Galerie Dreyfus
35
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NATALIA GONTCHAROVA LADYJINO, 1881 – PARIS, 1962
Vase of Flo…
See original version (French)
35
-
NATALIA GONTCHAROVA LADYJINO, 1881 – PARIS, 1962
Vase of Flo…
See original version (French)
Estimate €120,000 - €150,000
Voluntary lot
Description
NATALIA GONTCHAROVA
LADYJINO, 1881 – PARIS, 1962
Vase of Flowers
Circa 1902–1904
Oil on canvas
56 x 44 cm.
Certificate
Jean Chauvelin, Paris.
Monogrammed ‘N. Gontcharova’ in Cyrillic in the bottom right-hand corner
This abundant bouquet, whose clusters of various species (irises, wild roses, colchicum,
ferns…) seem unlikely to coexist in the same small vase and at the same
time of year, carries profound symbolic significance. As suggested by the dual background
against which it stands out: a black panel on the left-hand side, opening onto a luminous landscape
on the right-hand side. At the foot of the vase, the many withered petals litter the table to the
point of covering it entirely. Heavily inspired by, or even copied from (?), a Flemish still life,
the painting evokes the vanities of Ambrosius Bosschaert or Balthasar van der Ast.
It demonstrates here Natalia Gontcharova’s solid artistic training before she
broke free from her predecessors and forged her own path towards an abstraction that would
never forget the classical masters. For modernity draws on tradition.
Natalia Gontcharova (1881–1962) was a Russian painter who became a naturalised French citizen in 1939. Having trained
in Moscow, she devoted herself to painting after meeting Michel Lario-
nov (1881–1964), who would become her husband. From 1907 onwards, following experiments with
Impressionism and Cubism, she developed a personal neo-primitivist style, strongly influenced by
icons and Russian folk art (lubok). Thus, religious and peasant-inspired
themes permeated her work. In 1906, she took part in the exhibition of Russian art organised
by Sergei Diaghilev (1872–1929) at the Salon d’Automne in Paris, then, in December 1909,
together with Larionov, launched Neo-Primitivism at the third Golden Fleece exhibition. Always
at the forefront of the avant-garde, she became involved in the Futurist movement (1911), then in the creation of Rayonism
(1912–1913), the non-figurative movement for which they would draft the manifesto. Active across the
entire European art scene, Goncharova exhibited for the Blaue Reiter in Munich in 1912, and subsequently at the
Der Sturm gallery in Berlin. In 1913, a major retrospective was held in her honour in Moscow, with a
catalogue comprising nearly 700 entries; she then exhibited in 1914 at the Salon des Indépendants
in Paris, alongside Larionov, Alexandra Exter (1882–1949) and Georges Yakoulov (1884–1928).
It was also in 1914 that she produced the series of lithographs entitled Mystical Images of the
War and created the sets for Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Golden Cockerel for the Ballets Russes. She exhibited
with Larionov at the Paul Guillaume Gallery, with a preface to the catalogue by Guillaume Apollinaire. In 1918, she settled permanently in Paris with Larionov and became one of the leading
painters for Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, for whom she designed, notably, the sets for Stravinsky’s
*The Rite of Spring* by Stravinsky (1882–1971), as well as for Ida Rubinstein (1885–1960) and her Ballets Russes
of Monte Carlo. A painter of the École de Paris, Goncharova was also a member of the Salon d’Automne
from 1921 onwards, and regularly took part in the Salon des Tuileries and the Salon des Indépendants. Whilst
the war and the post-war period were difficult times for Goncharova and Larionov, it was in 1954,
during the major Diaghilev retrospectives in London, that they regained their fame. The
Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris dedicated a retrospective to her following her death. In 2019,
the Tate Modern in London organised the first retrospective devoted solely to her work.
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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