Because of what the artists destroyed their canvases: Claude Monet, Kazimir Malevich, etc

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

We always protest against the destruction of art. After all, art is an act of creativity. But, one way or another, art tends to collapse over time, and we humans try to preserve art in our own way. History contains many examples of the destruction and destruction of works of art. But especially curious are the cases when many famous artists themselves destroyed their creations.

1. Claude Monet

The largest series of paintings by Claude Monet - "Water Lilies" - on which Monet continued to work all his life. Each of the works of the cycle varied in size and composition, but they all revealed his obsession with improving light and reflecting the beauty of his garden. Collectively, Monet has created over 250 water lily paintings that are highly regarded by museums and private collectors around the world. Although these works are still critically acclaimed - not to mention the fact that they cost a huge fortune (more than $ 54 million) - at the time, Monet listened to a lot of criticism in his address.

But, perhaps, the harshest critic was Monet himself. In 1908, after three years of work on a new collection of paintings - and right before the opening of a new exhibition in Paris, Monet destroyed about 30 paintings, and then wrote a letter to his agent, in which he assured that what happened had finally freed him from his inner torment. and now he can really get to work. A year later, the exhibition with "Water Lilies" in Paris, which presented 48 new paintings, was a triumph.

2. Kazimir Malevich

At the age of 25, Kazimir Malevich decided to burn all his works for children and youth. The move "contributed" to such an act. From Kiev, Kazimir Malevich moved to Moscow, where he then entered the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture four times without success. The mother of Malevich Ludwig Aleksandrovna Malevich went there, leaving her family in Kursk, having found a job as the head of the cafeteria from a newspaper publication. A few months later, having rented an apartment of five rooms, she sent her daughter-in-law, Kazimira Zgleits, an order to liquidate all property in Kursk and move with the whole family to Moscow. Anticipating this move to Kursk, Kazimir Malevich burned all his paintings that were kept in Kursk.

Imagine a large family moving by rail: how much space can be reserved for the pictures of the eldest son, at which the head of the family looks with undisguised skepticism. And all because my father considered art to be an empty occupation. The mother, on the other hand, secretly gave her son money for paints and brushes. Considering Malevich's early burnt works, practically nothing is known about his first steps in art.

3. Gerhard Richter

One of the most sought-after artists of our time, Gerhard Richter, destroyed over 60 of his paintings, which are valued at $ 655 million, in 10 years of his creative career. To destroy his works, he used a knife to cut boxes. And the reason for this destructive act is simple - Richter was dissatisfied with his work. According to the artist, "cutting pictures has always been an act of liberation." Interestingly, before the destruction, Richter often photographed the doomed canvases: "Sometimes I see some of the photographs and think: it's bad, I should have let her survive."

At the same time, Richter could accurately recall those paintings that he destroyed. For example, there was one job with a warship, which, according to the plot, was hit by a torpedo. The picture was even shown at the 1964 exhibition. And then she suddenly disappeared … as it turned out, she fell under the knife of Richter. Another painting, which also "disappeared" forever, was the work with the kangaroo, based on an interesting photo from the magazine. This painting was valued at 1,100 German marks.

4. Stephen Spazuk

Stephen Spazuk is a Canadian artist who used the act of burning to create his creations. Namely, he used candle soot to create elegant and beautiful paintings. After applying the soot to his canvas with a candle, Spazuk draws lines and patterns on the soot with pencils and pens, thus creating unique pieces of art. Spazuk spent 14 years perfecting the unique technique of drawing with soot. But at the same time, there is always an element of random spontaneity and improvisation in his fiery paintings.

In an interview, Steven Spazuk said that he saw the subtleties of unconventional techniques in a dream: “I had a dream, as if I was in a gallery and looked at this black and white landscape. I knew it was done with fire and was fully aware of the technique. Fire and its ability to be both creative and destructive force is a constant factor in Spazuk's creations.

5. Vasily Vereshchagin

Vereshchagin's military paintings made such a strong impression that they caused irritation and even fear in Russia and abroad. Once, in 1882, Vereshchagin's exhibition in Berlin was visited by Field Marshal Helmut Moltke, a German theorist who viewed war as something inevitable and conducive to technical and even moral progress. Vereshchagin to show Moltke his landmark work "The Apotheosis of War". The picture caused some confusion in the field marshal, but he said nothing. And after visiting the exhibition, Moltke issued an order prohibiting German soldiers from visiting Vereshchagin's exhibition, and even rejected the artist's offer to allow Austrian officers to see his paintings for free at the 1881 exhibition in Vienna. In the homeland of Vereshchagin, the situation was no better. In Russia, a ban was also introduced on exhibitions of Vereshchagin's works, and there was also a ban on the reproduction of his canvases in books and periodicals. And all because of the unfair accusations of slander against the Russian army. The artist took these accusations hard and burned three of his paintings: "Forgotten", "Surrounded - Persecuted" and "At the Fortress Wall. Come in! " The well-known philanthropist and collector Pavel Tretyakov even decided to buy out most of Vereshchagin's Turkestan works, so that he would not even think of burning them.

6. Charles Camuan

And an extremely curious and even comic story is connected with this artist, the plot of which can be safely described in a comic strip. He came to Paris, dreamed of fame, hung his works on the streets, went to museums, offering his works, but he could not achieve recognition. Like many unrecognized geniuses, Camuan sought solace in alcohol. One day, after another unsuccessful day, he went into a cafe where there were no free tables. Kamuan sat down with a stranger and began to pour out his soul. The interlocutor said he could help. It turned out that he was the owner of a small gallery and was willing to provide space for the exhibition. Inspired, Kamuan went home, drew several posters, and posted them around the city. On the appointed day, he came to the gallery, hung the works, but he did not like the way they looked on the wall. Kamuan re-hung the paintings several times and suddenly thought: “What kind of glory do I dream of? It's a failure, it's a shame! He took a razor, cut out 80 of his paintings, and threw the rest into the bin.

There was a homeless person nearby. He saw the scraps and folded the pictures as it seemed to him necessary, pasted them over with newspapers, and in the morning he came to the gallery. The owner stood there and did not understand where Kamuan's work had gone. The homeless man showed him the glued pictures and explained under what circumstances he found them. They glued it all to the frames, and the exhibition opened. People walk, look, wonder - cut canvases, so interesting, a new word in art! One evening, Kamuan accidentally walked by the exhibition, saw his paintings and demanded an explanation. He said that if the author decided to destroy the paintings, then no one can show them to people. Kamuan won the case in court and his paintings were destroyed a second time.