Lyubov Popova
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Liubov Sergeyevna Popova (Любовь Сергеевна Попова) (April 24, 1889 - May 25, 1924) was a Russian avant-garde artist (Cubist, Suprematist and Constructivist), painter and designer.
She was born near Moscow and grew up in an enlightened merchant family with a strong interest in art, especially Italian Renaissance painting. At eleven years old she began art lessons at home and in 1907 she studied art with S. Zhukovskiy.
Then from 1908-09 she attended the art school of Konstantin Yuon and Ivan Dudin.
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[edit] Travels
Popova traveled widely to investigate and learn from diverse styles of painting, but it was the ancient Russian Icons and 15th and 16th century Italian painters, Giotto and others which at first interested her the most.
1909 Travels to Kiev. 1910 then Pskov and Novgorod. 1911 Other ancient Russian cities including St. Petersburg to study icons. 1912 Works in Moscow studio known as the Tower with Ivan Aksenov, Vladimir Tatlin. Visits Sergei Shchukin's collection of modern French paintings. In 1912-13 she studied art in Paris with Nadezhda Udaltsova. 1913- Meets Alexander Archipenko and Ossip Zadkine. Returns to Russia and works with Tatlin, Udaltsova and Vesnin brothers. 1914 -Travels in France and Italy at the development of cubism and futurism.
[edit] Paintings
From 1914-15 her Moscow home becomes the meeting-place for artists and writers. In 1914-1916 Liubov Popova together with other avant-garde artists ( Ekster, Udaltsova, Rozanova ) contributed to the two Jack of Diamonds Exhibitions, then in Petrograd Tramway V and the 0.10 ,The Store in Moscow. The Violin painting of 1914 the development from cubism towards the painterly architectonics of 1917-18 is clearly visible.
1916 joins the Supremus group with Kazimir Malevich founder of Suprematism , Aleksandra Ekster, Ivan Kliun, Nadezhda Udaltsova, Olga Rozanova, Ivan Puni, Nina Genke, Ksenia Boguslavskaya and others who at this time worked in Verbovka Village Folk Centre. 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 early aims of the Revolution working in poster, book design, fabric and theatre design, as well as teaching .
1918 Marries von Eding. Works on Agitprop designs. Gives birth to a son.
1919 Contributes to Tenth State Exhibition: Non Objective Creativity and Suprematism. Von Eding dies of typhoid fever.
1919-21 paints more advanced abstract works
1921 5 x 5 Exhibition.
Exhibited paintings from established private collection in the USA, 2006:
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[edit] Development of style from Cubo-Futurism to Constructivism
Through a synthesis of styles Popova worked towards, what she termed, painterly arcitectonics. Exploring firstly Impressionism, 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. In the painting The Violin of 1914 the development from cubism towards the painterly architectonics of 1917-18 is clearly visible. Before joining the Supremus group her paintings , the architectonic series have defined their own artistic trajectory, quite distinct from that of Malevich, Rozanova, Tatlin and Mondrian, in abstract form. The canvas surface is an energy field of overlapping and intersecting angular planes in a constant state of potential release. 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. By 1918 colour is used as the iconic focus; the strong primary colour at the centre drawing the outer shapes together.
From 1921-24 Popova became active in Constructivist projects: Stage designs; Vsevolod Meyerhold's production of Fernand Crommeldynck's The Magnanamous Cuckold, 1922; Teaching: Spacial Force Constructions were used as the basis of an art teaching theory ; Typography of books, production art and textile design. She also contributed designs for dresses to LEF.
Popova died in Moscow. A large exhibition of her work opened in Moscow 21 December 1924.
[edit] References
- John Bowlt and Matthew Drutt, Amazons of the Avant-Garde, Guggenheim Museum, 1999
- Mel Gooding, Abrtract Art, Tate Publishing, 2000
- Camilla Gray, The Russian Experiment in Art, Thames and Hudson, 1965
- Dmitri V Sarabianov and Natalia L Adaskina, Popova, Harry N Abrams Inc. New York, 1990
