Kruchenykh, Aleksei.

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Description

Pustynniki [The Hermits]. Moscow: G.L. Kuzmin & S.D. Dolinsky, [1913]

8vo (187 x 135mm.), [limited to 480 copies], lithographed throughout, manuscript text, 16 illustrations by Natalia Goncharova, original pictorial wrappers, upper cover design by Mikhail Larionov, manuscript text on lower cover, folder, rebacked, lower edge upper cover neatly repaired, a few small chips at edges

Literature

Hellyer 241; Ex-Libris 123; The Russian Avant-Garde Book 28; Compton (1978), pp.20-21, 82 and 125

Catalogue Note

These two long poems by Aleksei Kruchenykh, "The Hermits" and "A Hermit Woman", use surrealistic images to explore the conscious and repressed desires of holy men. Kruchenykh delights in shocking his readers with erotic and blasphemous imagery. Goncharova's pictures reflect the icons of the church and popular religious prints which she was studying at this time.