Natalia Goncharova (Russian, 1881-1962)

Biography

Natalia Goncharova’s family relocated to Moscow in 1892, intending to improve their financial situation. Goncharova studied history, biology and botany at school, but she finally opted to pursue art and enrolled in the Moscow Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture in 1898. At the institute, she met Mikhail Larionov, who would become her lifelong companion. Their lives and practices progressed in unison, with each guiding and encouraging the other as they ventured into new artistic territory.

Goncharova and Larionov were members of Jack of Diamonds, one of the first avant-garde groups in Russia. The first exhibition of the group in 1910—1911 included Primitivist and Cubist works by Goncharova. In 1912, a part of Jack of Diamonds including Goncharova and Larionov broke off and formed a new group called Donkey’s Tail. Their main goal was to step away from the contemporary Western influence in art and instead focus on establishing a Russian school of modern art. Goncharova’s style evolved from Primitivism based in traditional Russian folk art to Cubo-Futurism. One of the key developments in her practice was the invention of Rayonism. The merging of styles and influences in Goncharova’s work made her one of the first artists to be associated with Everythingism, a movement in Russian avant-garde that aspired to break the boundaries of styles established within art.

In 1914, Serge Diaghilev invited Goncharova to Paris to design sets and costumes for the Ballets Russes production of Le Coq d’Or, the start of a long collaboration. Goncharova and Larionov decided to stay in Paris permanently in 1917. Goncharova continued painting, alongside also working on Ballets Russes productions and collaborating with fashion houses throughout the 1920s. In 1938, Natalia Goncharova became a French national. 

Available works

Please see below the selection of available original artworks by Natalia Goncharova.