Bookvica

[SVOMAS ART EXPERIMENTS] Sortiry [i.e. Toilets]

Zharova, L.

Item #1675

[Moscow], 1919. 8 leaves of linocuts. 16,5x11 cm. In original illustrated wrappers in constructivist style. Small tear of spine with minor fragments lost, some foxing, creases of lower edge and corners, otherwise very good.
Extremely rare.
An early and little-known collection of linocuts by Lidia Naumova (before her marriage, Zharova, 1902-1986) produced during her studenthood. She is best known for the costume design of Sergei Eisenstein’s ‘Ivan the Terrible’ (1944). Before the collaboration with Eisentshein in the early 1940s, she had almost no contributions to movies. In the 1920-1930s, she designed books and posters, mass street celebrations and theatrical performances.
In 1910-1914, she studied at the Sretensky city women’s school, then she enrolled in Stroganov School for Technical Drawing in 1915. Soon after the revolution, the Stroganov School was transformed into the First Free Art Workshops (SVOMAS). There she joined a group of students, including Alexander Naumov, who organized a Workshop Without a Leader (1919-1920). They managed to acquire their own printing machine, props and a large room on the top floor of the SVOMAS building. In the Workshop Without a Leader, Lidia Zharova was among younger students. At this time, she has created this series of linocuts. All eight black-and-white prints feature pieces of different courtyards in the early Soviet Union with street wooden toilets.
She also became a member of the constructivist art group ‘OBMOKHU’ (Society of Young Artists) in 1919. When the First Free Art Workshops were turned to VKhUTEMAS, Naumova continued to study in the Textile and Theater Faculties and attended workshops of the Vesnin brothers, Fedorovsky and Fedotov.
In 1928, Lidia Naumova took part in designing a Soviet pavilion at an International Exhibition of the Modern Press, Advertising and Publishing, held in Cologne – together with Klutsis, Kulagina, Lissitzky, A. Naumov and others. In 1938, her easel works were exhibited for the first time at the Exhibition of Women Artists of the USSR.
Lidia Naumova was invited to the film crew of ‘Ivan the Terrible’ (1944) as an assistant costume designer. Lidia’s brother Mikhail Zharov played Malyuta Skuratov and his wife starred as Tsarina Anastasia. However, within three weeks, Naumova was promoted to a senior costume designer. Later she contributed to other popular Soviet movies of the Khrushchev’s Thaw.
Worldcat doesn’t track this edition.

Price: $4,950.00