From Chagall to Malevich: The Competitive Drama of the Russian Avant-Garde

Natalia Goncharova, The Cyclist, 1913, oil on canvas. Saint Petersburg, State Russian Museum. They say that competition breeds innovation. In art history, nowhere is this principle more perfectly illustrated than in the Russian avant-garde of the early 20th century. In a span of about 10 years, from 1910 to 1920, Russia experienced a veritable explosion of avant-garde styles, movements, schools, and associations. In the fire of impending political and social revolution, the avant-garde movements...