Natalia Sergeevna Goncharova was a Russian avant-garde artist, painter, costume designer, writer, illustrator, and set designer. She was a founding member of the Jack of Diamonds (1909–1911) and Donkey's Tail (1912–1913), and with Larionov invented Rayonism (1912–1914).
She was also a member of the German-based art movement Der Blaue Reiter. Born in Russia, she moved to Paris in 1921 and lived there until her death. Her painting vastly influenced the avant-garde in Russia. Her exhibition held in Moscow and St. Petersburg (1913 and 1914) were the first promoting a “new” artist by an independent gallery.
Self-portrait with yellow lilies
Natalia Sergeevna Goncharova was born on July 3, 1881 in Nagaevo. Her father, Sergey Mikhaylovich Goncharov, was an architect and graduate of the prestigious Moscow Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. Goncharova moved to Moscow at the age of 10 in 1892. She graduated from the Fourth Women's Gymnasium in 1898.
She tried several career paths (zoology, history, botany, and medicine), before deciding on sculpture. She was accepted by the Moscow Institute of Painting, Sculptured, and Architecture in the fall of 1901, where she studied to become a sculptor under Pavel Trubetskoi, who was associated with the World of Art movement.
By 1903, she began exhibiting in major Russian salons, and in 1903–04 she was awarded a silver medal for sculpture. It was at the Moscow Institute that Goncharova met fellow-student Mikhail Larionov, and they began sharing a studio and living space. Goncharova drew inspirations for primitivism from Russian icons and folk art, otherwise known as luboks.
The Donkey's Tail was conceived as an intentional break from European art influence and the establishment of an independent Russian school of modern art. Goncharova soon began to mix Cubist and Futurist elements in her work, which led to the beginnings of Cubo-Futurism. In Russia, she became famous for her work in this style, such as The Cyclist. In 1911, she and Larionov developed Rayonism, and produced many paintings in that style.
As leaders of the Russian Futurists, they organized provocative lecture evenings in the same vein as their Italian counterparts. Goncharova was also involved with graphic design: writing, and illustrated several avant-garde books. Her aesthetic choices that were bridging the Eastern and Western traditions, served as a catalyst for manifestos and art movements at the time. She was one of the leading artists in Cubo-Futurist (Airplane over a Train, 1912) and Rayonist (Yellow and Green Forest, 1913) circles.
Between 1922 and 1926, Goncharova created fashion designs for Marie Cuttoli's shop, Maison Myrbor on the Rue Vincent, Paris. Her richly embroidered and appliquéd dress designs were strongly influenced by Russian folk art, Byzantine mosaic and her work for the Ballets Russes.
Cyclist
The inspiration Goncharova draws from the lifestyle is mostly taken from observing the everyday activities of the servants and peasants who lived there. Goncharova had a successful career in fashion, where she was producing costumes for the Ballets Russes. The style was influenced by her involvement in the avant-garde in combination with her Russian heritage. In France, she worked for the House of Myrbor, where her Slavic heritage influenced the abstract design that was favored by the avant-garde.