Liubov Popova
Liubov Popova was a Russian avant-garde painter whose geometric oils shaped Painterly Architectonics before she moved into textile and theatrical design.
Painter
Aleksandr Rodchenko
Aleksandr Rodchenko was a Russian avant-garde artist who painted geometric oils and black monochromes before focusing on design and photography.
Aleksandr Rodchenko quick facts
Rodchenko’s oil-and-bitumen experiments treated paint as a physical material, before his 1921 monochromes turned painting toward three-color abstraction.
| Full name | Aleksandr Mikhailovich Rodchenko |
|---|---|
| Born | 1891 · Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire |
| Died | 1956 · Moscow, Soviet Union |
| Nationality | Russian |
| Movements | Constructivism · Russian avant-garde; dialogue with Suprematism |
| Paint types | Oil paint · bitumen combined with oil in Non-Objective Painting no. 80 (Black on Black) (1918) |
| Other media | Photography · photomontage · printmaking · graphic design |
| Other materials | — |
| Painting surfaces | Canvas (documented for 1918 and 1921 paintings) |
| Painting methods | Combined oil with bitumen to create contrasting surface textures |
| Common subjects | Nonrepresentational circles, arcs, lines, planar arrangements, and monochromatic color |
| Notable works | Non-Objective Painting no. 80 (Black on Black) (1918) · Red and Yellow (c. 1918) · Pure Red Color, Pure Yellow Color, Pure Blue Color (1921) |
Sources: MoMA: Black on Black, MoMA: The Death of Painting (1921 triptych), State Russian Museum: Red and Yellow, MoMA: Aleksandr Rodchenko.
Paint types used by Aleksandr Rodchenko
Rodchenko tested oil paint’s texture and physical limits, mixing it with bitumen before creating three primary-color canvases in 1921 and later works.
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Oil paint
In Non-Objective Painting no. 80 (Black on Black) (1918), Rodchenko combined oil and bitumen on canvas, setting curved black forms against a dark field through subtle differences in texture and sheen. MoMA relates this material experiment to Malevich’s white paintings.
Sources: MoMA: Black on Black, oil and bitumen on canvas, MoMA: 1921 red, yellow, and blue monochromes, oil on canvas, and MoMA: the triptych and Rodchenko's departure from painting.
Painting surfaces used by Aleksandr Rodchenko
Rodchenko’s 1918 oil-and-bitumen painting and 1921 monochromes both use canvas, but create distinct effects recorded in these specific works.
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Canvas
MoMA records canvas as the support for Rodchenko’s 1918 Black on Black and his 1921 red, yellow, and blue monochromes. The examples show canvas carrying two distinct investigations: black forms differentiated by oil-and-bitumen texture, and single-color surfaces that concluded his easel-painting experiments.
Sources: MoMA: Black on Black, MoMA: The Death of Painting (1921 triptych), State Russian Museum: Red and Yellow, MoMA: Aleksandr Rodchenko.
Painters similar to Aleksandr Rodchenko
Varvara Stepanova collaborated with Rodchenko in Constructivist design, while Lyubov Popova and El Lissitzky linked painting, textiles, and architecture.
El Lissitzky
El Lissitzky was a Russian artist, architect, and designer whose Proun compositions united geometric painting, collage, and architectural ideas.
Varvara Stepanova
Varvara Stepanova was a Russian avant-garde artist whose geometric paintings developed alongside Constructivist textile, clothing, and graphic design.