Natalia Goncharova

Natalia Goncharova was a prominent Russian artist and costume designer who expanded boundaries of avant-garde art into Cubo-Futurism. She belonged to the circle of Wassily Kandinsky and later collaborated with the Ballets Russes of Sergei Diaghilev. She was born Natalia Sergeevna Goncharova on June 4, 1881, in Nagaevo, near Tula, Russia. Her Great aunt was Natalia Goncharova-Pushkina, wife of the Russian poet Alexander Pushkin. Young Goncharova was brought up in a highly intellectual environment of her family. She studied sculpture at the Moscow Academy of Art, and won a Silver Medal for her art-works. After three years of studying sculpture, she switched to painting in 1904. She drew inspiration from the traditional Russian folk art, as well as from the imagery and the primitive aspects of the early Russian icons. Goncharova also experienced an early exposure to the haunting beauty of the unspoiled nature of the Central Russia. During the 1900s, Goncharova made her trips to European capitals and had a taste of such emerging styles as Impressionism, Fauvism and Cubism, through her exposure to the works of 'Vincent Van Gogh', Pierre Bonnard, Paul Cezanne, Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso. In 1900 Goncharova moved together with artist Mikhail Larionov. Together they developed Rayonism, a style inspired by technology and modernity with the emphasis on dynamic rays of contrasting color. In 1911 Goncharova became a founding member of Der Blaue Reiter group of avant-garde artists led by Wassily Kandinsky. She participated in the first show of Der Blaue Reiter in Munich. In 1912 she took part in organizing the Russian avant-garde group "Osliny Khvost" (aka.. Donkey's Tail), together with her partner, artist Mikhail Larionov. At that time she was inspired by the lectures by the Italian ideologue and founder of Futurism Filippo Tommaso Marinetti in Moscow. Marinetti's lectures about Futurism and the influence on masses of people through art, provoked Goncharova and Larionov on making their own lectures on Futurism, albeit their Russian lectures were less politically charged compared to their Italian counterpart. Goncharova was also a graphic artist who created design and illustrations for books in the style of Futurism. In her innovative compositions, Goncharova often broke traditional forms by introducing an intricate fabric of images intertwined with music notation, letters, fragments of words and textual messages. In 1913 Goncharova had her first and biggest "one-man" show which covered the enormous range of her talent, from her Neo-primitive works and Russian icon-inspired images, to her most modern endeavors in Cubo-Futurism and Rayonism. At that time Goncharova emerged as an important and also a highly controversial figure, often breaking social conventions as well as rigid cultural dogmas. She was among the first women in Russia who shocked the public with her casual cross-dressing, and also with her sharp comments on art and society. In 1914, for the premiere at Paris Grand Opera, Goncharova created what became her best known work for Diaghilev's big stage productions, the costumes and set design for "Le Coq d'Or" (aka.. The Golden Cockerel) ballet by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov with choreography by Mikhail Fokin. Back in Russia, she created the curtain for "Daphnis and Chloe" production at the Komissarzhevskaya Drama Theatre in St. Petersburg. Soon she emigrated from Russia amidst the unfolding disaster of the World War I. In 1915 Goncharova moved to Switzerland, and worked in Geneva on her design for ballet costumes and stage sets. In 1921 she moved to Paris and began her collaboration with the legendary Ballets Russes (aka .. Russian Ballets) by impresario Sergei Diaghilev. For Diaghilev, she worked together with her husband, Mikhail Larionov, on the ballet "Chout" on the music by Sergei Prokofiev, in 1921. On the next year, Goncharova and Larionov worked with Bronislava Njinska and Igor Stravinsky on the short ballet "Renard" which premiered at the Paris Opera. In 1923 Goncharova created costumes and stage set design for "les Noches" (aka.. The Wedding), a dance cantata with ballet and singers, on the music of Igor Stravinsky and choreography of Bronislava Njinska. "Les Noches" became the epitome of experimental blending of dance with vocal and instrumental music and the art of Cubo-Futurism, and its influence reached as far as the original production of the 'West Side Story' by Leonard Bernstein. During the 1930s, even after the death of Diaghilev, Goncharova's reputation as an innovative costume and stage designer was strong. She continued her work for major stage productions worldwide, such as her 1930s stage and costumes designs for Russian ballet productions in Australia. In 1937, while living in Paris, Goncharova illustrated a book about Joseph Stalin titled "Tsar Stalin" which made her the public enemy of the Soviet communism. During the 1930s and 1940s Goncharova lived in Paris and continued working as artist for several stage plays. In her later works she actively drew inspiration from a variety of Eastern and Western sources and maintained a unique artistic position of bridging the distant cultures through her talent and vision. In April of 1938, realizing the threat of Nazism, Goncharova and Larionov applied for French nationalization. Full French citizenship was granted to both on September 8, 1938, which secured their lives, home, art and work in the future. Goncharova and Larionov survived the hardship of the Nazi occupation of Paris during the World War II. However, life became harder after her husband, Mikhail Larionov, suffered a debilitating stroke. Goncharova visited him daily in the rest home where Larionov was recovering. She did not have any job at that time, she only ate a bowl of soup per day from a charity. In 1955, after 55 years of living together, Goncharova and Larionov decided to get married. Their marriage made an unexpected effect, and Larionov experienced a miraculous improvement of his health. In 1957, the Sputnik spacecraft was launched, and Goncharova expressed her excitement in creating a series of oils titled "Space" on canvasses. At that time she was so crippled with arthritis, that she could no longer raise her arms to the easel. She painted sitting on her bed with the canvas flat on a stool in front of her. She was so inspired that continued working until her death, and made over 20 new canvasses. Natalia Goncharova died of cancer on October 17, 1962, in Paris, and was laid to rest in the Russian section in Cimetiere Parisien, 44 Avenue de Verdun, Ivry-sur-Seine, France. Her husband, Mikhail Larionov, joined her two years later.