Vasily Vasilyevich Rozhdestvensky (Василий Васильевич Рождественский) (May 12, 1884 – May 20, 1963) was a Russian and Soviet painter, graphic artist and educator, a founding member of Knave of Diamonds, regarded as one of important Russian modernist painters of the first half of the 20th century. Author of the book of memoirs Notes of an Artist (1963).
Life and career Vasily Rozhdestvensky was born in provincial Tula, in the family of a career Russian Orthodox priest, just like his Knave of Diamonds colleague Aristarkh Lentulov. He began studying at the Tula Theological School (1896–1900), intent on continuing his family dynasty of priests. But the penchant for painting which he felt since childhood made him quit the theological school when only one year was left before obtaining the diploma, and go to Moscow in 1900 to study at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. His family was profoundly shocked by this sudden reversal and refused to support Rozhdestvensky, so at first he felt dire need. However, his teachers Valentin Serov, Konstantin Korovin and Abram Arkhipov quickly discerned his natural talent and encouraged him to carry on studying. However, the art studies were interrupted by the First Russian Revolution of 1905, when Moscow was dotted with barricades and subjected to martial law, and all schools were closed for an indefinite time, including Moscow School of Painting. Rozhdestvensky had to return to Tula – only to find his entire family get radicalized after the untimely death of his priestly father, with all his brothers and even sisters engaged in underground struggle against the tzarist regime of Russian Empire, either as Social Democrats or members of Party of Socialist-Revolutionaries.Evgueny Kovtun. Avant Garde Art in Russia (Schools and Movements). Parkstone Press Ltd, 1998. pp. 89–91
Belonging to such a family, he had almost no choice but to engage in street protests and demonstrations in his native Tula. In the midst of revolutionary demonstrations, the Rozhdestvenskys made an almost anecdotal journey to listen to Leo Tolstoy preaching in his nearby estate at Yasnaya Polyana, travelling there with a self-made primitive bomb they scraped to assemble to dramatically accelerate the arrival of a new just order. However, the bomb was too primitive to explode, while Tolstoy's preaching of Mahatma Gandhi-style non-violent changes forced the ashamed revolutionaries to get rid of the failed explosive device immediately after listening to his lecture. Nevertheless, such vigorous activity of Rozhdestvensky could not fail to attract the attention of the police, who landed him into Tula prison, together with the other members of his revolutionary family. In 1907, he was set free due to amnesty declared by Emperor Nicholas II, and could resume his studies. In his memoir he noted: "Having paid for my love of freedom with imprisonment, having served time behind bars, I again turned to my beloved art, continuing my studies at the Moscow School of Painting".Vasily Rozhdestvensky. Notes of an artist. Moscow, Soviet Artist Publishing House, 1963 (Рождественский В.В. Записки художника. Москва, издательство «Советский художник», 1963). pp. 23–28
The political revolution in Russia was suppressed, but it nevertheless spread into the sphere of art. Rozhdestvensky's mentors Konstantin Korovin and Valentin Serov took him to the luxurious palaces of Sergei Shchukin and Ivan Morozov where the students became acquainted with the greatest collection of modern French painters outside France – with the emblematic canvases of Auguste Renoir, Henri Matisse, Paul Gauguin, Paul Cezanne, Pablo Picasso, Henri Rousseau, André Derain. The revelation of modern French art made the most profound shock effect on Rozhdestvensky and completely changed his art manner. He became acquainted with other School of Painting students who also embraced the latest art tendencies such as Mikhail Larionov, Natalia Goncharova, Pyotr Konchalovsky, Ilya Mashkov, Robert Falk, Alexander V. Kuprin. The discovery of French art and friendship with these cutting-edge artists-to-be shaped Rozhdestvensky's future destiny.Manin, Vitaly. Art in the Reservation. Artistic Life of Russia 1917–1941, Moscow, Editorial URSS Publishing House, 1999, ISBN 5-901006-94-1 (Манин Виталий. Искусство в резервации. Художественная жизнь России 1917—1941 гг., Москва, издательство Едиториал УРСС, 1999, ISBN 5-901006-94-1). pp. 32–35
Valentin Serov who had started his career by painting the royal portraits of Tzar Nicholas II and his family members, felt all the more frustrated by the cruel suppression of revolution of 1905 and the growing reaction. The last drop was the School of Painting denial to admit as its student the talented female sculptor Anna Golubkina who distributed Social Democrat leaflets and carved the first Karl Marx bust in Russia. In 1909 Serov quit the School where he had been teaching for the last 20 years, and soon afterwards the School administration decided to cleanse its ranks, removing the most notorious troublemakers from art, the rebellious Cezanneists who disturbed the serene roseate atmosphere of the old academy with their bold experiments in the spirit of Fauvism and Cubism. The exiles were Mikhail Larionov, Pyotr Konchalovsky, Robert Falk, Alexander V. Kuprin and Vasily Rozhdestvensky, expelled in 1909 for the breach of discipline. Soon, Ilya Mashkov was also expelled, according to the official version – for failure to pay for tuition, according to the artist himself – for innovation in painting.Povelikhina Alla, Kovtun Evgeny. Russian pictorial signboard and avant-garde artists. – L.: Aurora, 1991. ISBN 5-7300-0274-2. (Повелихина Алла, Ковтун Евгений. Русская живописная вывеска и художники авангарда. — Л.: Аврора, 1991. ISBN 5-7300-0274-2). pp. 109–111
However, the expulsion from the alma mater was not the beginning of the end, but the path to fame and recognition for young artists. Having been deprived of all support and left to their own devices, they, on the contrary, felt that their creative powers had been liberated, as now they ceased to depend on everything that had hitherto fettered and hindered them. So they decided to make a bold move, proclaiming the creation of a new style in Russian painting, and declaring the apostles of this new style. As they were officially persecuted rejects, they united in a group with the provocative name Knave of Diamonds, which was invented by Mikhail Larionov and Aristarkh Lentulov, which in Russian classical tradition meant rebellion, disobedience, challenge and audacity of youth, a sheer break with everything that existed in the realm of painting of that time - and this group was destined to become the most striking and significant phenomenon in Russian painting of the 20th century.Murina E. B., Dzhafarova S. G. Aristarkh Lentulov: The Artist's Path. The Artist and Time. Moscow: Soviet Artist, 1990. ISBN 5-269-00095-4. (Мурина Е. Б., Джафарова С. Г. Аристарх Лентулов: Путь художника. Художник и время. М.: Советский художник, 1990. ISBN 5-269-00095-4.). pp. 81–83
Pyotr Konchalovsky became the chairman of “Knave of Diamonds”, Ilya Mashkov – secretary, Alexander V. Kuprin – treasurer, Rozhdestvensky – member of the board. The first exhibition was held from December 10, 1910, to January 16, 1911, and also featured Natalia Goncharova, Kazimir Malevich, Wassily Kandinsky, French cubist paintings by Henri Le Fauconnier, André Lhote, Albert Gleizes and Jean Metzinger. Contemporaries called it "an exhibition of madness", the first "slap in the face of public taste" – which became the reason for the popularity and further fame of the artists.«Dmitri Sarabjanow. Robert Falk. Mit einer Dokumentation, Briefen, Gesprächen, Lektionen des Künstler und einer biographischen Übersicht, hrsg. Von A.W. Stschekin-Krotowa. Dresden, Kunst, 1974. pp. 21–23
Studying French Art in its Heartland The expulsion of the artists from the School of Painting meant that they lost their military service deferment, so Rozhdestvensky was sent to military encampment near Mozhaisk to be drilled as the future artillery officer. This brought him even closer to Konchalovsky who was put through the same drilling there. In the evenings, Konchalovsky told Rozhdestvensky about his studies in Paris at Académie Julian, together with Albert Gleizes, and how he found his own path in art when he came to France in 1907 and was captivated by Paul Cezanne and Vincent van Gogh and decided to base himself on their findings. When they completed their military training and became artillery reserve warrant officer, Rozhdestvensky and Pyotr Konchalovsky went together to France and then Italy, where they painted views of Cassis and Siena side by side. Rozhdestvensky also travelled with Ilya Mashkov to Monaco, Switzerland, Liechenstein and the German Empire.Мурина Елена. Ранний авангард. Москва, издательство Галарт, 2008. ISBN 978-5-269-01053-3. (Murina Elena. Early Avant-garde. Moscow, Galart Publishing House, 2008. ISBN 978-5-269-01053-3). pp. 116–117
The First World War
At the start of WWI in 1914 Rozhdestvensky was called up for military service in the artillery and fought from 1914 to 1917 – longer than any of his fellow artists. He fought with the Siberian Corps in East Prussia in 1914. In 1915, he became Captain and continued fighting in East Prussia, near Przasnysz. For taking this town from Paul von Hindenburg's troops, he was mentioned in the Emperor's rescript and got an award. In 1916, Rozhdestvensky participated in General Brusilov's assault near Zborov. He was lucky not to be severely wounded, but when he was demobilized towards the end of 1917, he found himself in entirely different situation as a painter. As an artist, he had half-dropped out of the artistic life while it had quickly evolved. The "Jack of Diamonds" society went through several crises and finally fall apart in 1917. While the author was in the active army, his paintings were exhibited in 1915 at the "Exhibition of Contemporary Russian Painting" and in 1916, but the October revolution of 1917 shattered all former society foundations.Manin, Vitaly. Russian Painting of the 20th Century (in 3 volumes), St. Petersburg, Aurora Publishing House, 2007, ISBN 978-5-7300-0824-3 (Манин Виталий. Русская живопись XX века (в 3-х томах), Санкт-Петербург, издательство Аврора, 2007, ISBN 978-5-7300-0824-3). pp. 221–223
However, the old connections he had cultivated with the most radical part of Knave of Diamonds played out well. While Mikhail Larionov and Natalia Goncharova who had emigrated to France before the revolution and preferred to stay there afterwards were labelled as "traitors", Kazimir Malevich, Vladimir Tatlin, Wassily Kandinsky and Robert Falk were elected to the Painting section of the Department of Visual Arts of Soviet Ministry of Culture. When Soviet culture minister Anatoly Lunacharsky decreed to create Museums of Painting Culture throughout the country, in order to acquaint the Soviet people with best examples of progressive art and improve the general state of culture, the Moscow Museum of Painting Culture was headed by Wassily Kandinsky, and Rozhdestvensky was included in the list of 38 best Russian painters whose canvases were selected to adorn the walls of new museums.Manin, Vitaly. Art and Power. The Struggle of Currents in Soviet Fine Arts 1917–1941, St. Petersburg, Aurora Publishing House, 2008, ISBN 978-5-7300-0874-8 (Манин Виталий. Искусство и власть. Борьба течений в советском изобразительном искусстве 1917—1941 годов, Санкт-Петербург, издательство Аврора, 2008, ISBN 978-5-7300-0874-8). pp. 48–50