The Berardo Collection

The Russian painter and designer, Popova began her artistic studies with Stanislau Zhukovsky and Konstatin Yuon, who exerted a strong influence on her first works, particularly through their interest in luminous tonalities reminiscent of Impressionism. She took several trips to various countries: in Italy (1910) she admired Renaissance Art, especially the paintings of Giotto; in various parts of Russia (1910-1911) she was inspired by the architecture and frescoes to follow a less naturalistic approach; in Paris she was strongly influenced by Cubism. Between 1912 and 1913, she studied at the Académie de la Palette under Henri Le Fauconnier and Jean Metzinger who exerted a decisive influence on her works at this time. It was during this period that she painted her first Cubist paintings. In Russia, she worked at the studio of Vladimir Tatlin (1912-15), whose constructions inspired her collages. In 1916, she joined Malevich's Suprematist circle, producing various works and designs for the magazine Supremus. In spite of adopting the geometry and white backgrounds of the Suprematists, Popova's abstract canvases were considerably different. During the Civil War, she worked in the Fine Art Department (IZO) of Narkompros, producing propaganda posters, in 1918 at the State Free Art Studios and, in 1920, she became a member of Inkhuk (Institute of Artistic Culture). She took part in a cycle of debates that led to the formation of the first Constructivist working group and, despite not being a member, worked with two of the founders (Aleksandr Rodchenko and Varvara Stepanova), on the 5x5=25 exhibition. She apparently gave up painting in 1921, but her main contribution to Constructivism appeared later in her work for the theatre and textile design. In 1923-24, together with Stepanova, she designed fabrics for the first state textile factory in Moscow. She also designed work clothes and dresses. These works were published and brought to public attention by the magazine, Lef which was launched in 1923 with the aim of promoting Constructivist ideas in various artistic fields. In her various creative phases, Popova showed the influences of Cubism, Suprematism and Constructivism. Nevertheless, she developed her own non-representative style, known as pictorial architectonic.