“The Broom of Satire, the Brush of Humour”: Mayakovsky in Caricatures Preserved in the State Literary Museum in Moscow
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Larisa Alekseeva
Abstract
Despite the Futurist aversion to museums, libraries and academies, Mayakovsky had his personal exhibition 20 let raboty Maiakovskogo (20 Years of Mayakovsky’s Work) organized in 1930 by the State Literary Museum in Moscow at the Klub pisatelei (Writers’ Club). Subsequently, the material was donated to the museum, where it was enhanced by gifts from other major Futurists (Kruchenykh, Guro, Kamensky, Siniakova and others). The donations include a large number of caricatures of Mayakovsky and by Mayakovsky, and a satirical watercolour, Pokhod Igoria Severianina na Berlin (Igor Severyanin’s Approach to Berlin, 1914) by Mikhail Le Dantiu, leader of the Futurist group Beskrovnoe ubiistvo (Bloodless Murder). In the watercolour there are twentytwo figures, almost all of whom can be identified as frequent guests at the celebrated literary and artistic cabaret Brodiachaia sobaka (Stray Dog). It thus depicts the literary life in Saint Petersburg and its various avant-garde groups and circles in 1914. The second part of this essay examines material preserved in the archive of Evgeny Platonovich Ivanov. It contains drawings by Mayakovsky and Burliuk as well as photographs and cartoons stemming from the Moscow journal Teatr v karikaturakh (1913-1914). This collection documents the history of the Moscow avant-garde and provides valuable details concerning Futurist activities in the cultural and literary life of Moscow in the 1910s
Abstract
Despite the Futurist aversion to museums, libraries and academies, Mayakovsky had his personal exhibition 20 let raboty Maiakovskogo (20 Years of Mayakovsky’s Work) organized in 1930 by the State Literary Museum in Moscow at the Klub pisatelei (Writers’ Club). Subsequently, the material was donated to the museum, where it was enhanced by gifts from other major Futurists (Kruchenykh, Guro, Kamensky, Siniakova and others). The donations include a large number of caricatures of Mayakovsky and by Mayakovsky, and a satirical watercolour, Pokhod Igoria Severianina na Berlin (Igor Severyanin’s Approach to Berlin, 1914) by Mikhail Le Dantiu, leader of the Futurist group Beskrovnoe ubiistvo (Bloodless Murder). In the watercolour there are twentytwo figures, almost all of whom can be identified as frequent guests at the celebrated literary and artistic cabaret Brodiachaia sobaka (Stray Dog). It thus depicts the literary life in Saint Petersburg and its various avant-garde groups and circles in 1914. The second part of this essay examines material preserved in the archive of Evgeny Platonovich Ivanov. It contains drawings by Mayakovsky and Burliuk as well as photographs and cartoons stemming from the Moscow journal Teatr v karikaturakh (1913-1914). This collection documents the history of the Moscow avant-garde and provides valuable details concerning Futurist activities in the cultural and literary life of Moscow in the 1910s
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- Editorial IX
- Conventions of dates and transliteration used in this volume XXI
-
10.1515/9783110646238-202
- Marinetti’s Visit to Russia in 1914: Reportage in Russia and in Italy 3
- Futurism in the Russian Far East at the Beginning of the 1920s: The Historical and Cultural Context 35
- Velimir Khlebnikov’s Early Dramatic Production 73
- Maria Siniakova’s Sensual Futurism 122
- Mayakovsky’s Voices: Futurist Performance and Communication in Verse 157
- The New Semiotics of Advertising in Italian and Russian Futurism 188
- Futurist Wrestlers and Constructivist Worker-Sportsmen: The Russian Avant-garde and Heavy Athletics in the 1910s–1920s 214
- Zenitist Cinema: Influences of Marinetti and Mayakovsky 236
- The Futurist Tradition in Contemporary Russian Artists’ Books 269
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Section 2: Archive Reports
- The Futurism Collection at the National Library of Finland in Helsinki 297
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Section 3: Caricatures and Satires of Futurism in the Contemporary Press
- “The Broom of Satire, the Brush of Humour”: Mayakovsky in Caricatures Preserved in the State Literary Museum in Moscow 311
-
Section 4: Obituaries
- Daniele Lombardi (1946–2018) 339
- Enrico Crispolti (1933–2018) 349
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Section 5: Critical Responses to Exhibitions, Conferences and Publications
- Futurist Art Post Zang Tumb Tuuum 357
- The Futurist Universe at the Massimo Cirulli Collection 367
- A Hundred Years of Futurism in Portugal: The Conference 100 Futurismo in Lisbon 380
- A Hundred Years of Portuguese Futurism: The International Congress Futurismo Futurismos in Padua 389
- 100 Years of Portugal futurista: An Exhibition and Study Day in Lisbon 400
- Ultraism and the Historical Avant-garde 421
- The Verbo-voco-visual Artists’ Books of the Russian Avant-garde 429
- Evolutions of Russian Futurism in the 1910s and 20s 435
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Section 6: Bibliography
- A Bibliography of Publications on Futurism, 2016–2019 443
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Section 7: Back Matter
- List of Illustrations and Provenance Descriptions 473
- Notes on Contributors 479
- Name Index 487
- Subject Index 527
- Geographical Index 557
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- Editorial IX
- Conventions of dates and transliteration used in this volume XXI
-
10.1515/9783110646238-202
- Marinetti’s Visit to Russia in 1914: Reportage in Russia and in Italy 3
- Futurism in the Russian Far East at the Beginning of the 1920s: The Historical and Cultural Context 35
- Velimir Khlebnikov’s Early Dramatic Production 73
- Maria Siniakova’s Sensual Futurism 122
- Mayakovsky’s Voices: Futurist Performance and Communication in Verse 157
- The New Semiotics of Advertising in Italian and Russian Futurism 188
- Futurist Wrestlers and Constructivist Worker-Sportsmen: The Russian Avant-garde and Heavy Athletics in the 1910s–1920s 214
- Zenitist Cinema: Influences of Marinetti and Mayakovsky 236
- The Futurist Tradition in Contemporary Russian Artists’ Books 269
-
Section 2: Archive Reports
- The Futurism Collection at the National Library of Finland in Helsinki 297
-
Section 3: Caricatures and Satires of Futurism in the Contemporary Press
- “The Broom of Satire, the Brush of Humour”: Mayakovsky in Caricatures Preserved in the State Literary Museum in Moscow 311
-
Section 4: Obituaries
- Daniele Lombardi (1946–2018) 339
- Enrico Crispolti (1933–2018) 349
-
Section 5: Critical Responses to Exhibitions, Conferences and Publications
- Futurist Art Post Zang Tumb Tuuum 357
- The Futurist Universe at the Massimo Cirulli Collection 367
- A Hundred Years of Futurism in Portugal: The Conference 100 Futurismo in Lisbon 380
- A Hundred Years of Portuguese Futurism: The International Congress Futurismo Futurismos in Padua 389
- 100 Years of Portugal futurista: An Exhibition and Study Day in Lisbon 400
- Ultraism and the Historical Avant-garde 421
- The Verbo-voco-visual Artists’ Books of the Russian Avant-garde 429
- Evolutions of Russian Futurism in the 1910s and 20s 435
-
Section 6: Bibliography
- A Bibliography of Publications on Futurism, 2016–2019 443
-
Section 7: Back Matter
- List of Illustrations and Provenance Descriptions 473
- Notes on Contributors 479
- Name Index 487
- Subject Index 527
- Geographical Index 557
