Catalogue Société Anonyme Catalogue Société Anonyme Catalogue Constantin Alaja!ov b, 190u. AMFRILAt'-;, fiOK:-I l\l Kl.SliIA <.()t\~T,\NT1N ALAJAI.OV C()n~!.lntm Al.lj,ilm' II;IS born to 'I prospt'rllUS RUSSI'1lI eh,tnler, In Sepwmocr 1926 ht' completcd his first cover hmily III Llako u. Russia. on Hll\oVt'mbtr 1900. \'<'hen tor tht' !\'fII' Yfi rkrr magazine and dlereafter contributed he was eif,:JH his hmity moved 10 Roswl/-on -lhr-l}{m, Ilhrstrations Jnd cover deSIgns to Ihal and to otht:r pub­ Ilht'rl' ConSlantm and a group of orht'r schoolbo)'s dt'l'd­ IrGrtions. Alajalov also illustrated several books "nd rs (lj1<:d ,m (·nthusiasm for tht' work ofOslar \X'ilcle, Aubrq. nest knOwn liJr his witty lnricarures of the light(;r side of Br;Lrtlsley , ;Ind Baudcl,lirc. A!.!j,HI)I' did a numbt'r of d. Uty life. lustrations msplr('d by Bl'ardslt'y fur the group's 111.1;1::>­ Dreit'r probably ml'r A l~j;iJov thmugh her association lHlI: and by thl: :IJ,:" of fifte('11 knl:\\' thai hI: warlfl:d 10 wilh Dill/ id Burliuk and with Christian Brinton. a long­ necOnlt' .In ,If(ISr. He enrolled io Ihe t.;[1fI"t' rsiry of Pt·t­ time ilsSI.)Ciate of thl: Societe Anonyme and an elllhusia>;tic ro,!;md bill was fi)rced hI' the fi:l"olution ro (l'{Urn to supporter of modern Russmn :m. [n th,' spring of 1926. RostOv, Therl: he neCall1l' a rovmg tnur,llJst for the gov­ Alaj.ilov colboorarcd with Brimon and the Soci~tc Ano­ (Tnment. ;llId IllS murals celcbr:tflnJ,: rht' ,gIOfY of work nyme on thl: publication of a brochurl: accompanYIng th~ and tht' lrl't's of the workmJ,: class ;Idorned rhe waUs of SOC.:u'H'·S showing of German and Russi'lIl ;tf{ al the SI'S­ b"uvernmenr burldings ;1Ilt! workin.L:men's clubs. In ildlh­ qUl-Ccnwnnial Exposition in Philadtlphi~ (SA 12. SA lion to p:tinring porrrarts of rt'votutionary temjer~. hI: U. [.aler that same year Ahtj:ilov workt'd with Dreier on hdped 10 found Pokazatdny, ,In expenmental [hearer 111 the dcsign of the far more ehilxJr:lle and demanding cata­ B.lkuu, III cutlabowtiun with tht' poel Sergei Gordorsky. logue. Aloi/I'm Arl. which accompanit.J the Societe's After ,I brid trip to Persra, where he inJ.,::r.ltlalt'd lumsdf Brooklyn exhibition (SA 43). Alajalol' atso dl:siFned cov­ SUffitlCntly wilh Pl:rsi:tn roy,!lty tI) Ix- offered thc posit ion ers for a sermon Drelcr had pril/ately primed in p)26 and of coun paimer. AlajMol' S(:tr1('<\ in ConStarllilloptl·. For for thl: Societe's ilro(hm'f Qllm"ferl) issued in 192H and cighwen momh~ bt)<tnllH1g rn 1921 Ill' ]),lInred si,gns, 1929. In addition. ht' dl:signed the {"(}\'en; heet that ae­ reSl,llrmnr inreriors . .tnd I)()~fer porrr.lIts of t'ntl·rrarncfS. wmpanied till' portfolio vt'rsinn of Dreier·s.j() Vm·intiOlll. In January 192~ he sailed for Amt·ricl. I-It immcdi,ltdr ElI(h of ,hese designs and the one url painting III the alrl>llcd him,ell with Nl:w York's rotp ldly eXJ><mdrn;l: Rus­ Soc"iett Anonyme Colltn;on reveal a strong sense of ge~ si:ln emigr(' communrty and (nund employment p:lmtmJ,: omctr}' and stand in striking contrast to tht:' anccdOlal rnur:ds in public ,uld priv;!tc blutdin}:s. Includin;l: one in genre $Cl'nl:S typical of Alaj,uov's principal produCtion ;IS the home of tht' we,llt h)' artist ~ml stagt' desif!ner Rotx·rt an arr;SI. Allqntuv lives I(xhlY III Nell' York Cit}'. 1'~'M'P~l RIII.''''I' bh,lJlI,u j","u AN'~)"" r-,,"'hl'~'ff' AI.,~t!",.' C''''''''''''"N P, •. " "'''h" """"n'",}' b, '1,." y",k, Laml ( "''',"or, (i.II,''}' •. 1I,,~,/",. SA 43 IB,ookl)'n 192(.) S .... 44, ;~. j(, J~"" F1J'''M'' (.",C,,"' Yo,k ~,.,J l.unJ"n I') I 'I I)....:. 1'1,2 'S"",kl),,, ,dl'rtjun, 19r) ~ , \ 10 (An, l;/>I,,,. (Nm,,' /J,u,'"pil rl'112)., \ AI.,.II.,,' \V"h".(~1 An 1(,,><"Um, AI.I1"I", C.,"',..­ «I I'.I.?II\ SA (,2 (R."d, Win'~r 1\111/ s..m"d M 1<;"0". C .... "~IIII1' "\"'~t!", (t'-;". Ii~ ",~ 1·... 1 .... h·b, I'r'" ,"",l. 1')12) H",,}' £"11"""', . 1\1"I,'l'" 0"",,, ur tbml,." I.;'IUI". 11 'J.n 19111: 1:1>1 fr 1911 H·j 1\'kt IO(;R~"'l\' Harltquil\ :lnd \'<'om;ff\ Ahllnlov p2inted IImleqllill (flu! W'w/(/11 ln IY2S. An early ~A /')'>//. PI' :1)_7 I. ,II" • • 801101>1 1»82. p, I, I ,md right eYI:, rill' flattl:neJ SWCt'p of the woman's d.lrk. Ins oil sludy in ehe colkuion of rhe :!fIISt sho\l's that he shuulder-Ien,l.:th h,lir. and till' larduIJy articulated dewr!) Oil on l,ff\V:~~ ~Xllll>r ... "", reversed thl· pos rt ion of rh(; twO figurt·s (lnd considt'rablr III rh(; balustr,ldt' in the IO\\'l'( n.dlL Ala):ilol' w,tS doubt­ 96.s X 7(},7 un SA ~3 (O,ooldyn 1926), nu. 167, ,Ilu •. ,n darkened his palette for till' completed work. One strong~ less Jlso influenced b~' tile cubist works of artists Irkt' Siglld 1.1. ",d,ldlalnv I 2)"' 'i'rt,.1 CU, ' SA ,j.!, 4~. 46 (II'ookl),n ",Ir.;­ lr suspens that Alaj:itol' painted this work durin}:: the bsr 1927). no, WH ' \ '$11 1 (In.ugur,1 1941) Picasso. Gris, and Ml'tzin;l:t·r. Aspects of rlll·ir work are KSD from thl: artist, 10 /II ay 1<)1[-:, (or 5215 ,,,.t,, • YSA 4! fNorfnll 19411) ' VSII 74 CN""... j,h two months of 1925 after stl'ing the Soci(;t(· Anonymc's evidt·1ll In the elwiu' of subWcr. the Illilellt'll, rt'cnl r(war 19~') · VSII 9() (B<rlm t%7), no lH imprt'ssil'e l egt'f t'xhibitron ar the ,\ndtrson Galknes construction uf tltl: figllrt's' nt"(.·ks. arm~. and rotsos. and (S A 36). 10 several ways it p"ralJds J. e~ds work: Ihe l!1 the botd, gt'Ometnc l);llI,'rning of rhe ll.lrk":IIII1l·S seve:e fmnrality and sratic qual it)' of the fi.gur(;s" poses, brown and Fra}, SUlI. the d istinctive handling of the h:lnds and I>:Kkground drapery, till' unusu:d shading around each fi1!url'"s nose Société Anonyme Catalogue Société Anonyme Catalogue J osef Al bers l!:Illl! l'r(,. i\MLRK.A"I, IlOKI'. (,' (,lRM .... l\Y JOSH ALBER:; Josef Allx'rs was horn in BOHrop. Gerrn;I1lY. in the Ruhr her 1913. During the 19,Us they corresponded rw­ 2 1911.327 disrrin on 19 /'.I,lfeh IHt)8. In 190H he rt>{:civcd ~ te.Kh­ qUl'nrl~', and in 19.'16 sl)(: showed s<:n,ral of his works, White Circle Hig terrlficarc from the college in Burt'n :tnd for the next including GIJ/~ (car. I). In Ihe Societe Anonym£> uavel­ 19.:n five )'eilrS t:lU!,;!H pnmary l'radcs III the Bottrop public ling exhihitioll enlJl[t'd I'IIlIr ')lIIJ/l~rJ (SA 74-82). T hr: Woodcut sthool system. During lhis lime he bccMllc f:lmiliar with followio;!! year Albers asked he r to wrire a bnef essay fo r 26.9 X ,5 Clf) (imagd tlw work of ilK' modcrnis[s. which he saw "';Ih SOme the catalogue ;l(companyin).: his one-arrist exhibition at ,5.5 X 50.5 em (shecr) rq.:ulafllY:1f [he a\'arlt-~'Lrd(· g;lilnlcs In Ikrlm, and in the Artists' G.lller)' 111 f'..'tw York. Bl'GllISC or its len,!!!h. Signed in pcncil I.r. "Albers ~r; 1.1. "Weisser Krl'IS"; 191 ." he p:!lll[cd IllS first .lbstmCf pictures. Th:u sarnl' Dreier's ess;!y could not he usc<l, but in llppr{>(i;[tioJ1 of below "To Societe Anonymc-l\luseum of Modern Art: year he hc,can [Jklll,L: cLlsses at du, Royal An Schoo! in her crrOrts. Albers s{."nt hl'r OiW of IllS woodtuts, Seglllrl/fJ 1920 on rh,' occassion of rhe 20th ,1llnIV("fS;lry March Berlin and (hl1:(, yl'~rs lun::r enrol!c..l in [he KUIlStgl'W('r­ (when:aDouts unknnwn). In 19-10 he Sl'!\( h<:r tWO addi­ 1910 A" Ix:schulc HI Essen. In 1919 ht" studied under Fr:ln~ "011 fIun,ll works- \l"biu Cio-de (tat. 2), in ho!wr of rill' 50- elft of rhe artist, Mar. II) 10, in honor of till' Societt SIll(k .tt rhc' ,\ [un ich Art Acadtmy, and in 1920. at the ci<:!(: Anonyme's twell1ieth anniversar)" ,lnd an anist's Anonyme's rWl'nnnh annivcrs;lry dj.!C of dllrrr-!wu. Iw ('netrtd rhe preliminary course .!t proof of StJ!/lltlJlS kat. ~). the \'Ii\"im.lr Bauhaus ;\s nn apprentice. Art~r passin~ hi .. Il ' HIII~."~I'H' horizontally striated s(>(tions nf rhe' ""ml',)(irion. Tht' (",0 In Iii I'nll.p H re~r as au apprentICe 1922. he rook over 11](" instalb­ to Georgi fifllfd ll"'III/t'>II'( fexl/rom Ihe 1950 (<llll/'IY/if seem movt freel), b(lCk and forth, with the- result that riun ur {he ).:l:!ss workshop and complelt'd hiS first .l;lass the composirion pulsates with a rhrobbing, rhyrhmit b(llllnTIO"" pinures.