Painting. Russian artists. Aristarkh Lentulov (1882-1943)

Aristarkh Vassili'yevich Lentulov was born in Nizhny Lomov, Penza. He studied art in Penza (1897-1903), Kiev (1903-5), and in St.Petesburg (1906) under Dmitry Kardovsky. Lentulov participated in the main exhibitions, including The Wreath, of 1907-8, The Link, of 1908 and the Union of Russian Artists (1910). In 1910 he was one of the founder-figures of the avant-garde exhibiting society the Jack of Diamonds and remained a leader of the group until its dissolution in 1916.

Lentulov's style matured after his visit to Italy and France in 1911-12. In Paris the painter worked with Henri Le Fauconnier. Lentulov's Bathing, of 1911-12, was executed with a restricted palette and faceted in the manner of Fernand Leger. Later, the impact of Robert Delaunay and Umberto Boccioni is evident in his masterpiece Moscow, of 1913, a magnificent work sparkled with fragments of colour precariously balanced one on the other, evoking the dynamism of the city. The series At the Sea-side, of 1915, and other works of this period are treated in a more decorative manner, with rich applications of bronze, silver, lace and birch bark.

After the 1917 Revolution Lentulov became professor at SVO-MAS (Free Art Studios). In 1925 he helped to organise the Society of Moscow Painters. In 1926 he joined the association Artists of Revolutionary Russia as many artists of his generation. Lentulov's works of the late 1920s turned to a more realistic style.

Literature: Book "Russian art" A.P. Minyar-Belorucheva