Devoted Christian Soldiers
Mystical Images of War, 1914
Natalia Goncharova
Mystical Images of War was Goncharova's response to the First World War. She hoped that a series of prints could reach a wider audience, and her deliberately simplified compositions combine patriotic and religious imagery. These include stylised symbols of the Allied forces (St George and The English Lion) and apocalyptical imagery (Pale Horse and Maiden on the Beast). Some of the prints feature historical figures associated with the defence of Russia, such as the thirteenth-century Prince Alexander Nevsky who defeated an army of German knights, and the fourteenth century warrior monks Alexander Peresvet and Rodion Oslyaba, who fought against the Mongols.
[Tate Modern]
Natalia Goncharova (June to September 2019)
Goncharova found acclaim early in her career. Aged just 32 she established herself as the leader of the Russian avant-garde with a major exhibition in Moscow in 1913. She then moved to France where she designed costumes and backdrops for Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballet Russes. She lived in Paris for the rest of her life, becoming a key figure in the city’s cutting-edge art scene.
Goncharova’s artistic output was immense, wide-ranging and at times controversial. She paraded the streets of Moscow displaying futurist body art and created monumental religious paintings. She took part in avant-garde cinema, experimented with book designs and designed for fashion houses in Moscow and Paris.
[Tate Modern]
Devoted Christian Soldiers
Mystical Images of War, 1914
Natalia Goncharova
Mystical Images of War was Goncharova's response to the First World War. She hoped that a series of prints could reach a wider audience, and her deliberately simplified compositions combine patriotic and religious imagery. These include stylised symbols of the Allied forces (St George and The English Lion) and apocalyptical imagery (Pale Horse and Maiden on the Beast). Some of the prints feature historical figures associated with the defence of Russia, such as the thirteenth-century Prince Alexander Nevsky who defeated an army of German knights, and the fourteenth century warrior monks Alexander Peresvet and Rodion Oslyaba, who fought against the Mongols.
[Tate Modern]
Natalia Goncharova (June to September 2019)
Goncharova found acclaim early in her career. Aged just 32 she established herself as the leader of the Russian avant-garde with a major exhibition in Moscow in 1913. She then moved to France where she designed costumes and backdrops for Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballet Russes. She lived in Paris for the rest of her life, becoming a key figure in the city’s cutting-edge art scene.
Goncharova’s artistic output was immense, wide-ranging and at times controversial. She paraded the streets of Moscow displaying futurist body art and created monumental religious paintings. She took part in avant-garde cinema, experimented with book designs and designed for fashion houses in Moscow and Paris.
[Tate Modern]