Mikhail Fyodorovich Larionov (; – May 10, 1964) was a Russian

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 ...

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 of Diamonds and the more radical Donkey's Tail. His lifelong partner was fellow avant-garde artist, Natalia Goncharova, with whom they worked on Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes in France and Switzerland.

Life and work

Larionov was born at Tiraspol, in the Kherson Governorate of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

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

. After a visit to Paris in 1906 he moved into Post-Impressionism and then a Neo-primitive 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, Derain, Braque,

Gauguin Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramist, and writer, whose work has been primarily associated with the Post-Impressionist and Symbolist movements. He was also an influ ...

and Van Gogh. Other group shows promoted by him included Tatlin, Chagall and Malevich. He was especially a close friend and mentor to Tatlin; however, the latter broke off their relations in 1912 and started openly criticizing him, supposedly to escape Larionov's "monolithic authority". Larionov was a founding member of two important Russian artistic groups Knave of Diamonds (1909–1917) and the more radical Donkey's Tail (1912–1914). He gave names to both groups. His first solo show was for one day in Moscow in 1911. He was influenced by the Georgian artist Niko Pirosmani. Larionov 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 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, with the financial ...

, pp. 137–138. Around this time, Larionov was at the forefront of the Moscow avant-garde. He staged public

performance art Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a pu ...

featuring participants with painted faces and dressed in eccentric clothes. He also took part in the production of the 1914 experimental film '' Drama in the Futurists' Cabaret No. 13'', which integrated elements from the street performances. In 1915 he left Russia and worked with the ballet owner Sergei Diaghilev in Paris on the productions of the Ballets Russes. He spent the rest of his life in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and obtained French citizenship. He died, aged 82, in the Paris suburb of Fontenay-aux-Roses. In 2001, the Central Bank of Transnistria minted a silver coin honoring this native of today's

Transnistria Transnistria, officially known as the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic and locally as Pridnestrovie, is a Landlocked country, landlocked Transnistria conflict#International recognition of Transnistria, breakaway state internationally recogn ...

, 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-sur-Seine. File:Larionov akaziivesnoj.jpg, ''Acacias in Spring'' (1904) File:Larionov self portrait.jpg, ''Self-Portrait'' (1910) File:Этюд женщины.jpg, ''Study of a woman'' (1912) 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
"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, film director, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost avant-garde artists of the 20th-c ...

(to his left), Natalya Goncharova (left) and her husband Mikhail Larionov (right), (scroll down to 3rd painting).
Mikhail Larionov
at the McNay Art Museum {{DEFAULTSORT:Larionov, Mikhail 1881 births 1964 deaths People from Tiraspol People from Tiraspolsky Uyezd Russian abstract painters Neo-primitivism 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 painters 19th-century male artists from the Russian Empire Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture alumni 20th-century French painters 20th-century Russian painters

Life and work

See also

References

External links