '. He was an important figure in the development of the modern woodcut. He painted portra ...
, Latvian-French Frédéric Fiebig, Dutch
Kees van Dongen Cornelis Theodorus Maria "Kees" van Dongen (26 January 1877 – 28 May 1968) was a Dutch-French painter who was one of the leading Fauves. Van Dongen's early work was influenced by the Hague School and symbolism and it evolved gradually into a ...
,
Conrad Kickert Conrad may refer to: People * Conrad (name) * Saint Conrad (disambiguation) Places United States * Conrad, Illinois, an unincorporated community * Conrad, Iowa, a city * Conrad, Montana, a city * Conrad Glacier, Washington Elsewher ...
, Lodewijk Schelfhout, Czech
Otakar Kubín Otakar Kubín (; 22 October 1883 – 17 October 1969) was a Czech painter and sculptor. Biography Kubín was born in Boskovice, Moravia, Austria-Hungary. His works are mainly associated with Impressionism. He was influenced by such artists as V ...
, Russians
Alexandra Exter Aleksandra Aleksandrovna Ekster (née Grigorovich; ; ; 18 January 1882 – 17 March 1949), also known as Alexandra Exter, was a Russian and French painter and designer. As a young woman, her studio in Kiev attracted all the city's creative lum ...
,
Pyotr Konchalovsky Pyotr or Petr Petrovich Konchalovsky (; 21 February 1876 – 2 February 1956) was a Russian and Soviet painter. He was a founding member and Chairman of the Knave of Diamonds group. Biography Early life Pyotr Konchalovsky was born in the vi ...
,
Ilya Mashkov Ilya Ivanovich Mashkov (; – 20 March 1944) was a Russian artist, one of the most significant and at the same time most characteristic painters of the circle of " Jack of Diamonds" (). Biography He was born in the cossack village Mikhailovska ...
,
Aleksandr Kuprin Aleksandr Ivanovich Kuprin (;  – 25 August 1938) was a Russian writer best known for his novels ''The Duel'' (1905)Kuprin scholar Nicholas Luker, in his biography ''Alexander Kuprin'', calls ''The Duel'' his "greatest masterpiece" (ch ...
,
Aristarkh Lentulov Aristarkh Vasilyevich Lentulov (; 15 April 1943) was a major Russian avant-garde artist of Cubist orientation who also worked on set designs for the theatre. Biography Aristarkh Lentulov was born in the town of Nizhny Lomov in Penza Gover ...
,
Adolf Milman Adolf Izrailevich Milman () (born c. 1886 in Kishinev (Russian Empire); died 15 January 1930 in Paris) was a Russian and France, French painter. Biography Milman was born into a large Jewish family in Kishinev, where he studied at a commercia ...
, Vasily Rozhdestvensky,
Vladimir Tatlin Vladimir Yevgrafovich Tatlin (; ; – 31 May 1953) was a Russian and Soviet painter, architect, and stage-designer. Tatlin achieved fame as the architect who designed The Monument to the Third International, more commonly known as Tatlin's Tower, ...
,
Robert Falk Robert Rafailovich Falk (, October 15, 1886 – October 1, 1958) was a Russian and Soviet avant-garde painter. Biography Falk was born in Moscow in 1886. In 1903 to 1904 he studied art in the studios of Konstantin Yuon and Ilya Mashkov, in 1905 ...
, Victor Savinkov,
David Burlyuk David Davidovich Burliuk (; 21 July 1882 – 15 January 1967) was a Russian poet, artist and publicist of Ukrainian origin associated with the Futurist and Neo-Primitivist movements. Burliuk has been described as "the father of Russian Futurism ...
and his brother
Vladimir Burlyuk Vladimir Davydovych Burliuk (; ; – 1917) was a Ukrainian avant-garde artist (Neo-Primitivist and Cubo-Futurist) and book illustrator from the Russian empire. He died at the age of 32 in 1917 in World War I. Biography Vladimir Davydovych Burli ...
, Alexis Gritchenko.


The Fourth Exhibition (1914)

The Fourth Exhibition (5 Feb — 2 Mar 1914) at Society of Lovers of Art, Moscow included the French
Pablo Picasso Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...
and
Georges Braque Georges Braque ( ; ; 13 May 1882 – 31 August 1963) was a major 20th-century List of French artists, French painter, Collage, collagist, Drawing, draughtsman, printmaker and sculptor. His most notable contributions were in his alliance with ...
,
Maurice de Vlaminck Maurice de Vlaminck (; 4 April 1876 - 11 October 1958) was a French painter. Along with André Derain and Henri Matisse, he is considered one of the principal figures in the Fauve movement, a group of modern artists who from 1904 to 1908 were ...
,
André Derain André Derain (, ; 10 June 1880 – 8 September 1954) was a French artist, painter, sculptor and co-founder of Fauvism with Henri Matisse. In 2025, all of Derain’s work entered the public domain in the United States. Life and career Early ...
,
Henri Le Fauconnier Henri Victor Gabriel Le Fauconnier (; July 5, 1881 – December 25, 1946) was a French Cubist painter born in Hesdin. Le Fauconnier was seen as one of the leading figures among the Montparnasse Cubists. At the 1911 Salon des Indépendants Le ...
, Dutch
Conrad Kickert Conrad may refer to: People * Conrad (name) * Saint Conrad (disambiguation) Places United States * Conrad, Illinois, an unincorporated community * Conrad, Iowa, a city * Conrad, Montana, a city * Conrad Glacier, Washington Elsewher ...
, Lodewijk Schelfhout, Russians
Alexandra Exter Aleksandra Aleksandrovna Ekster (née Grigorovich; ; ; 18 January 1882 – 17 March 1949), also known as Alexandra Exter, was a Russian and French painter and designer. As a young woman, her studio in Kiev attracted all the city's creative lum ...
,
Kazimir Malevich Kazimir Severinovich Malevich (
,
Lyubov Popova Lyubov Sergeyevna Popova (; April 24, 1889 – May 25, 1924) was a Russian-Soviet avant-garde artist, Painting, painter and designer. Early life Popova was born in Ivanovskoye District, Ivanovskoe, near Moscow, to the wealthy family of Sergei ...
,
Nadezhda Udaltsova Nadezhda Andreevna Udaltsova (, 29 December 1885 – 25 January 1961) was a Russian avant-garde artist ( Cubist, Suprematist), painter and teacher. Early life and education Nadezhda Udaltsova was born in the city of Orel, Russia, on 29 Decembe ...
,
Pyotr Konchalovsky Pyotr or Petr Petrovich Konchalovsky (; 21 February 1876 – 2 February 1956) was a Russian and Soviet painter. He was a founding member and Chairman of the Knave of Diamonds group. Biography Early life Pyotr Konchalovsky was born in the vi ...
,
Ilya Mashkov Ilya Ivanovich Mashkov (; – 20 March 1944) was a Russian artist, one of the most significant and at the same time most characteristic painters of the circle of " Jack of Diamonds" (). Biography He was born in the cossack village Mikhailovska ...
,
Aleksandr Kuprin Aleksandr Ivanovich Kuprin (;  – 25 August 1938) was a Russian writer best known for his novels ''The Duel'' (1905)Kuprin scholar Nicholas Luker, in his biography ''Alexander Kuprin'', calls ''The Duel'' his "greatest masterpiece" (ch ...
,
Aristarkh Lentulov Aristarkh Vasilyevich Lentulov (; 15 April 1943) was a major Russian avant-garde artist of Cubist orientation who also worked on set designs for the theatre. Biography Aristarkh Lentulov was born in the town of Nizhny Lomov in Penza Gover ...
,
Adolf Milman Adolf Izrailevich Milman () (born c. 1886 in Kishinev (Russian Empire); died 15 January 1930 in Paris) was a Russian and France, French painter. Biography Milman was born into a large Jewish family in Kishinev, where he studied at a commercia ...
, Vasily Rozhdestvensky,
Robert Falk Robert Rafailovich Falk (, October 15, 1886 – October 1, 1958) was a Russian and Soviet avant-garde painter. Biography Falk was born in Moscow in 1886. In 1903 to 1904 he studied art in the studios of Konstantin Yuon and Ilya Mashkov, in 1905 ...
, Victor Savinkov,
David Burlyuk David Davidovich Burliuk (; 21 July 1882 – 15 January 1967) was a Russian poet, artist and publicist of Ukrainian origin associated with the Futurist and Neo-Primitivist movements. Burliuk has been described as "the father of Russian Futurism ...
and his brother
Vladimir Burlyuk Vladimir Davydovych Burliuk (; ; – 1917) was a Ukrainian avant-garde artist (Neo-Primitivist and Cubo-Futurist) and book illustrator from the Russian empire. He died at the age of 32 in 1917 in World War I. Biography Vladimir Davydovych Burli ...
.


The Fifth Exhibition (1916)

The Fifth Exhibition (6 Nov — 19 Dec 1916) at Kira Mikhailova Art Salon, Bolshaya Dmitrovka Street, Moscow due to the 1WW could not show the works of the foreigners (save for Norwegian Xan Krohn) and included only the Russians
Alexandra Exter Aleksandra Aleksandrovna Ekster (née Grigorovich; ; ; 18 January 1882 – 17 March 1949), also known as Alexandra Exter, was a Russian and French painter and designer. As a young woman, her studio in Kiev attracted all the city's creative lum ...
,
Kazimir Malevich Kazimir Severinovich Malevich (
, Ivan Kljun,
Lyubov Popova Lyubov Sergeyevna Popova (; April 24, 1889 – May 25, 1924) was a Russian-Soviet avant-garde artist, Painting, painter and designer. Early life Popova was born in Ivanovskoye District, Ivanovskoe, near Moscow, to the wealthy family of Sergei ...
,
Nadezhda Udaltsova Nadezhda Andreevna Udaltsova (, 29 December 1885 – 25 January 1961) was a Russian avant-garde artist ( Cubist, Suprematist), painter and teacher. Early life and education Nadezhda Udaltsova was born in the city of Orel, Russia, on 29 Decembe ...
,
Olga Rozanova Olga Vladimirovna Rozanova (also spelled Rosanova, Russian: Ольга Владимировна Розанова) (22 June 1886 – 7 November 1918, Moscow) was a Russian avant-garde artist painting in the styles of Suprematism, Neo-Primitivis ...
,
Ivan Puni Ivan Albertovich Puni (; also known as Jean Pougny; – 28 December 1956) was a Russian avant-garde (Suprematist, Cubo-Futurist) and French artist, who intensively changed his style until it went into lyric Primitivism in the direction of Pierre ...
, Xenia Boguslavskaya,
Marc Chagall Marc Chagall (born Moishe Shagal; – 28 March 1985) was a Russian and French artist. An early modernism, modernist, he was associated with the School of Paris, École de Paris, as well as several major art movement, artistic styles and created ...
,
Nathan Altman Nathan Isaevich Altman (; ; – 12 December 1970) was a Russian avant-garde artist, stage designer and book illustrator. Born in Vinnytsia (now Ukraine), he worked in Russia, France, and the Soviet Union. His works combine elements of Cubo-Futur ...
, Vera Pestel,
Pyotr Konchalovsky Pyotr or Petr Petrovich Konchalovsky (; 21 February 1876 – 2 February 1956) was a Russian and Soviet painter. He was a founding member and Chairman of the Knave of Diamonds group. Biography Early life Pyotr Konchalovsky was born in the vi ...
,
Aleksandr Kuprin Aleksandr Ivanovich Kuprin (;  – 25 August 1938) was a Russian writer best known for his novels ''The Duel'' (1905)Kuprin scholar Nicholas Luker, in his biography ''Alexander Kuprin'', calls ''The Duel'' his "greatest masterpiece" (ch ...
,
Aristarkh Lentulov Aristarkh Vasilyevich Lentulov (; 15 April 1943) was a major Russian avant-garde artist of Cubist orientation who also worked on set designs for the theatre. Biography Aristarkh Lentulov was born in the town of Nizhny Lomov in Penza Gover ...
,
Robert Falk Robert Rafailovich Falk (, October 15, 1886 – October 1, 1958) was a Russian and Soviet avant-garde painter. Biography Falk was born in Moscow in 1886. In 1903 to 1904 he studied art in the studios of Konstantin Yuon and Ilya Mashkov, in 1905 ...
, Victor Savinkov.


Influences

The ''Knave of Diamonds'' defined "the Russian pre-revolutionary culture", a favorite culture of the Moscow intelligentsia in the 1970s.


Related artist groups

Painters
Mikhail Larionov Mikhail Fyodorovich Larionov (; – May 10, 1964) was a Russian avant-garde painter who worked with radical exhibitors and pioneered the first approach to abstract Russian art. He was founding member of two important artistic groups Knave ...
,
Natalia Goncharova Natalia Sergeevna Goncharova (, ; 3 July 188117 October 1962) was a Russian avant-garde artist, painter, costume designer, writer, illustrator, and set designer. Goncharova's lifelong partner was fellow Russian avant-garde artist Mikhail Lariono ...
, and a sub-group of artists ceded from the group to form the more radical
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, Kazim ...
, accusing the Knaves of artistic stagnation. Goncharova called out what she saw as the group's replacement of "artistic creation with theorizing." Despite these period claims, in retrospect, "it is hard to award primacy and originality of pictorial enterprise" to either group.


Gallery

File:Knave of Diamond Exhibition 1912 Moscow.jpg, Knave of Diamond Exhibition 1912 Moscow File:Бубн Валет Логотип.jpg, Knave of Diamonds logo designed by Alexey Morgunov File:Роберт Фальк, Александр Куприн, Василий Рождественский,Петр Кончаловский.jpg, L-R: Pyotr Konchalovsky, Vasily Rozhdestvensky, Alexander Kuprin, Robert Falk, unknown. 1914 File:Осмеркин Машков Куприн Кончаловский Лентулов Рождественский 1941.jpg, Osmerkin Mashkov Kuprin Konchalovsky Lentulov Rozhdestvensky File:На выставке Кончаловского в ГТГ в 1941 Машков поздравляет Кончаловского.jpg, Konchalovsky exhibition 1941 Mashkov congratulates Konchalovsky File:И.И.Машков на крыше дома, где помещалась мастерская.jpg, Ilya Mashkov above his study at Myasnitskaya in Moscow File:Машков со своей женой Марией Ивановной.1924.jpg, Ilya Mashkov with wife at his workshop File:Куприн за органом в мастерской.jpg, Kuprin playing organ at his workshop


References


Literature

* Cubism and Its Histories, David Cottington - 2004 * Architecture and Cubism, Eve Blau, Nancy J. Troy - 2002 * A Cubism Reader: Documents and Criticism, 1906-1914, Mark Antliff, Patricia Dee Leighten - 2008 * Cubism, José Pierre - 1969 * Honour, H. and J. Fleming, (2009) A World History of Art. 7th edn. London: Laurence King Publishing, p. 784. ISBN 9781856695848 * Mark Antliff and Patricia Leighten, A Cubism Reader, Documents and Criticism, 1906–1914, University of Chicago Press, 2008, pp. 293–295 * Cottington, David (April 19, 2004). Cubism and Its Histories. Manchester University Press. ISBN 9780719050046. * Mikhail Lifshitz, The Crisis of Ugliness: From Cubism to Pop-Art. Translated and with an Introduction by David Riff. Leiden: BRILL, 2018 (originally published in Russian by Iskusstvo, 1968) * Daniel Robbins, Sources of Cubism and Futurism, Art Journal, Vol. 41, No. 4, (Winter 1981) * Kolokytha, Chara; Hammond, J.M.; Vlčková, Lucie. "Cubism". Routledge Encyclopedia of Modernism.


Further reading

* G. G. Pospelov, Bubnovii Valet / Knave of Diamonds, Moscow, 1990. * State Russian Museum, State Tretiakov Gallery, Ekaterina Cultural Foundation, The Knave of Diamonds in the Russian Avant-Garde. St. Petersburg: Palace Editions, 2004. * Benedikt Livshits, The One and a Half-Eyed Archer (1931). Translated by John E. Bowlt. Newtonville, Mass: Oriental Research Partners, 1977, pages 69–96. * «Бубновый валет» (Общество художников «Бубновый валет»)] / Andrej Sarabjanov // Энциклопедия русского авангарда


External links


Knave of Diamonds, InCoRM (International Chamber of Russian Modernism), Compiled by Patricia Railing
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jack of Diamonds Russian artist groups and collectives Russian modern artists Russian avant-garde Russian painters Russian art movements Russian Futurist painters Cubism Futurism Modernism Modern art Avant-garde art Art movements