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1886 - 1961

Nadezhda Udaltsova

description

A Russian artist, one of the “Amazons” of the avant-garde in Russia. Udaltsova devoted most of her career to easel painting; in the late period of her work, she was engaged in graphics. The artist was an active member and exhibitor of the “Jack of Diamonds”, “World of Art”, “Supremus”, “Moscow Painters”, and “13”.

Having successively passed through the stages of Cubism, Cubo-futurism and Suprematism that logically followed Constructive art, the artist moved away from the avant-garde, since she preferred the aesthetics of figurative painting.

As a teacher, she developed the innovative Object in Space course for free art workshops and the Institute of Art Culture, where she began working as an assistant to Malevich. The artist devoted more than ten years to teaching – before being accused of formalism and dismissed.

The art of Udaltsova, an artist of the era, is distinguished by harmony, the integrity of compositions, and boldness of experiments. Her paintings, which have undeniable artistic and collection value, are in the largest museums in Russia and private collections.

Key ideas:

– As the artist wrote in her diary, Parisian cubism was not her goal but just a school, “I was attracted not by the decorative-patterned side but by the rigor of the construction and laws of the painting itself with a restrained colour scheme.”

– The path that Udaltsova passed from Cubism and two of its main stages (analytics and synthetism) to non-objective art can be called classical for the Russian avant-garde. At the same time, creating Suprematist compositions, the artist also created paintings in the style of Cubo-futurism, as she treasured the lively sensation of colourful material and the beginnings of the picturesqueness of the work.

– Basically under the influence of her husband A. Drevin, Nadezhda Udaltsova took up emotional figurative painting. No invented “beauties”, pure motives of the open space into the distance, which is expressively cut by rivers and roads, ravines and hills. The artist remained true to her manner in the paintings she created after 1938 when Latvian Drevin was arrested as a counter-revolutionary. Unaware of his fate (he was shot very soon), she waited for him, refused to evacuate, worked at the airport and painted portraits of military pilots.

– After a new wave of accusations of formalism (1948), the artist went into “the quiet art” – she painted landscapes and still lifes, vaguely reminiscent of the Paris lessons with deep colours.

– The art of N. Udaltsova thus represents the more moderate wing of the Russian avant-garde. Having experienced the influence of Tatlin and Malevich, the artist did not become an adherent of their ideas, nor did she join the supporters of the applied sphere of fine art, becoming an adherent of original painting after a period of cubic enthusiasm.

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1886

1905

1908

1911

1913

1915

1918

1922

1928

1938

1945

1946

1961

The birth of the artist

Nadezhda Udaltsova was born into the family of officer A. Prudkovsky, was the eldest of four children. At the age of eight, she moved with her parents to Moscow.

Started attending the private school-studio of K. Yuon and I. Dudin

Started attending the private school-studio of K. Yuon and I. Dudin. One of her mentors was N. Ulyanov. After visiting the Borisov-Musatov memorial exhibition in 1907, she became interested in modern techniques.

Made a study trip to Germany

Made a study trip to Germany (Berlin, Dresden). Upon her return, she visited the Moscow studio of K. E. Kish and worked at the studio “Tower” (important was her creative communication with Larionov and Goncharova). She became interested in new French painting, seeing Van Gogh and P. Cezanne in the collection of Schukin.

She studied at the Academy "La Palette" in Paris

Together with L. Popova, she studied at the Academy “La Palette” in Paris, experienced the strong influence of her teachers – Cubists Henri Le Fauconnier, Jean Metzinger and André Dunoyer de Segonzaс.

Worked at the Moscow workshop of V. Tatlin

Worked at the Moscow workshop of V. Tatlin. The following year, she became a member of the Jack of Diamonds group and participated in the Tram B exhibitions, where she met K. Malevich. Weekly participated in “art meetings” that took place in the apartment of Popova.

Entered the Supremus

Entered the Supremus, a community of avant-garde artists founded by Malevich. For the next two years, she worked for artels in Verbovka and Skoptsy together with Exter, Rozanova, Pougny, Genke, Kliun and other Suprematist artists. Paintings of those times are close to Suprematism. She participated in the “Last Futuristic Exhibition of Paintings 0.10”, exhibiting “Self-portrait” and two more of her canvases. The following year, she presented her new works at the futuristic vernissage “Shop”, organized by Tatlin, wrote a text for the illustrated brochure “V.E. Tatlin ”, released by the “New Journal for All.”

Worked as a teacher at free art workshops

Worked as a teacher at free art workshops (first as an assistant of Malevich); a year later, he worked at the Institute of Artistic Culture. The theme of the course “Object in Space” developed by the artist was innovative. Having married painter Alexander Drevin in 1919, the artist returned to figurative art – landscapes and still lifes. The spouses worked in the same manner, and it was radically different from those styles that continued to develop towards pointlessness.

The artist's paintings were exhibited at the First Russian Art Exhibition in Berlin

The artist’s paintings were exhibited at the First Russian Art Exhibition in Berlin. The Anonymous Society (Société Anonyme) bought several canvases. A year earlier, Udaltsova and Drevin left the Institute of Artistic Culture to show that they rejected the dominance of constructive industrialists – in fact, it was a withdrawal from the avant-garde. Returning to figurative painting, the artist worked with colours as an innovator.

The exhibition of Udaltsova and Drevin

After a creative trip of Udaltsova and Drevin to the Urals, their joint exhibition took place in the halls of the Russian Museum; then the couple worked in Altai (1929–1932) and Armenia (1933). After 1933, both artists were outside the framework of the official art as formalists.

The artist’s husband A. Derevin was arrested

The artist’s husband A. Derevin was arrested and put to death a month and a half later (she got to know about this only in 1956). Saving her husband’s works from confiscation and subsequent destruction, Nadezhda said that they were hers during a search.

The chamber vernissage of the artist

More than ten years after the complete ban on screenings at the Romen Theater, the chamber vernissage of the artist was held – it was an exhibition of military works.

The artist was awarded the medal "For Valiant Labor in the Great Patriotic War"

The artist was awarded the medal “For Valiant Labor in the Great Patriotic War”, which did not save her two years later from attacks with accusations of the same “formalism” and a ban on exhibition and teaching activities.