Michail Larionow

by Evgueny Kovtun, Jewgeni Kowtun, Susanne Brammerloh (Translator)

Michael Larionov (1881-1964), painter, designer, and decorator, led the way to the classic avant-garde. His search for a new plastic language rejected traditional 19th-century art, turning towards Naive Art, popular imagery, and stylised Russian shop-signs. His innovations did not dilute his creative drive. His activities stretched from easel-painting to book illustration, notably those of Russian Futurist poets, to theatrical design; his decorations for Diaghilev's ballets are very well-known. Yevgeni Kovtun traces the life and achievements of one of Russia's greatest painters.

Contents:
The impressionist years --
The beginnings of Primitivism. The painted shop-sign --
The donkey's tail --
The East and nationality --
The Lubok exhibitions --
Artistic debates --
The target exhibition --
The discovery of Pirosmani --
The book experiment --
Rayonism --
The Russian museum and Larionov --
Conclusion. After 1914 --
Chronicle of the artist's life and work --
Events since 1964.

Genres: Art

176 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 1998

About the author

Evgeniy Fedorovich Kovtun (29 February 1928, Maryanskaya, Krasnodar Territory - 4 January 1996, St. Petersburg) was a Soviet and Russian art historian, a famous scientist, and an expert in the field of Russian avant-garde.

He prepared a number of exhibitions and catalogues devoted to the Russian avant-garde, and is also the author of numerous studies, articles and books published in Russia and other countries.

His main research topics were:
Russian book illustrations of the late 19th - early 20th centuries;
Russian print and engraving from the first half of the 20th century;
The works of artists of the Russian avant-garde - Malevich, Tatlin, Larionov, Matyushin, and Mansurov.