Mikhail Fedorovich Larionov

Acquired directly from the widow of the artist, Alexandra Tomilina, by the previous owner

Lyon, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Michel Larionov, 17 March - 15 May 1967, no.24 (dating the work to c.1906)
New York, Acquavella Galleries, Exhibition Michel Larionov, 22 April - 24 May 1969, no.13 titled Assiette aux cygnes

Exhibiiton catalogue Michel Larionov, New York: Acquavella galleries, 1969, cited in non-paginated introduction by F.Daulte (illustrated)

The canvas has been lined. There are a few very thin vertical lines of craquelure running through the central plate. UV light reveals some retouching running in a vertical line through the left half of the plate and some small spots of retouching to the white cup on the left. Held in a gold and black painted wooden frame. Unexamined out of frame.
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Larionov painted still lifes throughout his life, in Moscow, Tiraspol and Paris. It was during his time in Russia that he produced his most varied still lifes featuring fruit and vegetables, vases of flowers, drapery, and the artist's tools in his studio. These still lifes are unique in their use of perspective, surprising selection of objects and unusual use of colour.

 

In 1907 and 1908 Larionov worked on his cardinal painting Still Life with a Crayfish (fig.1). With this work he made a bold statement about his new values,: the surprising and colourful world of woodcuts and shop signs, which had not, before then, been considered part of the artistic canon. The picture's composition is typical of Larionov's Primitivist period, with the frontal view reminiscent of a shop sign. The objects arranged diagonally over the table all belong to so-called 'low' culture: a painted tin tray, two narrow earthenware bottles, a thick glass vessel, a hunk of bread and a lobster (or crayfish) on a rough white cloth. The Primitivist form of these objects sets the tone for the whole painting, which 'unites free expression with the solidity of the street sign'. By simplifying the drawing and the use of shadow, the artist achieves a very 'readable' image.

 

The work offered here for auction shares a great deal with the still life described above. It also has an austere, frontal view: here a faience plate decorated with swans is flanked by a group of objects. The table itself is barely noticeable and the drape embellished with intricate eastern motifs acts as a background. The decoration on the drape is so ornate that it drowns out the small objects, which lose their individuality and seem to become part of the pattern of the cloth. These objects are depicted very differently: the plate and the saucer are rendered with broad, thick dabs of white paint, while the glass objects are given only a contour, created with one brushstroke. As ever with Larionov, the objects he has chosen have a 'household' feel. The still life has a decorative quality and the artist clearly set himself a challenge in this painting: to juxtapose the solid faience plate with the fine glassware, against the background of the dark, patterned cloth.

 

The Still lifes painted in the 1900s tended to positioned within the space around them and linked either with an interior or a landscape. In this work, however, the field of vision is narrowed, and the table is depicted from a close viewpoint. The calm, contemplative quality of this work stands in contrast to the tantalising showiness of Still Life with Crayfish.

 

Judging by the numerous paint layers, the artist evidently worked on this still life for a long time, It is possible that there has been some later reworking and it is worth noting that the glasses, cups, slender budding branches and apples all regularly appear in Larionov's easel painting from the 1920s (figs.2 and 3).

 

The offered lot became available to scholars comparatively late, when it was shown for the first time at dedicated exhibitions in Lyon in 1967 and New York in 1969. At that time there were several Larionov retrospectives, showing his work on its own, or together with that of Goncharova, in which new, unknown works would often appear.

 

The dating in catalogues has not always been entirely accurate, even during the artist's lifetime. In the last years of his life, Larionov tried to secure his place in history and culture and to confirm his position as a pioneer. He therefore predated several key works painted in Russia to an earlier period and claimed that works painted in Paris dated from his years in Russia. Experts have often continued to follow the artist's dating, which now, as a result of improvements in the scholarship of his work, is subject to review. However, these questions do not overshadow Larionov's main aim for his art: 'a painting should be, above all, a painting.'