Vladimir Tatlin (1885—1953)

Tatlin V. Sailor. 1911

Although works by Vladimir Tatlin are not often encountered in art collections, the artist remains one of the unchallenged pioneers of the Russian avant-garde. Tatlin’s acquaintance and friendship with Mikhail Larionov led to the appearance of Neo-Primitive tendencies in his painting and graphic art in the early 1910s. The artist closely observed the environment, way of life and outer appearances of the sailors, fishermen, traders and other colourful inhabitants of the southern port of Odessa. The level of generalisation and the correlation of the image to the background, however, pay tribute to

Old Russian icon-painting. The result is a sharp contrast between the main character and the small figures in the background, which are arranged like the scenes in an hagiographic icon, creating a sharp and disquietening rhythm of contours and white patches on the sailor’s face and clothes. Sailor unites elements of self-portraiture and the typical. The painting manages to both incorporate personal characteristics and express the artist’s impulsive creative quests.

Tatlin V. Artist’s Model. 1913

In 1912, following his break with Mikhail Larionov and his group, Vladimir Tatlin opened his own studio on Ostozhenka in Moscow, where he and a group of followers painted nude models. Tatlin’s large paintings were influenced by the works of Pablo Picasso, which the Russian artist could see in the private collections of Sergei Schukin and Ivan Morozov and at exhibitions of modern French painting in Moscow. Seeking his own form of Cubism, Tatlin borrowed liberally from the traditions of Old Russian icon-painting.

Artist’s Model reflects his tendency towards generalisation, synthesis and the plastic significance of form. The large colour planes, the role of the silhouette and the simplified contour of the figure add expressiveness to the artistic quests. The rhythmic and constructive forms and the laconic tones are justified in respect to the correlations of the masses and the patches of colour. Opening new doors in art, Tatlin successfully combined the expressive plastics of Old Russian icon-painting and Cubism.