Studie k triptychu Koupající se

Study for the Triptych Bathers

The present work by Natalia Sergeevna Goncharova is a study related to the monumental triptych Bathers (Les Baigneuses), one of the significant works of the artist’s Paris period. The triptych was created in 1922 and is now held in the collection of the State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow. In developing this extensive composition, Goncharova explored the subject through a number of drawings and compositional studies, working with individual figures, their relationships, rhythm and the overall monumental conception. Studies associated with Bathers are also documented on the international auction market; Sotheby’s, for example, offered a work specifically entitled Study for the Triptych Bathers, executed circa 1922. The composition of the present sheet is constructed through pronounced stylisation, bold colour and reduced forms. Goncharova transforms the figurative motif into a distinctive system of coloured and formal signs in which the concrete subject approaches the boundary of abstraction. Strong blue, orange, violet, ochre, green and reddish-brown tones create a lively rhythm throughout the composition. The delicate texture of the coloured pencils preserves the immediacy of the drawing process while demonstrating the artist’s exceptional sensitivity to colour. Despite its intimate dimensions, the construction of the individual forms gives the work a surprisingly monumental character. The theme of Bathers occupies an important place in Goncharova’s oeuvre, and the artist continued to develop motifs associated with the composition in her work. Natalia Sergeevna Goncharova (1881–1962) ranks among the most important figures of the Russian avant-garde of the first half of the 20th century. Together with Mikhail Larionov, she pioneered Rayonism and played a major role in the development of Russian Futurism and Neo-Primitivism. Her highly distinctive oeuvre combined influences of European modernism, Cubism and Futurism with Russian folk art and the tradition of icon painting. In addition to painting and drawing, she worked extensively in stage and costume design, illustration and printmaking. After leaving Russia, she settled primarily in Paris and achieved considerable recognition through her work for Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes. Her works are represented in major international museum and private collections, and she remains one of the most internationally significant artists of the Russian avant-garde. The work bears the mark “N.G.” in the lower right corner. It is preserved in excellent condition and presented glazed in a decorative frame. The work comes from an extensive private Moravian collection comprising approximately two thousand carefully assembled works of art. Curator’s recommendation: An exceptionally interesting work connected with Natalia Goncharova’s important Bathers theme. The monumental triptych of 1922 is now held in the State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow, while studies associated with the composition are also documented on the major international auction market. Despite its intimate dimensions, the present sheet retains the characteristic monumentality, rhythm and pronounced stylisation of Goncharova’s work. Recommendation for collectors and investors: Natalia Goncharova ranks among the most important figures of the Russian avant-garde and her oeuvre holds an established position on the international collectors’ market. The connection of the present work with the important Bathers theme, whose monumental triptych forms part of the Tretyakov Gallery collection, adds particular interest. Works on paper associated with this subject have also appeared on the international auction market. Provenance from an extensive private Moravian collection further enhances its appeal to collectors.