Description
Rayonism (or Rayism or Rayonnism) was a style of abstract art that developed in Russia in 1910–1914. Founded and named by Russian Cubo-Futurists Mikhail Larionov and Natalia Goncharova, it was one of Russia's first abstract art movements.
In 1909, Italian poet F. T. Marinetti published the Founding Manifesto of Futurism. The Futurists took speed, technology and modernity as their inspiration, depicting the dynamic character of early 20th century life; examples of Italian Futurists are Umberto Boccioni and Giacomo Balla. Shortly after the movement started, Russian Futurism, Ego-Futurism and Cubo-Futurism began; in Russia, the movement was developed by painter David Burliuk, poets Aleksei Kruchyonykh, Vasily Kamensky and Vladimir Mayakovsky, and many others. Larionov and Goncharova were early followers of Russian Futurism. Read more ↗
Key Artists
Mikhail Larionov
Founding father and main theorist of Rayonism who theorized that painting should depict the invisible luminous rays crossing and reflecting between physical forms in space.
Natalia Goncharova
Co-founder of Rayonism who co-wrote the 1912 Rayonist Manifesto and created some of the movement's most celebrated dynamic canvases before moving to Paris to design ballets.
Aleksandr Shevchenko
Prominent Russian avant-garde theorist and painter who signed the Rayonist Manifesto and exhibited ray-based compositions at the landmark 1913 'Target' exhibition in Moscow.
Vladimir Tatlin
Early associate of Larionov who participated in the initial Rayonist circle and 'Donkey's Tail' exhibitions before breaking away to pioneer Russian Constructivism and three-dimensional counter-reliefs.
David Burliuk
Key organizer of the Russian avant-garde and early collaborator with Larionov who experimented with ray-like diagonal light trajectories and thick, gestural impasto.
Famous Artworks
Glass (Steklo)
Mikhail Larionov · 1912
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York - Oil on canvas
Fun Facts
Mikhail Larionov and Natalia Goncharova claimed to have invented Rayonism as early as 1909, but modern art historians proved they actually backdated their earliest canvases and wrote their famous 'Rayonist Manifesto' in 1912 after absorbing Italian Futurism and French Cubism.
↗ Source: tate.org.uk
In their 1913 manifesto, Larionov declared that Rayonist painting depicted invisible spatial rays crossing and reflecting between objects, directly inspired by early 20th-century scientific breakthroughs such as Wilhelm Röntgen's X-rays and Marie Curie's studies on radioactivity.
↗ Source: britannica.com
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