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Description: MIKHAIL LARIONOV
1881-1964
NATURE MORTE ROUGE
Signed with the initials and dated 1910
Oil on canvas
27 by 32 5/8 in. 68.6 by 82.9 cm.
Larionov's contribution to the Russian Avant Garde movement was critical, both as a painter and organizer of exhibtions including the famous Jack of Diamonds show in 1910. Larianov left Russia in 1919 and settled in Paris with his partner Natalia Goncharova.
According to Dr. Anthony Parton, Larionov frequently turned the canvas as he painted it. For example, in the present work the initials are signed at a 90 degree angle from the image. The figurative images are reminiscent of works from 1910, but it is possible that he painted over the work later, after rotating the picture 90 degrees, adding more abstract elements. It was between 1912 and 1918 that Larionov developed his abstract language of linear patterns that he called Rayonism.
Provenance
Acquired directly from the artist by the present owner in 1961