Maria Makarova
Russian State University for the Humanities, Russia
The report deals with the unexplored activity of Aristarkh Lentulov’s workshops. The workshops led by the artist were numerous communities due to their popularity among VKHUTEMAS students. The system of workshops (the relationship between a master and apprentices) which went back to the Renaissance favored an individual approach to teaching. Thus these communities became an important stage in some artists’ path and played a decisive role in their lives.
Lentulov occupied several positions at the Free State Art Studios (SVOMAS) and VKHUTEMAS. Since 1918 Lentulov was in charge of the First Free State Art Studios as their official representative and a leading master. At the same time he taught painting at the Second SVOMAS and on January 12th, 1919 he was invited together with Yakulov and Fedorovsky to run the Theater Painting and Decorative Art Workshops at the First SVOMAS. The latter were special workshops which students of different specializations could attend. From the 1920s Lentulov held a post as a professor and the leader of the Theater and Decorative section at the Art faculty.
The documents found in the Russian State Archive of Literature and Art (RGALI) reveal the names and the number of students from Lentulov’s workshops. Students’ works under Lentulov were influenced by both “The Jack of Diamonds” group and Lentulov as an individual stage designer. “The Jack of Diamonds” painters share similar principles in teaching and views concerning what “New Art” should be. Moreover, we find common ground in theoretical thoughts developed by Kandinsky and Lentulov which refer to the synthesis of the arts (Makarova M. Synthesis of the Arts as an Altering Idea Throughout A. V. Lentulov’s Teaching Experience // Nauka, obrazovanie i eksperimentalnoe proektirovanie. Trudi MARCHI 2015). They seek to implement their principles in teaching. It should also be noted that when Kandinsky leaves Moscow for Europe in 1921, the direction of his workshop is given to Robert Falk. Some bright Kandinsky students, including those who will form the OST, complete their education under Lentulov’s guidance. The common points make it possible to compare the pedagogical practice of the two artists.
The conclusions derived from the outlined issues provide information about Aristarkh Lentulov’s teaching methods in the Free State Art Studios and VKHUTEMAS as well as the influence of “The Jack of Diamonds” art heritage on painters of coming generations.