The Russian artist Marianna Vladimirovna Veryovkina had a fascination with Germany, a country which gave the world German Expressionism during her lifetime. She in fact Germanized her name to Marianne von Werefkin, which is the name she's been known by since then. As a member of the Russian nobility she pretty much had to indulge her curiosity about foreign lands, as the Russian Revolution made her homeland a dangerous prospect.
The title of the above painting has been translated as "Storm Winds." The winds are palpable, causing trees to lay almost on their side. This is nature at its most forbidding. It does exude a kind of fascination, though, in the sliver moon. Still, you can't blame the small human figures for gravitating to the light and warmth of the tavern or cafe.
2 comments:
Once again, many thanks for introducing me to an unfamiliar, but quite wonderful artist. I've spent the past hour or so reading about how the wealthy Russian art student, Marianne von Werefkin, became a well respected member of the art community 100 years ago. One of the most interesting aspects of her early life was the original reason she went to Germany. She'd shot herself in her right hand and the only doctors able to treat the injury were there. Apparently, she continued to paint left-handed (I assume until her right hand healed but it's never mentioned again).
It was a time when artists were discovering new ways to show the depths of their subjective experiences of the world and so many were influencing each other it's hard to tell when the differences between one school and another developed.
This is an especially interesting image, all the more so because the movement of the storm is so apparent and the shelter of the cafe so very welcome. She never did go so far as Abstract Expressionism - a fact I appreciate. There are always human figures to remind us we are part of all that is or can be imagined.
I'm pleased to know you like her. One thing I should maybe make clear is that I'm very much learning as I go here. There are many artists who've done a painting or two that I enjoyed. Then I dig through their work to see if there might be something for me to write about. She turned out to be of greater interest. Changing the hand you paint with because you shot yourself in the other hand is certainly a dramatic change for an artist. I wonder if it prompted her to do things she otherwise might not have.
There were a lot of ideas in the air, and I think there were a number of artists bold enough to branch out into different schools and provide connections between them. Picasso would be a well-known example but I don't think he was alone.
The painting shows her working and thinking in a very human scale. The cafe, in the lower half of the picture, is a place of warmth and companionship. Outside is nature, which is both awe-inspiring and intimidating. Both elements need each other, although of course she knows most viewers will be drawn to the bright inner space.
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