The unions of artists - "THE BLUE ROSE" AND "THE JACK OF DIAMONDS"

The
unions of artists  - "THE BLUE ROSE" AND "THE JACK OF
DIAMONDS"

"A blue
rose"

The
largest art education after "the art World" and "the Union of
Russian artists" was "the Blue rose". Under this name in 1907 in
Moscow the exhibition which has united group of young artists, recent pupils of
the Moscow school of painting, sculpturing and architecture - followers of
Borisov-Musatov has taken place. Though this exhibition was unique, it has
revealed a generality of initial creative principles and graphic receptions of
the masters presented by it which have formed a special direction in Russian
painting. The exhibition "Blue rose" has noted only passing moment in
their creative evolution, but the moment significant. It was time of the
confusion which have captured a considerable part of Russian society in
atmosphere of reaction after defeat of revolution, time reflected in art by an
ambiguity of the purposes. The aggravated sensitivity to shades, nuances of
vague moods generated images unsteady, escaping, attracted artists to searches
of the rafinirovanno-refined colour relations, a thin is decorative-ornamental
melodic rhythm, difficult effects of the matte-flickering picturesque invoice.

The
characteristic sample of such painting is "the Blue fountain" (1905)
- an early cloth of one of leading masters of a direction of P.V.Kuznetsova
(1878-1968). The further evolution of this artist is typical for the majority
of masters of "the Blue rose". It consisted in overcoming of the
hypertrophied psychologism, in aspiration to come back to primary simplicity of
sensations of a reality. It was not, however, a way of refusal of former
picturesque system, and its logic development and perfection. So there is a
series of the pictures devoted заволжским
and the Central Asian steppes. Contemplation of immense open spaces,
supervision of a measuredly-quiet life of nomad tribes has brought with itself
clearing from under the power of vague moods, has turned the artist from
eternally escaping to eternally real.

"A
Mirage in steppe" (1912) - one of the most perfect products of this cycle.
The high sky, quiet lines of horizon, soft outlines of tents freely
disseminated in space, accrete with the earth and repeating outlines of a
heavenly dome, simple and rhythmical movements of the people cutting sheep,
preparing the food, sleeping, - all it thanks to surprisingly thin, to accord
of color, forms and contours develops in поэтически
a complete picture of the world, over which not imperiously time. Before us
primitive patriarchal idyll, "Golden Age", dream of harmony of the
person and the nature, come true in reality.

Painting
of these cloths is based on thin нюансировке
the colorful surface which have got riches and sonority of color tone, before
obscured and foggy. Flexible live contours as if are seen through a transparent
ripple нагретого
by the sun of air. Subjects thanks to it stay on a cloth as though in a
suspension, are spiritualized, get a certain magic weightlessness. It seems,
that all image is penetrated by a uniform live rhythm, as though a silent wave
of the lyrical delight changing a picture of the validity in certain
"paradise vision". The thin pathetic lyrics of painting is combined
with solemn rhythmic of the compositions counterbalanced and symmetric.

Ориентальная
the theme organically enters into creativity of other participant of "the
Blue rose", together with Кузнецовым
studying in the Moscow school, - M.S.Sarjana (1880-1972). Picturesque method Сарьяна
receives the perfected form in 10th years of XX century under impression of
trips to Turkey, Iran and Egypt. The artist does not write off everything from
nature, that sees an eye, and searches a complete picturesque image, the
colorful formula. As well as at Кузнецова,
a basis of expressiveness of its cloths is the color stain and the is
ornamental-decorative organization of the image on a plane. Such products Сарьяна,
as "Street. Midday.

Constantinople
"(1910)," The going woman "(1911)," the Date palm tree
"(1911), distinguishes that it would be possible to name dynamism of
vision. It not long contemplation, and fast fixing of the basic colorful relations
in sharply contrast comparisons.

If
painting Кузнецова is similar to
lyrical outpouring, painting Сарьяна
- a colorful aphorism concerning seen. prefers the intensive, bright,
definitely directed light concealing shades of color and baring contrasts, sharply
designating borders light and dark. In this respect its painting reminds the
color drawing, sometimes, as for example, in "The going woman", finds
out similarity to application.

The
validity on cloths appears condensed in colorful hyperboles, reaching heights
of pathetic sounding. Its palm tree put in the centre of a canvas, it is proud
uplifting over poor dwellings the leaves which remind a violent colorful
fountain, with force beating of a trunk upwards and in breadth, it seems an
embodiment of spontaneous power of the nature, really "a life tree".
So the by, through specific activization of the picturesque form, Сарьян
comes to a condensation ordinary-real to eternal poetic symbols.

As
a direction of Russian painting of the beginning of XX century "the Blue
rose" is closest to symbolism poetics. A basis of this affinity is basic
installation on transformation of images of the validity on purpose to exclude
possibility of literal perception of things and the phenomena, having cleared
in them not ordinary, high communications and values.

In
the fine arts it pours out in predilection for any transformations in sphere of
visual perception - to sharp perspective reductions and the unexpected
foreshortenings altering the form of subjects, to reflex ions in water, on
glass, in mirrors, to the stuffy vibration dissolving contours, etc.

The
theatre becomes sphere of the most effective any more only visual, and
universal transformation of the validity at that time. It has appeared that
soil where painting of "the Blue rose" and symbolism have met
directly. The most interesting variant of this dialogue of painting with
symbolism at theatre represents N.N.Sapunova's creativity (1880-1912).

Together
with other master of "the Blue rose" - S.J.Sudejkinym (1882-1946) it
became the designer of symbolical dramas first in Russia M.Meterlinka (at
Theatre-studio MHT on Cook, 1905). Cooperation with from here originates. Мейерхольдом
- in statements "Гедды Габлер"
Ibsen, "Балаганчика".

On
the other hand, "the magic of theatre", forcing to worry artificial,
invented and fantastic as original and live, it is transferred to easel
painting. So there is a whole group of the products written "apropos"
of corresponding theatrical performances.

The
romantic artist who has become isolated in the world, created by whims of
imagination, starts to accept generations of own imagination for the validity.
There is a transformation symbolical "the magic world" in
"buffoonery" - are that "теза"
and the symbolism "antithesis", noted by the Block in 1910, and still
earlier, in the 1906 which have become by a theme of a lyrical drama "Балаганчик",
which statement made out. From the moment of work on this performance at
creativity constantly there are elements of exhibition buffoonery, baste stylization
and grotesque. These tendencies reach the apogee in not finished picture
"Tea drinking" (1912)

"A jack of
diamonds"

The
boundary is noted 1910-1911 by occurrence on arena of an art life of new
grouping under the causing name "a jack Of diamonds". A constant
kernel of the society which have existed actually till 1916, the artists
P.Konchalovsky, I.Mashkov, A.Lentulov, A.Kuprin, R.Falk who have become
subsequently by visible masters of the Soviet art have made. "The jack of
diamonds", the having charter, exhibitions, collections of articles, was a
new influential direction in Russian art of the beginning of XX century

The
impressionism in all its updating was simultaneously and a starting point of
art development, and that creative method in which overcoming artists of
"a jack of diamonds" saw the priority. From the very beginning they
act as furious opponents of previous art - "the art World", the
refined psychologist of painting of "the Blue rose" are rejected from
a threshold. At the heart of discontent of young artists with a state of
affairs in the modern art social motives -  crisis in Russia, with especial
force shown in revolution 1905-1907, and come then years of reaction (1907 -
1910) laid. This discontent with a "twilight" epoch was expressed in отвержении
all vague, mysterious, held back in art.

In
a counterbalance of symbolical painting of "the Blue rose" artists of
"a jack Of diamonds" aspired to express most considerably movement
from concentration on subjective not clear sensations to finding of stability
of a vision, colors, to the constructive logic of picture construction. The
statement of a subject and concreteness in a spatiality counterbalance makes an
initial principle of their art.

In
this connection painting of subjects - a still-life is put forward on the first
place. Polemic problems of painting of "a jack of diamonds" have
found especially bright embodiment in creativity of one of group I.I founders.
Mashkov (1881 - 1944). "Dark blue plums" (1910) it is possible to
consider it as the original slogan of this direction. The image of the fruit
laid in a static decorative composition, as though has fallen asleep halfway
from crude substance of paints of a palette to real color of nature. The artist
assimilates the work to work of the handicraftsman doing things. In this case
such thing is the picture. The artist approaches painting to national
creativity with feeling of an initial material inherent in it.

In
nakedness of the process of creation of a picturesque thing and in pathetic приподнятости
colorful sounding the initial principle of a folk art is as though formulated
by Mashkov: a combination of two parties of a national life - work and a
holiday.

It
is so declarative, as in "Dark blue plums" Mashkov, confirmed by
"a jack Of diamonds" the new approach to nature development is
expressed P.P.Konchalovskim (1876-1956) in "G.Jakulova's Portrait"
(1910). The artist brings in traditional area of domination of psychological
problems натюрмортное,
the substantiating beginning. It eliminates everything that concerns passing
inwardness of the person, underlining all of what there are the steadiest,
bright, in the true sense words picturesque signs of individual external shape.
Here we deal with the specific system of simplifications peculiar to a national
popular print, a toy, a signboard. Not casually criticism sometimes defined
style of painting of "a jack of diamonds" as a whole as "style
of a signboard". The Same criticism repeatedly marked a direct connection
of new generation of the Moscow painters with modern it the French painting
ascending in the sources to Cezanne. However Cezanne's painting has been apprehended
by "a jack of diamonds" through a decorative variant, in particular
Matisse.

The
cult of a decorative reigning at the beginning at artists of "a jack of
diamonds", dispersed from Cezanne's painting in one rather essential
point: in easing of sculptural sensation of the form. The impression of
materiality of a subject which artists in the first products tried to achieve,
arose not at the expense of sculpturing-volume construction of the form, and at
the expense of massiveness of the invoice while the space looked decoratively
spread and is frequent owing to it amorphous. In overcoming of this lack a
known role the cubism - the current of the painting finding theoretical
motivation to the experiments in the recommendation given once by Cezanne to
make the mental analysis of difficult forms by their approach to the basic
geometrical configurations - to a cube, a cone and a sphere has played. Masters
of "a jack of diamonds" used similar receptions. So, Konchalovsky's
"Agave" (1916) represents a variant of mastering of experience of the
cubism, passing extreme measures of schematic splitting of the form. The artist
has seen a way of the analysis of spatial relations in cubism. The picture
space is thought as a certain subject, from it with effort subjects represented
which form as if breaks, deformed, with effort winning for them the necessary
vital environment take shape. Things actively take root into space surrounding
them, as if overcoming its resistance. From here impression of dramatic character.
Things as though are on guard of the won place, they do not yield easily, seem
hostile to the person, aloof from it.

The
genre of a still-life begins capable to transfer the new maintenance,
conformable the present with its contradictions and sensation of approaching
shocks. In painting of "a jack Of diamonds" value of high art has
been returned a still-life.

Along
with a cubism the futurism - one more arisen in Italy in the same years a
painting current becomes the important component of graphic style of "a
jack Of diamonds" from the middle of 10th years. Proclaiming original
language of the future industrial rhythms of an epoch of scientific and
technical revolution, it demanded introduction of these rhythms in the design
of a work of art. One of its receptions is "installation" of subjects
or parts of the subjects taken as though at various times and from different
points of the review. Movement of the subject, i.e. the spectator, is
transferred on object which is allocated with spontaneous dynamics, by ability
to freakish updating of the form. This effect in a combination to cubic
"shift" of forms and stratification of spatial plans we see in
A.V.Lentulova's decorative pictures-panels (1882-1943) "Vasily
Blazhennyj" (1913) and "Ring" (1915).

The
image surface is thought here by similarity of the mirror jingling and split by
a powerful sound wave in which the colorful Moscow architecture is reflected.
Concerning Russian artists to receptions of modern West European art there was
a known share of ironicalness. At Лентулова
it has affected, for example, in transferring of receptions of the futurism
intended for expression of rhythms of an industrial epoch, on absolutely other
in the being object - architecture. From this paradoxical combination of modern
graphic language to images of the Moscow olden time there is unexpectedly
bright art effect - the ancient architecture as though excited by invasion of
industrial rhythms, involved in an orbit of perception of the modern person
feeling and all around in incessant movement.

To
products of other representative of "a jack of diamonds" to R.R.Falka
(1886 - 1958) are not peculiar decorative scope of cloths Лентулова,
брутальная
beauty and materiality of painting of Mashkov. The lyric poet on a warehouse of
creative temperament, avoids intended огрубления
the form, aspires to thin study of a picturesque surface, achieves refined colorful
harmonies. Penetrated by atmosphere of spiritual concentration and silence,
painting differs original psychologist, is allocated by ability to reproduce
thin shades of moods. Not casually therefore among its products the
considerable place occupies a portrait. One of the best pictures of pre-revolutionary
creativity - "At the piano. E.S.Potehinoj-Falk's portrait" (1917).
Relatives on style to painting are A.Kuprin and V.Rozhdestvenskogo's products -
artists of "a jack Of diamonds", working mainly in a still-life
genre.

Some
kind of permanent rebelliousness characterizes creativity of one of organizers
of "a jack Of diamonds" M.F.Larionov (1881 - 1964). In 1911 it breaks
off with this grouping and there is the organizer of new exhibitions under эпатирующими
names "Asinine tail", "Target". The primitive tendency of
art has found In Larionov's creativity "a jack Of diamonds",
connected with assimilation by professional art of stylistics of a signboard, a
popular print, a national toy, children's drawing the most consecutive
development. In a counterbalance to the majority of artists of 10th years
Larionov consistently defends the rights of genre painting, not refusing the
narrative story in a picture, But the life in Larionov's genres is a special,
"primitive" life of provincial streets, cafe, hairdresser's,
soldier's barracks.

One
of Larionov's the most typical products - a picture "Having a rest
soldier" (1911). Grotesque, утрированная
typicalness of a pose indulging in thoughtfulness healthy big fellows with a
flush in all cheek is undoubtedly cast by naivety of children's drawing. At the
same time it is large-scale images and skillfully transferred duration lazy возлежания
before the spectator transforms a picture in is thin спародированный
a smart portrait. But thus - sneer shades. The relation of the artist to model
looks as "love irony". If artists of "a jack of diamonds",
especially in a creativity initial stage, preferred a bright palette, strong
color contrasts Larionov, as a rule, addresses to subjects prosy and rough, dim
and not color, cultivating shades of the pull together colors, achieving
refined silvereyes and a color harmony. To products of this artist cloths of
the constant companion and adherent Larionov in its searches Н.С
were close. Гончаровой (1881 - 1962).
In a picture "canvas Washing" (1910) figures of two women against лубочно
"размалеванного"
a rural landscape, stocky, with heavy ступнями,
are written with that is naive-touching liking to represented which
distinguishes children's drawings, especially when the child reproduces well
familiar, habitual subjects and situations. Here we deal any more with
aesthetically-game stylization of a demotic life, as for example, at Кустодиева,
and with attempt through primitive thing art to find a way out of labyrinths of
modern psychologist and умозрений,
to find the lost sources of an is naive-complete sight at the world.

In
a little bit other form the same tendency acts in art of M. 3. Walked
(1887-1985). Extraordinary steadfast carefulness in reproduction most that on
is prosaic details of conditions of the provincial backward life changed by
paints of a spicy, magnificent palette, is combined at All Walked with
fantastic motives of fantastic flights, heavenly signs, etc. it is similar to
whims of the romantic fantasy fancifully mixing ennobled and low, casting
memoirs on romantic stories of Gogol.

Pre-revolutionary
creativity of most original of painters adjoins to a primitive line in Russian
art - P.N.Filonov (1883-1941). Modern primitiveness is understood by it only as
means to "simulate" in painting a certain complete picture of the
world, the type of a world view giving in modern зри
- тельном
experience representation about mankind myths. For the artist of the XX-th
century it was a way to remind that makes a back of a machine civilization that
is pushed aside by it on periphery of public attention, namely about
patrimonial in the person, about that "part" of the person which it
is with the nature, with its dark, is tenacious-inert, mysterious night,
forces, "contact" with which forms the essential maintenance labor,
in particular country, a life. So, in "Коровницах" (1914) Filonovs
all is molded to each other as though in the chaotic disorder. The complicated
syntax of a graphic phrase suggests the spectator to seek sense and sequence in
combinations of subject forms and figures, following by guessing, that ring in
a sheaf of human memory where there could be a key to the code number of this
picture. But the direction of these searches is set by the picture withdrawing
in area of primitive natural myths.

The
usual parity top and bottom here is turned: toy small houses are perceived as
visible at a distance from above so, that figures of animals and коровниц
"hang" in dark heavens over the world and appear in зооморфные
and антропоморфные
forms with that paradoxical, is angular-exact approximations from what zodiac
figures in a kaleidoscope of constellations in a night sky are outlined by a
sight. Especially terrestrial scene is shown as mythical праистория,
творимая
in heavens, but this heavenly is simultaneously and something is
dense-primitive, reminding of primary participation of the person in fauna,
about those times and about that condition of consciousness when the Supreme
deity of the sky appeared in image of "a heavenly cow", and cattle
breeding work was ritual religious rite, "heavenly service". It is a
life what she looks from dark depths of patrimonial memory. " Impersonal
"- this  the formula can define a method and simultaneously a theme of art
of Filonov recreating in the "hieroglyphic" form habitual for Russian
art a way, process, stages of it is impersonal-natural in spiritual.

Specific
of graphic language, symbolical on the origin, halves perception of visible
forms and qualities of the subject world between direct and portable values. So
"dark" in Filonov's pre-revolutionary pictures is both night, and
metaphysical "gloom", prehistoric "darkness"; primitively
stocky figures simultaneously both массивны,
and бесплотны;
light and color are merged in uniform quality, reminding effect of a
stained-glass window; figures as much remind primitive idols, how many and
medieval "chimeras". Many qualities of graphic system of Filonov, as
well as the way of creation "the new relation to the validity by revision
of a series forgotten a world view", have the nearest prototype in Vrubel's
art.

Propensity
of artists of 10th years to experiment, to decomposition of complete art
impression for the sum of elementary influences for the sake of familiarizing
with primary bases of art expressiveness has led to allocation of this area формотворчества
in independent sphere of art. In 1913 Larionov publishes the book "Лучизм"
which was one of the first manifestos of abstract art. However original leaders
- theorists and abstractionism experts in Russia V.V. Kandinsky's steels
(1866-1944) and K.S.Malevich (1878-1935).

From
the moment of the origin abstract painting develops in two directions: at
Kandinsky it is spontaneous, irrational game of color stains, at Malevich -
visibility математически
the verified, is rational-geometrical constructions. The abstractionism applied
to be in art practice by as though incarnate theory of fundamental principles
of painting in general. Painting problems were reduced by it to research of
possible combinations of primary elements - lines, colors, forms.

If
Malevich and Kandinsky's abstractionism develops originally exclusively within
easel painting in V.E.Tatlina's creativity (1885-1953) object of abstract
experiment there is one more element of painting - the invoice.  The qualities
belonging in painting to one material - paint, Татлин
transforms into combinations of invoices of various materials - tins, a tree,
glass, преобразуя
a picture plane in similarity of a sculptural relief. In so-called counter
reliefs Татлина
"heroes" there are not valid subjects and abstract categories of the
invoice - rough, fragile, viscous, soft, sparkling, - entering among themselves
in difficult relations without means of any concrete graphic plot.

In
architecture we face ability of art to express, not representing, passing
imitation "the life facts". In properties of a graphic surface as архитектонического
fields are concluded the expressive possibilities not given, but set to the
image just as gravitation laws are set to movement of bodies or a rhythm, the
size, an order of rhymes are set to a verse. Research of these possibilities
also was that experiment which has been done by abstract art. On this way to праосновам
the art influence, hidden in the device of human memory, XX-th century art
should is inevitable to meet the art worlds where required laws of
expressiveness there was no time are carried already out in completeness of a
principle. New offered a hand well forgotten old - and through such contact
there have passed hardly probable not all masters of so-called avant-guard in
XX-th century art.

Among
them the outstanding place belongs to - to S.Petrov-Vodkin (1878 - 1939). The
long way of creative formation of this master rich with difficult searches
crowns creation in 1912 of a picture "Bathing of a red horse". This
product is considerable not only the internal maintenance, but also that in it
many thorny questions of art of the beginning of XX century It have
concentrated sounds as an appeal and a question and first of all that sharpness
and expressiveness of the form recreating, a reality changing images to which
art of  XX century so painfully aspired, is reached here through development of
lessons of Old Russian painting. Directly declaring successive communication ,
this product forces to recollect simultaneously and "Abduction of
Europe" Серова at which Petrov-Vodkin studied in the Moscow school. The
image of the horseman on a game, turning thought to folklore representations,
in painful the stood movement gives rise to a question. Celebratory triumph of
color and sleepy bewitching rhythm of lines, a powerful horse and the young
man-teenager who has fallen asleep in not clear thought, powerlessly having
lowered reins, being given to the power of force goodness knows where attracting
it, memoirs on the past and not clear presentiment of the future - such
combination of opposite elements symbolically on the internal structure. Owing
to it also was perceived by contemporaries as a symbol of the worried moment.

Even
more consistently Petrov-Vodkin to images of Old Russian art in such works, as
"Mother", "Girls on Volga" (1915), "addresses Morning.
Bathers" (1917). Here echoes иконописных
images - in fixed ™ movements, in self-immersing of characters, in
contemplation by which heroines of these pictures are got are audible. In
Petrov-Vodkin's creativity value of eternal images and that towers: a dream and
awakening, age steps of a life - adolescence, a youth, motherhood, life
circulation between a birth and death - such is a circle of these that. In
treatment of a similar sort any new epoch expresses those the ideal
representations about a place of the person in the space whole. In the art
world they play a role универсалий
the philosophical order, towering over variability of the fluid validity.
Accordingly in Petrov-Vodkin's graphic system all qualities of the world
subject to supervision aspire to the пре
to efficient, absolute conditions: Color gravitates to pure, released from
atmosphere fluctuations, light has character astral "eternal light",
the horizon line reproduces curvature of a planetary surface of the earth
according to a principle of so-called spherical prospect which all event in
space translates in a rank of the phenomena of space scale. In variety of
modern forms of art generalization Petrov-Vodkin allocates what have the
concrete art address, - an Old Russian icon and a fresco, and also Italian кватроченто,
i.e. those phenomena in scales of national and European art tradition which
directly approach to a threshold of the latest differentiation and analytical
smashing but where the art world and a image of the world in art was still
thought and appeared as the certain integrity informing to ways of art
expression the press of the monumental greatness. As whole in feeling of a
universal link of times and the phenomena - here that thirsts for world
contemplation to express and revive in the modern art Petrov-Vodkin. Программно
appealing to associative ability of art memory, he as if urges to guess, what
shape and an image have the modern world and art feeling peculiar to it in соизмерении
with the nature and history in space of the world cultural experience.

Petrov-Vodkin,
as well as variety of other masters of its generation, years one of visible
masters of the Soviet painting, having brought with itself during a new epoch
live art traditions, high ideas and perfect skill.