‘The King of Reporters’ versus ‘The Bad Girl’ of the Russian avantgarde

The ideology of Vladimir Gilyarovsky’s resistance to Natalia Goncharova’ 1910 solo exhibition

Abstract

Probably the most important solo exhibition of Russian avant-garde artist Natalia Goncharova, was mounted in March 1910 in Moscow. The review of the exhibition, written by culture critic Vladimir Gilyarovsky, was the most influential on Goncharova’s emerging career. It was published in the daily newspaper The Voice of Moscow, and sharply criticized the artist and her works. In my paper, I show that Gilyarovsky’s criticism aimed to destroy Goncharova’s reputation and disrupt her artistic project. However, it led to the opposite result: Thanks to his review, the anonymous Goncharova became famous and was dubbed ‘Queen of the Russian avant-garde’. I examine Gilyarovsky’s motives for writing his review, focusing on the struggle between the supporters of academic painting and the avant-garde at the turn of the 20th century. I argue that Gilyarovsky was a key figure in promoting Goncharova’s success. I seek to show that Gilyarovsky’s objection to Goncharova’s works was due to her use of Russian national symbols in the development of a new artistic genre. Gilyarovsky was the first to recognize Goncharova’s intentions, and attempted – and failed – to harm her reputation. The disagreement between the two was based on the question of who has the authority to determine the proper use of religious symbols. The seemingly devastating review thus defined Goncharova as a provocative artist and an emblem of the Russian avant-garde.