1914–1915
oil on canvas
172 õ 156
At the 1919 exhibition of the Academy of Arts, Filonov presented a series of works under the overall title of Universal Flowering. Filonov linked the idea of “Universal Flowering” with his method of Analytic Art. The master understood this to be the organic development of a separate artistic theme.
At the basis of Analytic Art is the principle of “craftedness” or “madeness” (“sdelannost”). Filonov, like no one else, appreciated craftsmanship. In his manifest entitled Crafted Paintings (1914), Filonov writes that the artist should “craft” each “atom” of the work before him and ought to know precisely why he is doing this and what he wants to say through this work. The effort at combining analysis and intuition, or as Filonov called it, the “knowing eye” and the “seeing eye,” leads an artist to abstraction.
Filonov’s abstractions are made of the same material as his figurative works. Figurative forms of the world are building blocks for him. However, the master uses them according to his own discretion. The artist can distort them, turn them from one state into another, or leave only their atomistic structure... Out of this material he collects his magical gardens of abstractions.
at 10, Krymsky Val, Hall 9
