Mikhail Fyodorovich Larionov ( Russian: Михаи́л Фёдорович Ларио́нов; June 3, 1881 – May 10, 1964) was a Russian

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...

who worked with radical exhibitors and pioneered the first approach to abstract Russian art. His lifelong partner was fellow avant-garde artist, Natalia Goncharova.

Life and work

Larionov was born at

Tiraspol Tiraspol or Tirișpolea ( ro, Tiraspol, Moldovan Cyrillic: Тираспол, ; russian: Тира́споль, ; uk, Тирасполь, Tyraspol') is the capital of Transnistria (''de facto''), a breakaway state of Moldova, where it is the ...

, in the

Kherson Governorate The Kherson Governorate (1802–1922; russian: Херсонская губерния, translit.: ''Khersonskaya guberniya''; uk, Херсонська губернія, translit=Khersonska huberniia), was an administrative territorial unit (also ...

of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the List of Russian monarchs, Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended th ...

. In 1898 he entered the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture under Isaac Levitan and

Valentin Serov Valentin Alexandrovich Serov (russian: Валенти́н Алекса́ндрович Серо́в; 19 January 1865 – 5 December 1911) was a Russian painter and one of the premier portrait artists of his era. Life and work Youth and educ ...

. He was suspended three times for his radical outlook. In 1900 he met fellow avant-garde artist Natalia Goncharova and formed a lifelong relationship with her. From 1902 his style was

Impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passa ...

. After a visit to Paris in 1906 he moved into

Post-Impressionism Post-Impressionism (also spelled Postimpressionism) was a predominantly French art movement that developed roughly between 1886 and 1905, from the last Impressionist exhibition to the birth of Fauvism. Post-Impressionism emerged as a reaction a ...

and then a

Neo-primitive 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 ...

style which derived partly from Russian sign painting. In 1908 he staged the Golden Fleece exhibition in Moscow, which included paintings by international avant-garde artists such as

Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known primar ...

, Derain,

Braque Georges Braque ( , ; 13 May 1882 – 31 August 1963) was a major 20th-century French painter, collagist, draughtsman, printmaker and sculptor. His most notable contributions were in his alliance with Fauvism from 1905, and the role he play ...

Gauguin Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (, ; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French Post-Impressionist artist. Unappreciated until after his death, Gauguin is now recognized for his experimental use of colour and Synthetism, Synthetist style that were d ...

and

Van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2,100 artworks, inc ...

. Other group shows promoted by him included Tatlin, Chagall and

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

. Larionov was a founding member of two important Russian artistic groups Jack of Diamonds (1909–1911) and the more radical Donkey's Tail (1912–1913). He gave names to both groups. His first solo show was for one day in Moscow in 1911. Larionov was influenced by the Georgian artist Niko Pirosmani. He then became influenced by the Cubo-Futurist art movement, and in 1913, with Natalia Goncharova, he invented Rayonism, which was the first creation of near-abstract art in Russia. He had a one-man show at the Omega Workshops. Shone, Richard. (1999) ''The Art of Bloomsbury Roger Fry, Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant''. Princeton:

Princeton University Press Princeton University Press is an independent Academic publishing, publisher with close connections to Princeton University. Its mission is to disseminate scholarship within academia and society at large. The press was founded by Whitney Darrow, ...

, pp. 137-138. In 1915 he left Russia and worked with the ballet owner

Sergei Diaghilev Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev ( ; rus, Серге́й Па́влович Дя́гилев, , sʲɪˈrɡʲej ˈpavləvʲɪdʑ ˈdʲæɡʲɪlʲɪf; 19 August 1929), usually referred to outside Russia as Serge Diaghilev, was a Russian art critic, pat ...

in Paris on the productions of the

Ballets Russes The Ballets Russes () was an itinerant ballet company begun in Paris that performed between 1909 and 1929 throughout Europe and on tours to North and South America. The company never performed in Russia, where the Russian Revolution, Revolution ...

. He spent the rest of his life in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

and obtained French citizenship. He died, aged 82, in the Paris suburb of

Fontenay-aux-Roses Fontenay-aux-Roses () is a commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. In 1880 a girls school École Normale Supérieure was opened in the town. It was one of the most prestigious of Paris and e ...

. In 2001, the Central Bank of Transnistria minted a silver coin honoring this native of today's

Transnistria Transnistria, officially the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR), is an unrecognised breakaway state that is internationally recognised as a part of Moldova. Transnistria controls most of the narrow strip of land between the Dniester riv ...

, as part of a series of memorable coins called '' The Outstanding People of Pridnestrovie''. The highest price paid for a Larionov painting at auction is 2,200,000 British pounds. He is in the highest category "1A – a world famous artist" in " United Artists Rating". He is buried at

Ivry Cemetery Ivry Cemetery (''cimetière parisien d'Ivry'') is one of the extramural cemeteries of Paris, located in the neighbouring town of Ivry-sur-Seine in Val-de-Marne, less than 500 metres outside Paris's intramural area. As well as a green space, it is ...

, Ivry-sur-Seine. File:Larionov akaziivesnoj.jpg, ''Acacias in Spring'' (1904) File:Larionov self portrait.jpg, ''Self-Portrait'' (1910) File:Larionov red rayonism.jpg, ''Red Rayonism'' (1913) File:Mikhail Larionov dancer on motion (1915).jpg, ''Dancer in motion'' (1915) File:Mikhail Larionov Lady with a fan. Sketch of a costume for the ballet «Natural History». (1916).jpg, ''Lady with a fan'' (1916)

References

External links

*
Online gallery of Larionov paintings
*

Marevna Maria Bronislavovna Vorobyeva-Stebelska (russian: Мария Брониславовна Воробьёва-Стебельская; Maria Bronislavovna Vorobyova-Stebelskaya; 1892 – 4 May 1984), also known as "Marie Vorobieff" or Marevna, ...

"Smokers"
showing Ballet owner Serge de Diaghilev (centre) with

Jean Cocteau Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau (, , ; 5 July 1889 – 11 October 1963) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, filmmaker, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost creatives of the s ...

(to his left), Natalya Goncharova (left) and her husband Mikhail Larionov (right), (scroll down to 3rd painting).
Mikhail Larionov
at the

McNay Art Museum The McNay Art Museum, founded in 1954 in San Antonio, is the first modern art museum in the U.S. state of Texas. The museum was created by Marion Koogler McNay's original bequest of most of her fortune, her important art collection and her 24-room ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Larionov, Mikhail 1881 births 1964 deaths People from Tiraspol People from Tiraspolsky Uyezd Abstract painters Neo-primitivism Avant-garde from the Russian Empire 19th-century painters from the Russian Empire Scenic designers from the Russian Empire Modernist theatre Emigrants from the Russian Empire to France Burials at Ivry Cemetery French abstract artists 19th-century male artists from the Russian Empire Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture alumni

Life and work

See also

References

External links