TheByte

Rob

Beautiful Car Diva -- Gustav Kilimt was Egon Schiele's mentor (see above)

The Diva

Thanks Rob.

They also acused him of being racy, so he expressed his opinon on the critics in Goldfish :



To see the full exibit click here:
http://www.iklimt.com

Bruce

You're welcome Rob. Thank you too for introducing me to Fortunato Depero, Mark Kostabi, etc.

Very nice! What's particulary interesting about this piece is how neither of the individuals are thatdistinguished (especially the male).

Rob

Kasimir Malevich (1878-1935)

OK ...now I'm getting serious

I am a massive fan of the Russian avant-garde ...and top of my list is Kasimir Malevich.

In the early years of the 20th century, Russian art was some of the most progressive.

Taking in the Harvest
1911-12


The Woodcutter
1912


Morning in the Country after Snowstorm
1912


Reaper on Red Background
1912-13


Woman with Water Pails
1912


The Aviator
1914


An Englishman in Moscow
1914


Soldier of the First Division
1914



Here's where Malevich becomes really interesting. He had been influenced by the Cubists but then suddenly started producing something new and original .....he called this new style Suprematism. This purity of simple geometric forms in Suprematism coincides with the rise of the Russian revolution -- Suprematism was about a new beginning ...a new order ....revolution was in the air.

The dating of some of Malevich's paintings is confusing ....he would sometimes date them a few years earlier than they were actually painted ...I don't know why. I have checked the dates on the examples I have shown to be as sure as possible they are accurate. Some early Suprematist works like the Black Square and Black Circle are dated 1913 ...but were actually painted in 1915

Black Square
1915


Black Circle
1915


Black Square and Red Square
1915


Red Square: Painterly Realism of a Peasant
Woman in Two Dimensions
1915


Suprematist Painting: Aeroplane Flying
1915


Supremus No. 56
1916


Suprematism (Supremus No. 58)
1916


Suprematism
1916-17


Suprematist Painting
1917


Suprematist Painting
1916


Suprematist Painting
1915-16


Suprematism: Self-Portrait in Two Dimensions
1915


Suprematism
1927


Half-Figure in a Yellow Shirt
1928-32


Stalinism
Russian avant garde art was fully supported an encouraged by Vladimir Lenin and the Bolsheviks -- the early years of the Soviet Union were exciting times for intellectuals and the avant garde. However, all that changed under Josef Stalin. Stalin put an official ban on all forms of Modernism -- it was now deemed undemocratic Western bourgeois decadence.

Undemocratic ...because it was considered too academic and elitist for an ordinary Soviet citizen to appreciate ......this ban on Modernism affected many artists and intellectuals badly. Malevich's paintings were confiscated and many were destroyed. The music of Debussy, Stravinsky, Schoenberg, and others was totally banned in the USSR ...and the leading Russian composers Shostakovitch and Prokofiev were forced to write more "politically correct" music ....although they did continue to push the limits as much as they could ....getting them into serious trouble with Soviet officials several times ...and genuinely risking their lives in the process.

Below is a Malevich self portrait from 1933. As you can see, he was forced to abandon abstract art completely ....the penalties for not doing so were very harsh ....perhaps even death as a traitor to the Soviet people.

Self Portrait
1933

Rob

Here is a tea set Malevich desiged in 1923.

The Diva

Wow...! some are really deja vu of Wassily!

Interesting how the tension of te moment was channeled to art.

Rob

Thanks for the thanks Car Diva

I was going to post some Wassily Kandinsky .....but you obviously like his work too ....I'll let you have that honour ...if you want

The Diva

Hey Rob:

I have terrible flu ( odd in Florida summer but well).

So I'm phasing in a out. I'll Start with Joyeuse

Could you please get more Wassily in the thread?

Bruce

Thank you for sharing you're excellent knowledge Rob! Kasimir's work is wonderful; I love this themes and furthermore, his use of lines.

This one is truly spectacular!

Rob

Oh, I hope you feel better soon CD.


Here are some paintings by Wassily Kandinsky (1866 -1944)

Russian born Kandinsky is believed to have been synesthetic ....a harmless condition where one sense can trigger reactions in another sense ....he would see colours and shapes when he heard sounds -- he was influenced greatly by music and believed art could be deeply spiritual.

Kandinsky is regarded as the main founder of abstract art -- he is a giant in the world of Modern Art -- without Kandinsky, art in the 20th century would have been very different.

Improvisation 7
1910


In 1911 Kandinsky and a small group of his contemporaries started a group called Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider) which was the name of one of Kandinsky's paintings -- they believed art could heighten spiritual awareness through symbolism and colour.

Thank God for wikipedia



From 1922 -1933 he was a teacher at the German Bauhaus art school. His paintings became more geometric during this time.

Composition VIII
1923


Composition IX
1936