Russian and Soviet Views of Modern Western Art
1890s to Mid-1930s
EDITED BY ILI A DORO NTC H E N KO V
TRANSLATED BY CHARLESROUGLE
CONSULTING EDITOR NINA GURIANOVA
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS
BERKELEY LOS ANGELES LONDON CONTENTS
Preface and Acknowledgments xiii
Introduction 1
RUSSIAN CRITICISM BEFORE THE REVOLUTION: 1890S-1917
I Facing Europe: Impressions, Contacts, and Criticisms 27
1 Mark Antokol'skii, "Notes on Art" (1897] 28
2 Igor' Grabar', "Decline or Renaissance? A Survey of Contemporary
Trends in Art" (1897] 30
3 Vladimir Stasov, Nineteenth-Century Art: Painting (1901 ] 32
4 Vasily Kandinsky, "An Artist's Text" (1918] 34
5 Andrei Belyi, On the Border of Two Centuries (1930) 35
6 Pavel Muratov, "On Grand Art" (1907) 36
7 Sergei Diaghilev [and Dmitrii Filosofov], "The Bases of Artistic Judgment" (1899] .... 40
8 Sergei Diaghilev, "European Exhibitions and Russian Painters" (1896) 41
9 Sergei Diaghilev, "The Exhibition in Helsingfors" [18991 42
10 Vladimir Stasov, "Exhibitions" [1898] 43
11 Grigorii Miasoedov, Letter to Vladimir Stasov (1898) 45
12 Vladimir Stasov, "The Court of Miracles" (1899) 46
13 Igor'Grabar', "Around European Exhibitions" (1904) 48
14 Vasily Kandinsky, "A Letter from Munich" (1909-10) 50
11 Western Influences: Symbolism, Impressionism, Post-Impressionism,
and the Golden Fleece Exhibitions 55
15 Ivan Konevskoi, "Bocklin's Painting" (1900) 57
16 Alexandre Benois, "Maurice Denis" (1901) 59
17 Igor' Grabar', "Around Europe" (1902) 61
18 Alexandre Benois, "An Artist's Conversations: 1. On Impressionism" (1899) 62
19 Igor'Grabar', "Around Europe: Letters on Contemporary Art" (1902] 64
20 Georgii Plekhanov, "The Proletarian Movement and Bourgeois Art" (1905) 65
21 Stepan laremich, "The Autumn Salon" (1904) 67
22 Alexandre Shervashidze, "Cezanne" (1905) 68
23 Maksimilian Voloshin, "Aspirations of the New French Painting" (1908) 69
24 Petr Konchalovskii, Letters from Paris to Il ia Mashkov (19081 71 25 Pavel Muratov, "The Golden Fleece Salon" 11908) 74
26 Igor' Grabar', "Moscow Exhibitions" 11909) 75
III Matisse, Picasso, and the Shchukin and Morozov Collections 77
27 lakov Tugendkhol'd, "S. I. Shchukin's French Collection" 11914) 81
28 Natal'ia Severova [Nordman], Intimate Pages 11910) 89
29 Vasilii Kamenskii, "KARTINiia" (1914) 92
30 Sergei Makovskii, "French Artists in the Morozov Collection" (1912) 93
31 Boris Ternovets, "The Museum of Modern Western Art in Moscow
(The Morozov Section)" (1922-23) 96
32 Nikolai Breshko-Breshkovskii, "The Salon" (1910) 100
33 Alexandre Benois, "The Salon'and Bakst's School" (1910) 100
34 H'ia Repin, "The Izdebsky Salon" (1910) 101
35 lakov Tugendkhol'd, "The Autumn Salon" (1910) 102
36 Boris Ternovets, Letter to Nadezhda Shamshina (19111 103
37 Alexandre Benois, "Moscow Impressions" (1911) 104
38 Boris Bugaev [Andrei Belyi], "Stamped Culture" (1909) 105
39 Boris Anrep, "Apropos of an Exhibition in London
with Participating Russian Artists" (1913) 106
40 Alexandre Benois, "More on New Trends in Art" (1912) 108
41 S. Khudakov, "Literature, Art Criticism, Debates, and Lectures" 11913) 110
42 Sergei Bulgakov, "Beauty's Corpse (Apropos of Picasso's Paintings)" (1915) 111
43 Ivan Aksenov, Picasso and the Environs (1917) 114
IV Cubism and Futurism 127
44 E. Dmitriev, "What Is Cubism?" (19121 129
45 lakov Tugendkhol'd, "A Letter from Paris" (1912) 131
46 Georgii Plekhanov, "Art and Social Life" (19121 132
47 David Burliuk, "Cubism (Surface—Plane)" (1912) 133
48 Nadezhda Udal'tsova, Diary (1912-13) 137
49 Mikhail Matiushin, "On Du Cubisme by Metzinger and Gleizes" (1913) 138
50 Aleksandr Shevchenko, The Principles of Cubism and Other Currents
in Painting from All Ages and Nations (1913) 144
51 Nikolai Kulbin, "Cubism" (1915) 145
52 Kazimir Malevich, "On New Systems in Art: Statics and Speed" (1919) 149
53 Nikolai Punin, "Escapes from Cubism" (1923) 153
54 Sillart, "Boccioni's Futurist Sculpture Exhibition" (1913) 156 55 Genrikh Tasteven, Futurism: Toward a NewSymbolism 11914) 158
56 Velimir Khlebnikov and Benedikt Livshits, "On Marinetti's Visit to Russia" (1914) . . . . 160
57 Nikolai Berdiaev, The Crisis in 4rM1917) " 162
58 R. la. [Roman Jakobson], "Futurism" 11919] 163
V Art and Nationality: Polemics and Reactions 167
59 Sergei Makovskii, "Art Survey" [1910] 168
60 lakov Tugendkhol'd, "The'Russian Seasons'in Paris" (1910) 171
61 Alexandre Benois, "Icons and the New Art" (1913) 173
62 David Burliuk, "The Noisy'Benois'and the New Russian National Art" (1913) 174
63 Natal'ia Goncharova [Il ia Zdanevich], Foreword to the Goncharova exhibition catalogue (1913) 175
64 Aleksei Grishchenko, On the Ties of Russian Painting to Byzantium and the West,
13th-20th Centuries: Thoughts of an Artist 11913) 177
65 Mikhail Le Dantiu, "The Painting of the Everythingists" (c. 1914) 180
66 Georgii lakulov, Benedikt Livshits, and Artur Lourie, 'We and the West" (1914) 184
67 Vladimir Mayakovsky, "Russia. Art. We" (1914) 185
RUSSIAN AND SOVIET CRITICISM AFTER THE REVOLUTION
VI The International of Art and the Great Utopia 189
68 Clara Zetkin, Reminiscences of Lenin (1924) 190
69 Aleksandr Bogdanov, "Our Critique. Essay One: On Artistic Heritage" (1918) 191
70 Vladimir Friche, "The Art of the Labor Commune" (1918) 192
71 Decree of the Soviet of People's Commissars on the Nationalization
of the Sergei Shchukin Art Gallery [1918) 193
72 Pavel Muratov, "The Museum of Western Art in Moscow" [1920) 194
73 Vasily Kandinsky, "The Museum of the Culture of Painting" [1920) 195
74 Varvara Stepanova, Diary Entry 11919) 196
75 Nikolai Punin, "The Third International" [1919) 197
76 Konstantin Krainii [Umanskii], "The International of Art (The Tasks Confronting
the International Union of Fine Arts Workers)" (1919) 199
77 Vasily Kandinsky, "The Great Utopia" (1920) 199
78 IZO Editorial [1921) 201
79 Abram Efros, "We and the West" (1920) 202
80 Nikolai Punin, Tallin /Against Cubism) [1921) 203
81 Jansen, "On the Exchange of Art Exhibitions with Western Europe" (1921) 204
82 Boris Arvatov, "Toward Proletarian Art" (1922) 205 83 Pavel Muratov, "Predictions" (1922) 207
84 Vasilii Chekrygin, "On the Emerging New Phase of All-European Art" (1922) 209
85 Viktor Perelman, "From the Wanderers to Heroic Realism" (1923) 210
86 Nikolai Punin, "A Response to French Artists" (19241 212
87 lakov Tugendkhol'd, "Once Again on French Artists and Us" (1924) 212
88 Nikolai Punin, "The USSR and French Artists" (1924) 214
VII New Visions of Western Art 215
89 R. la. [Roman Jakobson], "Letters from the West: Dada" (1921) 218
90 El [Lazar] Lissitzky, "Exhibitions in Berlin" (1922) 219
91 Leon Trotsky, "Futurism" (1923) 221
92 Vladimir Mayakovsky, "A Seven-Day Inspection of French Painting" (1923) 222
93 Aleksandr Rodchenko, "Rodchenko in Paris: Letters Home" (1927) 231
94 lakov Tugendkhol'd, TheArtistic Cutture of the WesUl 928) 232
95 la. T-d [lakov Tugendkhol'd], "The Art of Contemporary America" (1928) 236
VIII Expressionism and George Grosz 239
96 Vladimir Weidle, "Notes on Western Painting: 1. The End of Expressionism" (1923) . . 240
97 Boris Arvatov, "Expressionism as a Social Phenomenon: Apropos of Eckart v[on] Sydow, Die deutsche expressionistische Kuttur und Maleri (Berlin, 1920)" (1922) 243
98 Nikolai Radlov, "Introduction" to Georg Marzinski's The Expressionist Method
in Painting [1923] 244
99 Nikolai Tarabukin, "Apropos of the German Art Exhibition" (1924) 246
100 Osip Brik, "Ecce Homo" (1923) 248
101 Abram Efros, "George Grosz" (1923) 249
102 Viktor Pertsov, "Foreword" to the Russian translation of George Grosz and Wieland Herzfelde's Art Is in Danger: Three Essays 11926) 254
103 Anatolii Lunacharskii, "Art Is in Danger" 11926] 255
IX Creating a Model for Revolutionary Art 257
104 Aleksei Fedorov-Davydov, "On the New Realism in Connection with Western European Trends in Art" (1925) 258
105 Abram Efros, "Revolutionary Art of the West (The State Academy of Artistic
Sciences Exhibition)" [1926) 260
106 Ivan Matsa (Janos Macza), The Art of Contemporary Europe [1926] 262
107 Anatolii Lunacharskii, "Discussion on AKhRR" (1926) 266
108 Emelian laroslavskii, "Against Leftist Phrase Mongering and Unfair Criticism [Apropos of Comrade A. Kurella's Article)" (1928) 267 109 Alfred Kurella, "From 'Russia's Revolutionary Art' to Proletarian Art:
Responses and Questions for the Critics" 11928) 268
110 Aleksei Mikhailov, "Diego Rivera" (1929) - 269
111 Aleksei Fedorov-Davydov, "Militant Art: John Heartfield, Proletarian Artist" (1932) . . 272
X Changing Views of Western Art 275
112 Boris Ternovets, "The Contemporary French Art Exhibition in Moscow" (1928) 277
113 Ts. Plotkin, "The French in Moscow" (1928) 280
114 Nikolai Punin, Vladimir Vasit'evich Lebedev (19281 283
11 5 Sergei Romov, "From Dada to Surrealism: On Painting, Literature,
and the French Intelligentsia" (1929) 285
116 Sergei Romov, "Contemporary French Painting" (1929) 286
117 Frida Roginskaia, "Against the Cult of the French" (1930) 288
118 Ivan Matsa (Janos Macza), "To the Highest Level!" (1931) 290
119 Aleksei Mikhailov, "Comrade Bogorodskii's Trip Abroad" (1931) 292
120 Dmitrii Lebedev, "The Museum of Modern Western Painting Must Live!" (1930) .... 293
121 Osip Mandelstam, "A Journey to Armenia: The French" (1933) 294
122 D. Mel'nikov, "Cezanne and Cezannism" (1921) 296
123 David Arkin, "RIobert] Fal'k and Moscow Painting" (1923) 297
124 Nikolai Tarabukin, "The Still Life as a Problem of Style" (1928) 299
125 Nikolai Punin, "Mikhail Larionov's Impressionist Period" (1928) 301
126 Amshei Niurenberg, "The Pissarro Exhibition: Letter from Paris" (1929) 302
127 Aleksandr Severdenko, "Response to an Impressionist" (1929) 302
128 Anatolii Lunacharskii, "The Painter of Happiness: On Viewing Renoir's Canvases" (1933) 303
XI The End of an Era 305
129 Polikarp Lebedev, "Against Formalism in Soviet Art" (1936) 306
130 Nina lavorskaia, "An Eyewitness Account of the Closing of the Museum of Modern Western Art" (1988) 307
Chronology 311
Acronyms 323
Selected Bibliography 325
List of Illustrations 331
Index 333