Have you ever heard of Russian Constructivism, one of the most influential art movement styles of the twentieth century? No? Even though this avant-garde movement has a firm place in the Olymp of art history, it is not as well known or taught as, for example, the Italian Renaissance. If you want to learn more, you are in for a treat as we compiled the most important facts about Russian constructivism art for you here!
A History of Constructivism
Constructivism is a strictly non-objective style of modernist art in the first half of the 20th century. The direction at times had the character of a political movement and took shape throughout revolutionary Russia and the Soviet Union. Constructivism refers to the Latin word 'construction', meaning" assemblage" or "construction." Generally said to have been founded by the Russians Vladimir Tatlin and Alexander Rodchenko( two famous Russian Constructivism painters), Russian Constructivism beautifully captures what constructivist art is all about: tightly entangled with architecture, constructivist artists wanted to use abstract industrial forms to create a new visual language. In 1913 Tatlin traveled to Paris, where we met the Spanish painter who was already working on his popular paintings and paper collages and he was Pablo Picasso. This encounter left a lasting impression on Tatlin. After returning to Russia, he constructed his own abstract collages using metal and wood, thereby shaping the core of this movement: construction.
After the Russian Revolution of 1917, Russian Constructivism became the aesthetic of communist Russia. In 1920, for example, a 30-meter-high wooden model was built based on Tatlin's design in Petrograd. This was initially intended to serve as a construction model for a 400-meter-high steel-frame pavilion — a monument to the Third International, an organization founded to advocate for world communism. It was never executed.
A manifesto published in 1920 by Tatlin and the Pevsner brothers with state support emphasized constructivist realism and kinematics as design principles. Since, as Lenin believed, art which includes also Russian Constructivism was only politically usable if it was also understood and accepted by the general public.
Constructivism Style and Characteristics
Russian constructivism art is characterized by a simple geometric vocabulary of forms, which was applied to painting, sculpture, architecture, and any other design objects such as furniture, theatre stages, or posters. This affinity to geometry finds expression in abstraction and a rejection of anything figurative or representational art. Instead, they preferred utilitarian instruments like rulers and compasses and materials especially suitable for mass production, such as wood, glass, and metal.
Although the attempt to create art objects through mathematically based constructions is not new if you think about the obsession of the Renaissance artists with the Golden Section, the Russian Constructivists advocated for a geometric-technical design principle with colored areas and lines interspersed with geometrical forms. Its sources and inspirations were: applied arts such as woven carpets or textile patterns, new technical developments, and the Cubism art movement. However, unlike Cubism, constructivist art is not based on human figures, animals, landscapes, or objects.
Constructivism in the Soviet Union (Russian Constructivism)
The Soviet Union formed out of the seismic upheaval of the Russian Revolution, which took place in 1917 and overthrew the authoritarian rule of the Tzar family, placing the power for the first time in the hands of the Russian people. The new Socialist government needed a visual language that contrasted with the past. Art was no longer to be produced for the sake of making art as an end in itself, as had been the case in the past. In Socialism, everything was designed according to practicality. Art had to be in service of the common good. Thus, the artist's goal was to develop models that illustrated the vision of a socialist, modern, and industrial future for Russia, respectively, the world. Against the background of this motivation, space, forms, and materials were combined and put into context. The decorative art of the tsarist era, produced only for the sake of beauty, was considered detached, meaningless, and a sign of the egoistic excess of the ruling class, i.e., the bourgeoisie. Thus, Russian constructivist art was entirely in line with the political and social transformation sought by the Bolsheviks. It represented the artistic arm of the revolution.
The Importance of the Movement
Russian Constructivism was an avant-garde art movement that emerged in the Soviet Union during the early 20th century. The artists, theoreticians, and architects of Russian Constructivism were only active in the Soviet Union for roughly two decades, from the 1910s to the 1930s. It is therefore astonishing that the revolutionary and utopian ideas of Russian Constructivism can still be found today in culture and architecture all over the world. Russian Constructivist art significantly influenced Neoplasticism's development in the Netherlands and Germany's Bauhaus art and design movement.
Neoplasticism (De Stijl)
De Stijl translates to 'The Style' in Dutch and is the name of a group of artists formed in the town of Leiden in 1917. The group was influenced by the work of the Russian Constructivist El Lissitzky. It was interested in exploring a geometric-abstract and ascetic form of representation in art and architecture and a purism limited to functionality.
Constructivism in Germany
Constructivist art underwent further decisive development in Germany in the 1920s. Here, artists from different parts of Europe met to work together on the aesthetic project of modernism. For example, El Lissitzky, the Hungarian László Moholy-Nagy, and the Dutchman Theo van Doesburg all worked in Germany for extended periods.
The best-known institution of modernism is certainly the Bauhaus, which is most enduringly associated with progressive design and modern architecture in the general perception - both today and as far back as the 1920s. But other cities also set significant milestones for the development of the contemporary design. In this context, Berlin was the most important gathering place, where many artists met for the first time. The Bauhaus continues to be a household name in the art world to this very day.
The Main Aspects of Constructivism
Constructivist art has shaped the image of modernism more than any other art movement of the 20th century. Visual art, architecture, typography, and product design have never been more closely related and have influenced each other more strongly - this is how the artistic ideas of the 1920s were able to find their way directly into the modern living world.
Painting: the pictures of Constructivist painters were influenced by the so-called suprematism movement. It originated in Russia and was valid from 1913 until the beginning of the 1930s. The key figure of this movement was the Russian artist Kazimir Malevich who saw pure sensation as superior to art that was only of representational nature. The initial work of Suprematism was Malevich's painting 'Black Square,' a pure black oil painting on a white background. It was first exhibited with 38 other Suprematist paintings by Malevich in the exhibition 0,10 in Petrograd in 1915, together with Tatlin.
Architecture: the architecture created during the time of Russian Constructivism was concerned with finding an architectural language to meet the new social and industrial demands of the new political system. Constructivist architecture usually emphasizes the Constructivist elements of the structures. Instead of just showing the shape of a building, the supporting construction becomes visible. For example, steel girders as the basic structure were no longer hidden.
Graphic Design: also, graphic design changed drastically during the time of Russian Constructivism. Gustav Klutsis and Alexander Rodchenko used bold lettering and photomontage in their works and on posters to create a new style.
Textile Design: Artists like Varvara Stepanova or Lyubov Popova developed a new style of textile design. Due to the Russian Revolution, the bonds between France with its fashion capital of Europe, Paris, were cut, and there was a need for new textile designs.
Notable Artworks and Painters
Vladimir Tatlin (1885–1953)
Tatlin is mainly well known for his Corner Counter-Relief, created in 1914. These are bizarre constructions made of bent sheet metal and boards, cardboard and glass, which Tatlin acrobatically braces with ropes and wires in the corners of the room so that they hang in the air - a radical conception of sculpture that merges with the space while floating in front of the wall. A few years later, he developed a design for a monument to the Third International (1919-20). This steel spiral was to rise 400 meters, higher than the Eiffel Tower, into the sky above Moscow. Inside the structure, four glass enclosures were to rotate on their axis. Unfortunately, however, this machine-like tower was never realized.
Alexander Rodchenko (1891–1956)
Russian avant-garde artist Alexander Rodchenko caused a sensation with his three paintings, 'Pure Red Color, Pure Yellow Color, Pure Blue Color' in 1921. To this day, the work is considered proof of Russian Constructivism artists' radicalism. Without structure or pattern, the work consists of three paintings with only one monochrome surface each - in red, yellow, and blue. This work is part of any list of the essential avant-garde works in the history of art and was one of the highlights of the exhibition 5×5=25, held in Moscow in 1921. In the three-part work, Alexander Rodchenko anticipates the later developments of Abstract Expressionism and Color Field painting.
El Lissitzky (1890–1941)
El Lissitzky is another star of the Constructivist art movement who made significant theoretical and practical contributions to the realization and dissemination of constructivist ideas through painting, architecture, graphic design, typography, and photography. His art is characterized by his wish to transform famous geometric art into political symbolism that everyone could understand. One great example of his work, combining graphic design with geometrical forms and typography, is 'Part of the Show Machinery', created in 1923. It was part of a commission by the Kestner-Gesellschaft in Hannover, Germany, where Lissitzky had exhibited earlier.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Russian Constructivism was an influential and revolutionary art movement that emerged in the early 20th century in the Soviet Union. Inspired by applied arts, new technical developments, and Cubism, the artists of the movement sought to create a new visual language using abstract industrial forms. Rejecting figurative art and the decorative art of the past, they used a simple geometric vocabulary of forms applied to painting, sculpture, architecture, and other design objects. Russian Constructivism was entirely in line with the political and social transformation sought by the Bolsheviks, representing the artistic arm of the revolution. Although the movement was only active for two decades, its ideas and principles had a lasting impact on culture and architecture worldwide, notably influencing the development of Neoplasticism and the Bauhaus movement.