Mikhail Matveevich Shvartsman, 1926-1997

E. Barabanov, I. Shvartsman et al. (ed.), Mikhail Shvartsman, St.Petersburg: Palace Edition, 2005, ill. No. 157

Mikhail Shvartsman is considered to be one of the founding fathers of Unofficial art in Russia. He has never been part of the mainstream, rather his paintings have evolved as a conscious rejection of the official subjects of Socialist Realism.

Born in Moscow in 1927, Shvartsman graduated from the Moscow School of Art in 1956 with a degree in monumental art. Ten years later he accepted the invitation to head the department of graphic art at the Light Industry Bureau of Designers where he oversaw the production of logos for hundreds of Soviet factories. However, his passion lay elsewhere, in mystical abstract paintings he called ‘hieraturas’, derived from the Greek word hieros, meaning sacred. In fact, icons influenced the most important elements of Shvartsman’s artistic technique from the use of gesso and tempera to the layering of old images over new ones.

Shvartsman’s unique approach also reflects a myriad of other influences including French Post-Cubist art, the art of Vasily Kandinsky and Michael Vrubel as well as elements of heraldry, and Old Russian wooden fretwork. Stylistically, Morning Road is characterised by wide and light vertical lines and asymmetrical composition, which emphasises the idea of metamorphosis. As Ilya Kabakov commented: The impact of his [Shvartsman’s] ‘canvases’, ‘countenances’, and ‘architectural fantasies’ was completely captivating, hypnotising.