Olga Rozanova

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Rozanova, Olga (1886–1918). Russian painter, designer, writer, and administrator, born at Malenki in Vladimir province. She was an energetic figure in the avant-garde in the most momentous period of 20th-century Russian art, but her career was cut short when she died suddenly of diphtheria at the age of 32. After studying at the Bolshakov Art College and the Stroganov Art School in Moscow, 1904–10, she became a member of the Union of Youth in 1911. In an essay published in the Union's journal in 1913 she was among the first Russians to advocate abstract art. Her painting at this time was Futurist in style and she illustrated many Futurist books, often in collaboration with her husband Alexei Kruchenykh (1886–1968), a poet and critic who was one the leading theorists of the movement. By the time she illustrated his book Universal War (1916) her style had become purely abstract in a manner close to Suprematism (she also experimented with other abstract styles). Kruchenykh subscribed to a theory of poetry called ‘transrationalism', which ‘proclaimed the liberation of words from their conventional meanings and resulted in a kind of abstract sound-poetry … Rozanova's success in transposing the abstract qualities of Kruchenykh's poems into the medium of collage depended in large measure upon her acceptance of his theories. In breaking down syntax and in his use of part-words and letters Kruchenykh destroyed literal meaning in his poems and found himself free to experiment with a wide range of associations aroused by both the sound of his poem and its image on the paper’ ( M. N. Yablonskaya, Women Artists of Russia's New Age, 1990).

After the 1917 Revolution, Rozanova (who was an ardent public speaker) devoted much of her energy to the reorganization of industrial art, travelling widely throughout the country, which was in a state of chaos. She was mainly responsible for creating a special sub-section of Narkompros dealing with industrial art and she drew up a plan for Moscow's museums in this field that was put into practice after her death. Her idea of reconciling art and industry was realized in the Constructivist movement.

Rozanova, Olga (b Malenki, Vladimir province, 22 June [4 July] 1886; d Moscow, 8 Nov. 1918). Russian painter, designer, writer, and administrator. She was an energetic figure in the avant-garde in the most momentous period of 20th-century Russian art, but her career was cut short when she died suddenly of diphtheria at the age of 32. In an essay published in 1913 she was among the first Russians to advocate abstract art. Her painting at this time was Futurist in style and she illustrated many Futurist books, often in collaboration with her husband Alexei Kruchenykh, a poet and critic who was one the leading theorists of the movement. By the time she illustrated his book Universal War (1916) her style had become purely abstract in a manner close to Suprematism (she also experimented with other abstract styles). After the 1917 Revolution, Rozanova (who was an ardent public speaker) devoted much of her energy to the reorganization of industrial art, travelling widely throughout the country, which was in a state of chaos. Her idea of reconciling art and industry was realized in the Constructivist movement.