Jean Pougny (also Ivan Albertovich Puni, Russian-French, 1892-1956 ). Linocut with watercolor, crayon, and pencil, ca. 1915. A wonderful linocut with watercolor, crayon and pencil by Russian avant-garde artist (Suprematist, Cubo-Futurist) Ivan Albertovich Puni, also known as Jean Pougny. Pougny was a co-author of the Suprematist Manifesto and his art follows its dictates as an abstract work based upon "the supremacy of pure artistic feeling" as opposed to the visual representation of objects. His focus on geometry and a limited range of colors - in this case shades of blue and black with a bit of pink overlapping blue embellishing one of the central shapes - aligns with the fundamental tenets of Suprematism. Size (sheet): 17.5" L x 12.375" W (44.4 cm x 31.4 cm) Size (frame): 26.25" L x 20.2" W (66.7 cm x 51.3 cm)
About the artist: Ivan Puni (also known as Jean Pougny) was born in Kuokkala (then a Grand Duchy of Finland in the Russian Empire) and had Italian heritage - his grandfather was the Italian ballet composer Cesare Pugni. Jean Pougny trained in Paris at the Academie Julien (1910-11) in addition to other schools where he painted in a Fauvist style. After returning to Russia in 1912, he met and also exhibited with Kazimir Malevich, Vladimir Tatlin, and other members of St. Petersburg's avant-garde. Pougny made another trip to Paris in 1914 and returned to St. Petersburg in 1915. This was when he began painting in a Cubist style. However, in 1915, Pougny joined a group of artists dedicated to the abstract art movement created by Malevich known as Suprematism. Pougny co-authored the Suprematist Manifesto which was published in 1916. From 1915 to 1916 Pougny worked at Verbovka Village Folk Centre with other Suprematist artists. A few years later, in 1919, he taught under Marc Chagall at the Vitebsk Art School. That same year he and his wife emigrated to Finland, followed by Berlin in 1920. While in Berlin, he had his first solo exhibition at the Galerie der Sturm and also designed theatrical sets and costumes. In 1924, Pougny and his wife moved to Paris where his style evolved toward Impressionism. While in France, he began signing his work Jean Pougny to distance his work from his previous style while in Russia. In 1946, he became a French citizen.
Please note, there is an exhibition label on the verso from "Diverse Directions" (12/12/87 - 2/7/88) at The Santa Barbara Museum of Art.
Provenance: private Santa Barbara, California, USA collection
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#179040
Condition
Artwork is mounted under glass in a custom frame. There is an exhibition label on the verso from "Diverse Directions" (12/12/87 - 2/7/88) at The Santa Barbara Museum of Art. Artwork has not been examined outside the frame. Appears with some fading in areas of coloration but imagery is still strong. Paper has age wear with a few crease marks and toning as shown. Frame has some scuffs/nicks commensurate with age. Fit with suspension wire which we would recommend replacing with new wire.