Varvara Fyodorovna Stepanova

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Varvara Stepanova
Stepanova and Rodchenko in the 1920s

Varvara Stepanova ( Russian Варвара Фёдоровна Степанова . Scientific transliteration Varvara Fedorovna Stepanova ; pseudonym: Were ; born October 23 . Jul / 4. November  1894 greg. In Kaunas ; † 20th May 1958 in Moscow ) was a Soviet painter , designer and theorist. Your work can be assigned to constructivism .

Life

Varvara Stepanova came from a middle-class family; she received her education from 1910 to 1911 at the Kazan Art School. In 1912 she moved to Moscow. From 1913 to 1914 she attended the Stroganoff Art School under Ilya Maschkow and Konstantin Juon .

Already at the Kazan art school in 1914 she met her work colleague, companion and later husband Alexander Rodchenko . After Stepanova returned to Moscow in 1914 without a degree, she initially worked as a seamstress and accountant and took lessons at Mikhail Leblan's school. From 1916 she lived with Rodchenko, their daughter Varvara was born in 1925.

In the years before the October Revolution she was part of the Russian avant-garde in Moscow with Wassily Kandinsky , Alexandra Exter and Lyubow Popowa . From 1918 she was in connection with the Department of Fine Arts (ISO, Russian Изобразительный Отдел ) and took part in several exhibitions until the 1920s. In 1920 she followed Rodchenko as a member of the INChUK with participation in the exhibition "5 × 5 = 25". The First Russian Art Exhibition Berlin in 1922 showed her paintings Composition and Figures as well as 2 figures, 4 compositions and 12 linoleum cuts.

Together with Rodchenko, she became a committed supporter of the new constructivist tendencies. She made studies of structural problems by analyzing the movements of the human figure. These movements were reduced to simple, flat, geometric shapes, creating a whole series of figures that are reminiscent of robots and marionettes.

Designer

From the beginning of the 1920s, Stepanova devoted himself more to design, the drafting of fabrics, theatrical costumes and productions. In 1922 she designed costumes and a stage set for Meyerhold's play Tarelkins Tod . Their designs were characterized by their functional fashion design.

She was also involved in textile design and worked with Popova from 1923 to 1924 for Moscow's First State Textile Factory. Together with Rodchenko, Stepanova designed functional work clothes. Of around 150 geometric fabric designs, around 25 went into production.

Stepanova was an active member of INCHUK and the Lef group. From 1924 she taught textile design at the Wchutemas (Higher State Artistic-Technical Workshops). From 1923 to 1925 she worked for the magazines LEF and Nowyi LEF . From 1925 she concentrated more on graphics and designed posters, books, magazines and writings with Rodchenko. They developed a special style in the field of photo montage with expressive, political messages. In the 1930s she designed for the magazine USSR under construction .

Exhibitions (selection)

literature

  • Book for the exhibition 16. Russian Avantgarde 1910–1930 Ludwig Collection, Cologne. Kunsthalle Cologne, April 16–11. May 1986 (edited and with an introduction by Evelyn Weiss ). Prestel, Munich 1986, ISBN 3-7913-0766-5 .
  • Charlotte Fiell, Peter Fiell (ed.): Design of the 20th century. Taschen, Cologne 2012, ISBN 978-3-8365-4107-7 , p. 668.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Anhaltischer Kunstverein Dessau eV (Ed.): Alexander Rodtschenko Warwara Stepanowa. Photographs and graphic works. February 28–16. April 2001. Dessau 2001, p. 2
  2. ^ Ada Raev : Varvara Stepanova - Constructivist out of conviction. In: Katharina Sykora , Annette Dorgerloh , Doris Noell-Rumpeltes, Ada Raev (eds.): Die Neue Frau. Challenge for the visual media of the twenties. Marburg 1993, p. 68.
  3. ^ Magdalena Dabrowski: Lyubow Popowa - the artist as a designer. In: Magdalena Dabrowski (ed.): Lyubow Popowa. Munich 1991. pp. 9-35.
  4. ↑ Charlotte Fiell, Peter Fiell (ed.): Design of the 20th century . Taschen, Cologne 2012, ISBN 978-3-8365-4107-7 , p. 668.
  5. ↑ John E. Bowlt: Ingenious women. In: John E. Bowlt, Matthew Drutt (ed.): Amazons of the avant-garde. Alexandra Exter, Natalja Goncharova, Lyubov Popova, Olga Rosanowa, Varwara Stepanowa and Nadeschda Udalzowa. New York 1999, pp. 20-36
personal data
SURNAME Stepanova, Varvara Feodorovna
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Soviet painter
DATE OF BIRTH November 4, 1894
PLACE OF BIRTH Kaunas
DATE OF DEATH May 20, 1958
Place of death Moscow