Girl with a watering can. "secret love" by alexander rodchenko. Influence on the development of photography
He experienced radical changes in his native country and ended up launching decisive changes in his chosen form of art. “We are obliged to experiment,” proclaimed Rodchenko, who refused to “contemplative” photography.
Alexander Mikhailovich Rodchenko was born in St. Petersburg in 1891, found the end of the tsarist empire, met the arrival of Lenin, and witnessed the Stalinist repressions. As the son of a turbulent generation, he himself was troubled. Although his first artwork, which appeared during the 1910s and 1920s, was part of the booming Russian avant-garde, Rodchenko became one of many artists whose creative instincts curbed the strict principles of artistic expression under Soviet rule. From the 1930s until his death in 1956, his work focused on sporting events, parades, and other traditional propaganda topics.
From March 7 to June 28, 2015, an exhibition is held in Villa Manin, a commune of Codroipo in northern Italy, which presents one hundred works by the artist. His works demonstrate the subject, technical techniques and ingenuity of Rodchenko. The collection covers works for magazines, films and advertising, as well as excellent compositions created with his wife and associate Varvara Stepanova.
Rodchenko’s early works betray a gifted and brave artist, pouring a new life into seemingly worldly paintings. This exhibition is deprived of the dictate of socialist realism in order to show the vivid, thoughtful and memorable images that Alexander Rodchenko is known for.
Portrait of Lily Brik on the poster "Books", 1924
Sketch of a poster for the documentary film "Dzigi Vertov" Cinema-Eye ", 1924
Morning exercises on the roof of the student dormitory in Lefortovo, 1932
Pioneer Trumpeter, 1930
Shukhov Tower, 1929
Portrait of a Mother, 1924
Varvara Stepanova, 1928
Radio Listener, 1929
Staircase, 1930
The building of Mosselprom, 1926
Asphalt laying, Leningradskoye shosse, 1929
Boats, 1926
Bus, 1932
Lunch in a mechanized dining room, 1932
Girl with a Watering Can, 1934
- 24.05.2019 Sold 13 lots of 20 - only 65%. Bought Moscow, St. Petersburg, Chelyabinsk
- 22.05.2019 The in-person auction No. 56 will be held on Saturday, May 25, 2019. The bidding starts at 12:00
- 21.05.2019 The auction catalog on May 25, 2019 amounted to 653 lots - painting, graphics, religious and arts and crafts
- 20.05.2019 The traditional twenty lots of the AI \u200b\u200bAuction are eight paintings, eight sheets of the original and two sheets of printed graphics, one work in mixed media and one porcelain plate
- 17.05.2019 Today was the perfect day to sell art: sunny and cool. And indeed the results are not bad: sold 14 out of 20 lots, that is 70%
- 13.05.2019 Many people believe that such a high concentration of very rich people inevitably creates adequate demand in the domestic art market. Alas, the scale of purchases of paintings in Russia is by no means directly proportional to the sum of personal conditions
- 12.03.2019 This conclusion is contained in a study published in March 2019 by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)
- 23.01.2019 A family heirloom, an inheritance, hung on the wall, and hung. But, having decided to sell it, people think for the first time. Where is better to sell? How not to cheapen? Not so simple questions as soon as it comes down to business
- 21.01.2019 Does the collector need documents to own the painting? Beginners want the final paper, the actual armor. What if they steal it? But what if you need to sell? What then will I prove that the picture is mine?
- 16.01.2019 Working on the auction results database, we most often manage to calculate repeat sales. That is, to fix when the work was sold earlier and how much it was possible to earn on it. The best examples of 2018 - in our review
I really love the avant-garde of the 20-30s, constructivism and Mayakovsky's poetry. For me, this is a time of a little crazy creativity of naive romantics, a time of bold search and revolutionary experiments, short as an inhalation and an exhalation. Inhale - after overthrowing the old ideals of boring academism, exhale - before they tightly tightened their throats and blocked oxygen in general.
And time is unthinkable without photos of Alexander Rodchenko.
Later, detractors accused him of plagiarism - they say, he “borrowed” his style from some foreign masters of photography, did not invent anything new, etc. But we don’t give a damn about all these malignancies, right? Rodchenko is interesting not only as a master of photography (and indisputable), but also as an invaluable chronicler, an eyewitness of the era, stubbornly wanting to see in her only the good (even on the set of the Belomorkanal). However, for such blind optimism, the artist himself was severely punished over time.
Rodchenko’s experiments with chiaroscuro are very interesting - I really like how he got glare on the pavement - contrasting, but still soft.
Another direction of the search is unusual angles ("Fire escape", 1925)
The artist’s sharp geometry observes the "vital geometry" everywhere ("Boats", 1926)
Photos in the campus in Lefortovo (1932).
Aesthetics are very reminiscent of the one that we see later in the Leni Riefenstahl film "Olympia"
There
Text Photography - "Behind the Worms", 1933
The Pioneer Trumpeter, 1930
The fitter on the pillar. 1929
"Dynamo Parade" 1928
"Pines in Pushkino." 1927
The building of Mosselprom was designed by Rodchenko and his wife Varvara Stepanova, the slogan “Nowhere except in Mosselprom” was invented by Mayakovsky.
Even historical architecture can be removed with such a subvert that it is impossible to recognize (1928).
I love constructivism!
"Railway bridge". 1926
I think, after 10 years, the author himself looked at this photo with a shudder. Why - find out further.
"Demonstration gathering." 1928
"Laying asphalt", 1929
"Shukhov Tower".
"White Swan". 1940
"Bathing in the basin." 1937
"Summer day". 1929
An interesting series - "Glass and Light", 1926
Report from the kitchen factory. 1932
Also
Also
Also
Sport is a separate topic of creativity, quite extensive.
It is especially interesting to consider portraits of Rodchenko’s contemporaries and friends, and he had interesting ones!
Alexander Dovzhenko
Actress Julia Solntseva, the beautiful wife of Alexander Dovzhenko (1930).
Portrait of a Mother, 1924
Evgenia Sokolova (Pearl), the second wife of Osip Brik. Dressed in a costume created according to the sketches of Varvara Stepanova
Film director Gleb Kuleshov
Artist Lyubov Popova, friend and co-author of Varvara Stepanova
Varvara Stepanova and Lyubov Popova
Poet Nikolai Aseev
Elsa Triole, sister of Lily Brick
Filmmaker Esther Shub
A special page of creativity is portraits of the Mayakovsky-Brikov circle. Literally detailed chronicle of their life!
Rodchenko has a lot of portraits of Vladimir Mayakovsky. They were friends and associates of LEF.
At the Brik House. From left to right: Mayakovsky (a rare photo where he smiles), Varvara Stepanova, Osip Beskin and Lilya Brik (terribly thin!), 1928.
Cartoon portrait of Osip Brik
Mayakovsky brought Lilichka a little box from abroad, and she decided to arrange a run from Moscow to Leningrad (1929, Lilya had already divorced Osip, there was a year left before Mayakovsky's suicide). Rodchenko took with her as a photojournalist. Rest on the road, Lilya preens. Lord, what is it about her ?!
The rally ended ingloriously - 20 km from Moscow they punched a wheel and decided to return.
Lily drove the car herself - she was the first female driver in the capital. Here she is 38.
Rodchenko did not have an affair with Lily (seemingly), but he clearly fell under the charm of this demonic woman.
The secret of the appeal of the “Russian avant-garde muse” in this photo is obvious.
Lily in a kerchief with a print by Varvara Stepanova.
Designing patterns for fabrics is one of Rodchenko’s most famous activities. She also worked on signboards, advertising, painting and graphics.
Let us finally recall Barbara.
Barbarian on the couch. 1928
They met at an art school in Kazan, where Varvara studied in 1910-14. For a long time they lived in a civil marriage, they signed only in 1942 in the evacuation. They had a daughter, their grandson is still alive. Lived together for 40 years. It was a very strong union, not only love, but also creative.
"Courier". In the role of Courier - Barbarian.
I really like this portrait - so warm and intimate. Rodchenko’s loving eyes (and lens) saw such an ugly wife in general. Who will say that in this photo she is not attractive ?!
Barbarian in a dress made of fabric with a pattern according to her own sketch.
The Smile (Barbara, 1930)
And this is something about which the cozy family boat of Rodchenko-Stepanova almost crashed.
This famous photograph of The Girl with a Watering Can (1934) depicts Zhenya Lemberg, a young student of Rodchenko.
Rodchenko took Zhenya seriously, they had a relationship, secret and painful. The photographer was torn between Zhenya and his loving Barbara. In addition, he was embarrassed by the difference in age and interests - he was 43, his wife - 26. After much doubt, he broke up with the girl, but for some time they continued to work together. Everything ended tragically - Zhenya died in a railway accident in 1934.
"Three reporters" (Lemberg (sits), Krasnyavskaya, Ignatovich).
Interestingly, on a fateful trip, Lemberg called Rodchenko with her, but he did not go. Then, judging by his diary entries, Zhenya often dreamed about him alive, for many years. But feelings for Barbara never returned, although they lived together until the end of their lives.
The Girl with the Watering Can was sold at Christie's auction in 1992 for £ 115,000.
After the war, hard times came for the Stepanova and Rodchenko family. The avant-garde was actually banned back in the late 1930s; LEF was long dispersed. Mayakovsky, Lyubov Popova, Osip Brik and many other friends were not alive. P socialist realism solemnly marched about the country, innovation and experiments were not only not in demand, but also dangerous. In 1951, Rodchenko, “as a formalist,” was expelled from the Union of Artists (it’s good that they didn’t arrest him!).A couple of artists sat unemployed for months, Alexander now occasionally shot sports and circus artists, was engaged in painting. Barbara worked as the art editor of the magazine. They were chased by lack of money and longing for lack of demand.
In 1956, a brilliant photographer died of a stroke at the age of 64; Varvara survived it for only a year and a half. They buried them nearby, at the Don cemetery in Moscow.
“Secret”, “romantic”, “passionate” ... Rodchenko's love is “Girl with a Watering Can” or Evgenia Lemberg. I had to literally look for some short phrases from letters and diaries of Alexander Rodchenko and his wife Varvara, in order to somehow understand the history of their relationship.
Officially, Eugene was a "family friend" and a student of Rodchenko in the 30s. Formally, Rodchenko registered his marriage with the artist Varvara Stepanova only in 1942 in the Perm region during the evacuation, despite the fact that they were familiar even before revolution (in Kazan while studying), but worked and lived together. In other words, how Now it’s customary to say - it was a “civil marriage” with Varvara Stepanova.
In the 30s, Barbara and Eugene helped Rodchenko a lot. For example, they together were distributing photographs from the Belomor Channel (1933) to the editorial offices. Rodchenko showed and printed photos in Medvezhyegorsk, then sent them to Moscow, including the magazine "USSR at a construction site", which after the war was renamed the magazine "Soviet Union. "Distribution of photos in Moscow and engaged in Varvara and Eugene.
As far as I understood from letters and diaries, it was not only romantic love, but also tragic. In the end, Evgenia Lemberg died in a train accident in the summer of 1934, when their personal relationship with Rodchenko no longer existed (judging by
diaries), but apparently the relationship as a “teacher and student” was preserved because she invited Alexander Rodchenko on this train journey (they often traveled together, for example in Kramatorsk, Donetsk region, in the summer of 1934 some time before her death), but he, at the last moment, "postponed the trip for a day." Eugene left alone and died ...
The photo "Girl with a Watering Can" was obviously taken in the spring or summer of 1934, according to the Cristies auction, where the vintage was sold in 1992 for £ 115,000 sterling. There are also photographs of Eugenia Lemberg "in the sea waves" (without Lake and clothes) and several photos "on the bed", which, supposedly, were also presented in the exposition in Lausanne: "Female images in the photographs of Alexander Rodchenko" under curated by Daniel Girardi and the grandson of Rodchenko, Alexander Lavrentiev. But I am not saw these pictures.
In the diaries of Rodchenko, for a dozen years after the death of Eugenia Lemberg, there are references to her (often told dreams) that allow you to think about "romantic love", and not just about "the teacher’s passion for his young student."
Well here is the source itself:
February 18, 1934 
...
Eugene called, calling tomorrow to shoot something. I want to go somewhere tomorrow. To one. Neither with her nor without her ...
February 20, 1934
Yesterday I was at the Press House with Zhenya ...
The question arises rib, or to live with it completely,
or part ... She wants to visit, for the evenings, but I need to work seriously, 26 - 43, this is math ... This is reality.
February 21, 1934
J. wrote a farewell letter. I drew a little. The impression is that after the hospital I came home and I can’t find myself. I rummage on the shelves, I’m looking for something ... And I’m looking for my confidence and peace ... I’m looking for myself ... I look at magazines, read about painting ... I want to start all over again...
February 22, 1934
....
Disabled state due to a forked feeling between the workshop, work, Barbara and Zhenya ...
December 21, 1936
...(about two years after the death of Lemberg)
I don’t feel like writing about women, but on the other hand, without women, there’s no romance,no feeling.
Barbara’s love for me is unusually deep ...
But to Barbara as a woman after Zhenya, nevertheless, feelings do not come back ...
May 25, 1939
.....
Today Zhenya was dreaming very real, as if she had arrived ... I was so happy ...
From the diaries and letters I was not able to understand whether Rodchenko really broke up with Eugene on February 21, 1934, when he wrote her a “farewell letter”, but the fact remains that they continued to work together, were in Kramatorsk (Watering Rodchenko was not working properly and the shooting failed, the contract with the plant was terminated), they are together filmed in the Park of Culture ... - all this was literally before her death.
In other words, there are no other facts or they are not known. However, being a cynical person, but with a share of romance, I will end this post “optimistically” with words
Hollywood classics: "And only death will separate us."
On the photo of A. Rodchenko Eugene Lemberg: 1. At the Dynamo stadium 1932 2. "Girl with a Watering Can", 1934. 3. "Girl with a Watering Can" from a different angle.
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