Society of painters of the early twentieth century. "Jack of Diamonds"

At the turn of 1910-1911 gg. There is a new grouping, which was formed by active artists. "The Knave of Diamonds" - so it was called. In the composition of famous painters P. Konchalovsky, I. Mashkov, A. Lentulov, A. Kuprin, R. Falk this society lasted until 1916. Later these figures became famous masters of Russian art. "The Knave of Diamonds" - an association that, in the presence of its exhibitions, collections of articles, the charter influenced the formation and development of Soviet art of the early twentieth century. Further in the article we will find out how the work of the group was going, what trends in painting were touched upon.

Protest against Impressionism

What goals did society pursue? The first task of the founders of the "Jack of Diamonds" group was to overcome impressionism in all its forms. This direction is the starting point of creative development and at the same time the method by which the painters declared themselves and their work. Representatives of the Knave of Diamonds express dissatisfaction with the state of affairs in Soviet art: they are fiercely fighting the stylism of the "World of Art", the psychology of painting the "Blue Rose", rejecting all that is connected with mystery and understatement in creativity. The dissatisfaction of the young painters with the way things were in the art of that time had a basis: tsarism in Russia reached its peak, clearly manifested during the revolution (1905-1907) and during the years of reaction (1907-1910).

Contrasting the "Blue Rose"

Contrasting their tendencies with the symbolism of the "Blue Rose", "The Jack of Diamonds" (artistic association) makes efforts to resolutely express the movement from concentration on personal feelings. The creators of society strive to acquire the stability of the visual image, the richness of colors, the constructive logic of the construction of the picture. Rejecting the spatiality and affirming the objectivity and the subject, the representatives of the direction "The Knave of Diamonds", thus, stand out their credo in the formation of Soviet art.

Significance of the genre of still life

Still life as the main type of painting comes to the fore. Artist Mashkov (1881-1944), one of the founders of the group, vividly and figuratively embodied in his works of art the contentious tasks of the creative work of the Jack of Diamonds. The painting of this painter "Blue Plums" is a kind of motto of the direction. The kind of fruit depicted laid in a stable, immobile, expressive composition, creates the appearance of fading in the middle of the transition: the raw substance of rich colors did not have time to go into the real color of nature. The artist is comparable to the artisan who does things. The painter who paints a picture is a thing that comes close to folk art. "The Jack of Diamonds" is an artistic association, thanks to which the genre still life, capable of conveying a different content, consonant with the contradictory modernity, has returned the value of high art.

Cubism in the pictures

The cult of decorativism, which was in the hands of painters of the "Knave of Diamonds", was at variance with the painting of Cezanne. The paintings of the masters had weak sculptural sensations of form. In an effort to focus on the materiality of objects, the artists paid more attention to the image of the massiveness of the object, and the space at that moment looked blurred and indistinct. To cope with this difficulty helped cubism - the course of painting, recommended by Cezanne. It was he who suggested using geometric forms - a cube, a cone, a ball - to mentally analyze complex shapes, bringing them closer to the figures. "The Knave of Diamonds" in his work resorted to the help of this technique. Konchalovsky (1916) with his painting "Agava" demonstrates a variant of studying the experience of this direction. This is one of the methods that analyze spatial relationships. Objects in a broken, deforming form crystallize out of the space of the picture, conceived as some object. Things conquer the surrounding space, pushing it out. It brings a sense of drama. Things remote, hostile to man, protect the conquered place.

Futurism in creativity

From the middle of 1910 gg. Together with cubism as an important component of the style "Jack of Diamonds" begins to use futurism. This is a well-known trend originated in Italy. Walking in step with the era of the scientific and technological revolution, this trend pushed to the introduction of industrial rhythms in the works of artists. With the help of the "installation" reception, the type of single or grouped objects or parts of them that are taken from different points of view and at different times is transmitted. An object that moves spontaneously, capable of bizarre modifications, transfers to itself the movement of the subject (the viewer). Paintings-panels AV. Lentulova (1882-1943) "The Ringing" (1915) and "St. Basil the Blessed" (1913) contain an example of an effective combination of cubic "shift" of forms and stratification of spatial plans.