Lyubov Sergeyevna Popova (; April 24, 1889 – May 25, 1924) was a Russian-Soviet

avant-garde art 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 t ...

ist,

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

and

designer A designer is a person who plans the form or structure of something before it is made, by preparing drawings or plans. In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, products, processes, laws, games, graphics, services, or exper ...

Early life

Popova was born in Ivanovskoe, near

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 ...

, to the wealthy family of Sergei Maximovich Popov, a very successful textile merchant and vigorous patron of the arts, and Lyubov Vasilievna Zubova, who came from a highly cultured family. Lyubov Sergeyevna had two brothers and a sister: Sergei was the eldest, then Lyubov, Pavel and Olga. Pavel became a philosopher and the guardian of his sister's artistic legacy.Dabrowski, M., ''Liubov Popova'', Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1991, p.122. Popova grew up with a strong interest in art, especially

Italian Renaissance The Italian Renaissance ( ) was a period in History of Italy, Italian history between the 14th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Western Europe and marked t ...

painting. At eleven years old she began formal art lessons at home. She was first enrolled in Yaltinskaia's Women's Gymnasium, then in Arseneva's Gymnasium in Moscow. By the age of 18 she was studying with Stanislav Zhukovsky, and in 1908 entered the private studios of Konstantin Yuon and Ivan Dudin. Between 1912 and 1913, she began attending the studios of the Cubist painters Henri Le Fauconnier and

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 ...

at Académie de La Palette in Paris.

Career

Travels

Popova traveled widely to investigate and learn from diverse styles of painting, but it was the ancient Russian

icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic Church, Catholic, and Lutheranism, Lutheran churches. The most common subjects include Jesus, Mary, mother of ...

s, the paintings of

Giotto Giotto di Bondone (; – January 8, 1337), known mononymously as Giotto, was an List of Italian painters, Italian painter and architect from Florence during the Late Middle Ages. He worked during the International Gothic, Gothic and Italian Ren ...

, and the works of the 15th- and 16th-century Italian painters which interested her the most. In 1909 she traveled to

Kiev Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

, then in 1910 to

Pskov Pskov ( rus, Псков, a=Ru-Псков.oga, p=psˈkof; see also Names of Pskov in different languages, names in other languages) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in northwestern Russia and the administrative center of Pskov O ...

and

Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( ; , ; ), also known simply as Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the oldest cities in Russia, being first mentioned in the 9th century. The city lies along the V ...

. The following year she visited other ancient Russian cities, including St. Petersburg, to study icons. In 1912 she worked in a Moscow studio known as "The Tower" with Ivan Aksenov and Vladimir Tatlin, and also visited Sergei Shchukin's collection of modern French paintings. In 1912–1913 she studied art with Nadezhda Udaltsova in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, where she met

Alexander Archipenko Alexander Porfyrovych Archipenko (February 25, 1964) was a Ukrainian-American avant-garde artist, sculpture, sculptor, and graphic designer, graphic artist, active in France and the United States. He was one of the first to apply the principles o ...

, and Ossip Zadkine in 1913. After returning to Russia that same year, she worked with Tatlin, Udaltsova, and the Vesnin brothers. In 1914 she traveled in France and Italy during the development of Cubism and

Futurism Futurism ( ) was an Art movement, 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 such as the ...

Style

Cubo-Futurism

Popova was one of the first female pioneers in Cubo-Futurism. Through a synthesis of styles she worked towards what she termed ''painterly architectonics''. After first exploring

Impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

, by 1913, in ''Composition with Figures'', she was experimenting with the particularly Russian development of Cubo-Futurism: a fusion of two equal influences from France and Italy. From 1914 to 1915 her Moscow home became the meeting-place for artists and writers. In 1914–1916 Popova together with other

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 (

Aleksandra Ekster 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 ...

, Nadezhda Udaltsova, Olga Rozanova) contributed to the two ''Knave of Diamonds'' exhibitions, in Petrograd '' Tramway V'' and the '' 0.10'', ''The Store'' in Moscow. An analysis of Popova's cubo-futurist work also suggests an affinity with the work of Fernand Leger, whose geometry of tubular and conical forms in his series of paintings from 1913 to 1914 is similar to that in Popova's paintings.

Suprematism

Her painting ''The Violin'' of 1914 suggests the development from Cubism towards the "painterly architectonics" series of 1916–1918. This series defined her distinct artistic trajectory in abstract form. The canvas surface is an energy field of overlapping and intersecting angular planes in a constant state of potential release of energy. At the same time the elements are held in a balanced and proportioned whole as if linking the compositions of the classical past to the future. Color is used as the iconic focus; the strong primary color at the center drawing the outer shapes together. Popova Philosopher

In 1916 she joined the '' Supremus'' group with

Kazimir Malevich Kazimir Severinovich Malevich (

, the founder of Suprematism,

, Ivan Kliun, Nadezhda Udaltsova, Olga Rozanova, Ivan Puni, Nina Genke, Ksenia Boguslavskaya and others who at this time worked in Verbovka Village Folk Centre. The creation of a new kind of painting was part of the

revolutionary A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates for, a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective to describe something producing a major and sudden impact on society. Definition The term—bot ...

urge of the

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 ...

to remake the world. The term 'supreme' refers to a 'non-objective' or abstract world beyond that of everyday reality. However, there was a tension between those who, like Malevich, saw art as a spiritual quest, and others who responded to the need for the artist to create a new physical world. Popova embraced both of these ideals but eventually identified herself entirely with the aims of the

Revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...

working in

poster A poster is a large sheet that is placed either on a public space to promote something or on a wall as decoration. Typically, posters include both typography, textual and graphic elements, although a poster may be either wholly graphical or w ...

book design Book design is the graphic art of determining the visual and physical characteristics of a book. The design process begins after an author and editor finalize the manuscript, at which point it is passed to the production stage. During productio ...

, fabric and

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...

design, as well as teaching. At ''0.10'' she had exhibited a number of figurative painted cardboard reliefs in a cubist derived style. In 1916 she began to paint completely abstract Suprematist compositions, but the title "Painterly Architectonics" (which she gave to many of her paintings) suggests that, even as a Suprematist, Popova was more interested in painting as a projection of material reality than as the personal expression of a metaphysical reality. Popova's superimposed planes and strong color have the objective presence of actual space and materials. In 1918 Popova married the art historian Boris von Eding, and gave birth to a son. Von Eding died the following year of

typhoid fever Typhoid fever, also known simply as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella enterica'' serotype Typhi bacteria, also called ''Salmonella'' Typhi. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often th ...

. Popova was also seriously ill but recovered.

Constructivism

As early as 1917, in parallel with her Suprematist work, the artist had made fabric designs and worked on ''Agitprop'' books and posters, In the '' Tenth State Exhibition: Non Objective Creativity and Suprematism'', 1918, she contributed the architectonic series of paintings. She continued painting advanced abstract works until 1921. In the 5x5=25 Exhibition of 1921, Popova and her four fellow Constructivists declared that easel painting was to be abandoned and all creative work was to be for the people and the making of the new society. Popova worked in a broad range of mediums and disciplines, including painting, relief, works on paper, and designs for the theater, textiles, and typography. Popova did not join the Working Group of Constructivists when it was set up in Moscow in March 1921, but joined by the end of 1921. In 1923 she began creating designs for fabric to be manufactured by the First State Textile Printing Works in Moscow. From 1921 to 1924 Popova became entirely involved in Constructivist projects, sometimes in collaboration with

Varvara Stepanova Varvara Fyodorovna Stepanova (; – May 20, 1958) was a Russian artist. With her husband Alexander Rodchenko, she was associated with the Constructivist branch of the Russian avant-garde, which rejected aesthetic values in favour of revolutiona ...

, the architect Alexander Vesnin and Alexander Rodchenko. She produced stage designs:

Vsevolod Meyerhold Vsevolod Emilyevich Meyerhold (; born ; 2 February 1940) was a Russian and Soviet theatre director, actor and theatrical producer. His provocative experiments dealing with physical being and symbolism in an unconventional theatre setting m ...

's production of

Fernand Crommelynck Fernand Crommelynck (19 November 1886 – 17 March 1970) was a Belgian dramatist. His work is known for farces in which commonplace weaknesses are developed into monumental obsessions. Biography He was born into a family of actors, the child o ...

's ''The Magnanimous Cuckold'', 1922; her ''Spatial Force Constructions'' were used as the basis of her art teaching theory at Vkhutemas. She designed typography of books, production art and textiles, and contributed designs for dresses to LEF. She worked briefly in the Cotton Printing Factory in Moscow with Varvara Stepanova.

Death and legacy

Popova died at the peak of her artistic powers two days after the death of her son, from whom she had contracted

scarlet fever Scarlet fever, also known as scarlatina, is an infectious disease caused by ''Streptococcus pyogenes'', a Group A streptococcus (GAS). It most commonly affects children between five and 15 years of age. The signs and symptoms include a sore ...

in 1924 in Moscow. A large exhibition of her work opened in Moscow from December 21, 1924, to January 1925, at Stroganov Institute, Moscow. The exhibition included Popova's works such as seventy-seven paintings, as well as books, posters, textile designs, and line engravings. "Artist-Constructor" was the term applied to Popova by her contemporaries in the catalogue of the artist's posthumous exhibition. ''Rodchenko/Popova: Defining Constructivism'', an exhibition of the work of Popova, Rodchenko, and other Constructivists was shown at

Tate Modern Tate Modern is an art gallery in London, housing the United Kingdom's national collection of international Modern art, modern and contemporary art (created from or after 1900). It forms part of the Tate group together with Tate Britain, Tate Live ...

, London, in 2009, and subsequently at Museo Reina Sofia, Madrid. Popova's work was included in the 2021 exhibition '' Women in Abstraction'' at the

Centre Pompidou The Centre Pompidou (), more fully the (), also known as the Pompidou Centre in English and colloquially as Beaubourg, is a building complex in Paris, France. It was designed in the style of high-tech architecture by the architectural team of ...

Gallery

File:Popova Air Man Space.jpg, ''Air+Man+Space'', 1912, Oil on canvas, 125 x 107 cm, The State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg File:GUGG Untitled (Popova).jpg, ''Untitled'', 1915, Oil on canvas, , Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York Gift, George Costakis, 1981 Guggenheim Museum File:GUGG Birsk.jpg, ''Birsk'', 1916, Oil on canvas, , Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York Gift, George Costakis, 1981 Guggenheim Museum File:Textile design - Liubov Popova - c.1924.jpg, Textile design, c.1924

References

External links

* –

Rollins College Rollins College is a Liberal arts college, private liberal arts college in Winter Park, Florida. It was founded in November 1885 and has about 30 undergraduate majors and several master's programs. Florida's fourth oldest post-secondary institut ...

* –

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, often referred to as The Guggenheim, is an art museum at 1071 Fifth Avenue between 88th and 89th Street (Manhattan), 89th Streets on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. It hosts a permanent coll ...

* – Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
Liubov Popova: From Painting to Textile Design
by Christina Lodder, Tate Papers no.14 {{DEFAULTSORT:Popova, Lyubov 1889 births 1924 deaths Painters from the Russian Empire Russian modern artists Soviet avant-garde Russian cubist artists 20th-century Russian painters Soviet designers Soviet Futurist painters Academic staff of Vkhutemas Suprematism (art movement) Expatriates from the Russian Empire in France