Alexander Mikhailovich Rodchenko

Varvara Rodchenko, the daughter of the artist
George Costakis (a gift from the above circa 1962 and sold: Sotheby's, London, April 4, 1990, lot 503)
Acquired at the above sale by A. Alfred Taubman

Possibly Moscow, Fifth State Exhibition (From Impressionism to Nonobjectivity), 1919
Cologne, Galerie Gmurzynska, From Surface to Space, Russia 1916-24, 1974
Düsseldorf, Kunstmuseum, Werke aus der Sammlung Costakis: Russische Avantgarde 1910-1930, 1977, no. 151
New York, The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Russian Avant-Garde Art: The George Costakis Collection, 1981-1982, no.164
London, The Royal Academy, Art of the Avant-Garde in Russia, 1983, no. 163 or 164
Stockholm, Moderna Museet, Ryskt avantgarde ur George Costakis samling, 1983, no. 162
Helsinki, Kaupungin Taidemuseo, Venäläistä avantgardea George Costakisin Kokoelmasta, 1984, no.162
Munich and Hanover, Städtischen Galerie im Lenbachhaus and Kestner Gesellschaft, Russische Avantgarde aus der Sammlung Costakis, 1984, no. 164
Dublin, The Royal Hospital, Kilmainham, ROSC '88, Selections from the George Costakis Collection of the Avant-Garde in Russia, 1988, no. 100
Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal, L’Avant-garde russe et sovietique: Oeuvres de la collection George Costakis, 1989, no. 209

Exhibition catalogue From Surface to Space, Russia 1916-24, Cologne, Galerie Gmurzynska, 1974, illustrated in b/w in addendum Works on Loan from the Collection George Costakis for the Exhibition
Exhibition catalogue Werke aus der Sammlung Costakis, Russische Avantgarde 1910-1930, Düsseldorf, Künstmuseum, 1977, p.80, no. 151 listed as Zirkel- und Lineal-Komposition
A. Rudenstine, ed., S.F.Starr & G.Costakis, Russian avant-garde art: The George Costakis Collection, New York, 1981, p.447, no.1011, illustrated
Exhibition catalogue Art of the Avant-Garde in Russia: Selections from the George Costakis Collection, New York, The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, 1981, p.203, no.164, listed and illustrated in b/w
Exhibition catalogue Ryskt avantgarde ur George Costakis samling, Stockholm, Moderna Museet, 1983, p.197, no.162 illustrated in b/w
Exhibition catalogue Venäläistä avantgardea George Costakisin Kokoelmasta, Helsinki, Kaupungin Taidemuseo, 1984, p.229 no.162 illustrated in b/w
Exhibition catalogue Russische Avantgarde aus der Sammlung Costakis, Munich, Lenbachhaus, 1984, no.164 illustrated in b/w
Exhibition catalogue ROSC ’88, Dublin, Kilmainham, 1988, p.249, no.100 listed and illustrated in b/w
Exhibition catalogue L’Avant-garde russe et sovietique: Oeuvres de la collection George Costakis, Montreal, Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal, 1989, p.148, no.209, listed and illustrated in b/w

Please contact the Russian Paintings Department at (212) 894-1063 for the condition report for this lot.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
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1917 was a year of revolution in both Russian society and art and Rodchenko was one of the avant-garde who embraced the change. He would later recall, “We were for a new world, the world of industry, technology and science. We were for the new man; we felt him and we had no precise idea of the future. We created a new concept of beauty and we have expanded the confines of art.”
In this proto-constructivist work, Rodchenko refashions the act of painting into an exploration of the interplay between physical qualities – shape, texture and color – and the space they inhabit. The starkly functional title is an unambiguous statement that this painting exists on its own terms; it is no mere representation of an external reality. The various components overlap and intersect, as if jostling for space, which creates not only a sense of volume, but also of dynamism. He is already striding down a path whose logical conclusion four years later would be “the end of painting.”

For nearly thirty years this painting belonged to George Costakis, the Russian-born Greek collector who owned the largest, and undoubtedly the greatest, private collection of Russian avant-garde works.

Please note that in the print catalogue for this sale, this lot appears as number 154T.