Fishing (Fishers)

Natalia Goncharova

Pesca (pescadores)

Goncharova, Natalia

Negaievo, 1881 - París, 1962

Fishing (Fishers), 1909

© Nathalie Gontcharova, VEGAP, Madrid, 2015

Carmen Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection
Location: Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum, Madrid

Oil on canvas

112 x 99,7 cm

CTB.1977.34

Artwork history

  • Natalia Goncharova, Paris

  • Leonard Hutton Gallery, New York

  • Carmen Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection

1910 - 1911

Salon 2 international Art Exhibition, Odessa, n. 93. La obra aparece como: ''Rybnaia lovlia''

1913

Natalia Gontcharova 1900- 1913, Moscú, Art Salon, n. 407

1914

Goncharova, San Petersburgo, Dobychina Bureau, n. 112. La obra aparece como: ''Lovlia ryby''

1961

Larionov and Gontcharova, Leeds, City Art Gallery; Bristol, City Art Gallery; Londres, Arts Council Gallery, n. 94

1976 - 1977

Women Artists: 1550-1950, Los Ángeles (CA), Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Pittsburgh (PA), Museum of Art, Carnegie Institute; Nueva York, Brooklyn Museum, n. 123, p. 287

1977

Modern Masters from the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection, Tokio, National Museum of Modern Art; Kumamoto, Kumamoto Prefectural Museum of Art, n. 43, p. 144, lám. p. 59

1984

Modern Masters from the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection, Londres, Royal Academy of Arts, n. 43, p. 65

1985

Maestri dell'arte moderna nella Collezione Thyssen-Bornemisza, Florencia, Palazzo Pitti, n. 43, p. 149, lám. p. 61

1985

Moderne Malerei aus der Sammlung Thyssen-Bornemisza, Nuremberg, Germanisches Nationalmuseum; Düsseldorf, Städtische Kunsthalle, n. 43, p. 150, lám p. 61

1985 - 1986

Maîtres Modernes de la Collection Thyssen-Bornemisza, París, Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, n. 43, p. 157, lám. p. 69

1986

Maestros modernos de la Colección Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, Salas Pablo Ruiz Picasso, Biblioteca Nacional, Ministerio de Cultura; Barcelona, Palau de la Virreina, n. 43, p. 160, lám. p. 65

1988

20th Century Masters from the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection, Leningrado, Museo Estatal Ruso; Moscú, Galería Estatal Tretiakov, n. 6, p. 74, lám. p. 34

1997

Del vedutismo a las primeras vanguardias. Obras maestras de la Colección Carmen Thyssen-Bornemisza, Bilbao, Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, n. 61, p. 194

1998 - 1999

Masterworks from the Carmen Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection, Tokio, Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum; Takaoka, Takaoka Art Museum; Nagoya, Matsuzaka Art Museum; Sendai, Miyagi Museum of Art, n. 85, p. 190

1999

Do impresionismo ó fauvismo: A pintura do cambio de século en París. Colección Carmen Thyssen-Bornemisza, Santiago de Compostela, Centro Galego de Arte Contemporánea, n. 33, pp. 108-110

1999 - 2000

Del impresionismo a la vanguardia en la Colección Carmen Thyssen-Bornemisza, Barcelona, Centre Cultural Caixa Catalunya, pp. 180-182

2000

Del impresionismo a la vanguardia en la Colección Carmen Thyssen-Bornemisza, México, DF, Museo del Palacio de Bellas Artes, . no figuró en el catálogo

2000

Del post-impresionismo a las vanguardias. Pintura de comienzos del siglo XX en la Colección Carmen Thyssen-Bornemisza, Valencia, IVAM Centre Julio González, n. 47, pp. 150-152

2000 - 2001

La Révolte de la couleur. De l'impressionnisme aux Avant-gardes. Chefs-d'oeuvre de la Collection Carmen Thyssen-Bornemisza, Bruselas, Musée d'Ixelles, n. 41, pp. 130-132

2003

La Russie et les avant-gardes, Saint-Paul de Vence, Fondation Maeght, n. 6, p. 50

2006

Vanguardias rusas, Madrid, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza - Fundación Caja Madrid, n. 9, p. 337, lám. p. 122

2014

L'ideal en el paisatge. De Meifrèn a Matisse i Gontxarova. Col·lecció Carmen Thyssen, Sant Feliu de Guíxols, fundació Privada Centre d'Art Col·lecció Catalana de Sant Feliu de Guíxols, p. 114, lám. p. 115

2015

De Chagall à Malévich. La révolution des avant-gardes. Grimaldi Forum, Monaco, 2015.

  • -Eganbiuri E. (Zdanevich, I.): Natalüa Goncharova i Mikhail Larionov. Moscow , 1913, p. IX. [The work is listed as ”Fishers”, 1909]

  • -Gray, C.: The Great Experiment. Russian Art. London, 1962, pp. 106, 117, lám. 67.

  • -Froncek, T. (ed.): The Horizon Book of the Art of Russia. New York, 1970, p. 261, lám.

  • -Chamot, M.: Natalia Gontcharova. París, 1972, lám. p. 31, cub.

  • -Hnikova, D.: Russische Avantgarde 1907-1922. Stuttgart, 1975, p. 45, lám.

  • -Women Artists: 1550-1950, Los Ángeles (CA), Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Pittsburgh (PA), Museum of Art, Carnegie Institute; Nueva York, Brooklyn Museum [Exhib. Cat. ], 1976, n. 123, p. 287.

  • -Der Blaue Reiter und sein Kreis, Nueva York (NY), Leonard Hutton Galleries [Exhib. Cat..], 1977, n. 13, p. 54.

  • -Modern Masters from the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection, Tokio, National Museum of Modern Art; Kumamoto, Kumamoto Prefectural Museum of Art [Exhib. Cat.], 1984, n. 43, p. 144, lám. p. 59 y Modern Masters from the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection, Londres, Royal Academy of Arts [Exhib. Cat.], 1984, n. 43, p. 65.

  • -Maestri dell’arte moderna nella Collezione Thyssen-Bornemisza, Florencia, Palazzo Pitti [Exhib. Cat.], 1985, n. 43, p. 149, lám. p. 61.

  • -Moderne Malerei aus der Sammlung Thyssen-Bornemisza, Nuremberg, Germanisches Nationalmuseum; Düsseldorf, Städtische Kunsthalle [Exhib. Cat. ], 1985, n. 43, p. 150, lám p. 61.

  • -Maîtres Modernes de la Collection Thyssen-Bornemisza, París, Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris [Exhib. Cat.], 1985, n. 43, p. 157, lám. p. 69.

  • -Maestros modernos de la Colección Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, Salas Pablo Ruiz Picasso, Biblioteca Nacional, Ministerio de Cultura; Barcelona, Palau de la Virreina [Exhib. Cat.], 1986, n. 43, p. 160, lám. p. 65.

  • -20th Century Masters from the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection, Leningrado, Museo Estatal Ruso; Moscú, Galería Estatal Tretiakov [Exhib. Cat.],  1988,  n. 6, p. 74, lám. p. 34.

  • -Bowlt, John y Misler, Nicoletta: Twentieth-Century Russian and East European Painting: The Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection. London, Zwemmer, 1993 , n. 18, pp. 124-129, lám.

  • -Del vedutismo a las primeras vanguardias. Obras maestras de la Colección Carmen Thyssen-Bornemisza, Bilbao, Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao [Exhib. Cat.], 1997, n. 61, p. 194.

  • -Masterworks from the Carmen Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection, Tokio, Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum; Takaoka, Takaoka Art Museum; Nagoya, Matsuzaka Art Museum; Sendai, Miyagi Museum of Art [Exhib. Cat.], 1998,  n. 85, p. 190.

  • -Do impresionismo ó fauvismo: A pintura do cambio de século en París. Colección Carmen Thyssen-Bornemisza, Santiago de Compostela, Centro Galego de Arte Contemporánea [Exhib. Cat.], 1999, n. 33, pp. 108-110.

  • -Del impresionismo a la vanguardia en la Colección Carmen Thyssen-Bornemisza, Barcelona, Centre Cultural Caixa Catalunya [Exhib. Cat.], 1999,  pp. 180-182.

  • -Del post-impresionismo a las vanguardias. Pintura de comienzos del siglo XX en la Colección Carmen Thyssen-Bornemisza, Valencia, IVAM Centre Julio González [Exhib. Cat. ], 2000, n. 47, pp. 150-152.

  • -La Révolte de la couleur. De l’impressionnisme aux Avant-gardes. Chefs-d’oeuvre de la Collection Carmen Thyssen-Bornemisza, Bruselas, Musée d’Ixelles [Exhib. Cat.], 2000, n. 41, pp. 130-132.

  • -La Russie et les avant-gardes, Saint-Paul de Vence, Fondation Maeght [Exhib. Cat.], 2003, n. 6, p. 50.

  • -Colección Carmen Thyssen-Bornemisza. Arnaldo, Javier (ed.). 2 vols. Madrid, Fundación Colección Thyssen-Bornemisza, 2004, vol. 2, p. 394, lám. p. 395 [ Sheet by John E. Bowlt y Nicoletta Misler]

  • -Vanguardias rusas, Madrid, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza – Fundación Caja Madrid [Exhib. Cat.], 2006, n. 9, p. 337, lám. p. 122.

  • -Parton, Anthony: Goncharova. The Art and Design of Natalia Goncharova. Woodbridge, Antique Collectors’ Club, 2010, n. 160, p. 150, fig. p. 147.

  • -Alarcó, P. y Borobia, M. (eds.): Guía de la colección. Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza. Madrid, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, 2012, p. 354, lám.

  • -L’ideal en el paisatge. De Meifrèn a Matisse i Gontxarova. Col·lecció Carmen Thyssen, Sant Feliu de Guíxols, fundació Privada Centre d’Art Col·lecció Catalana de Sant Feliu de Guíxols [Exhib. Cat.], 2014, p. 114, lám. p. 115.

  • -De Chagall à Malévich. La révolution des avant-gardes. Grimaldi Forum, Monaco [Exhib. Cat], 2015. nº 12. P. 87.

  • -Colección Carmen Thyssen. Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza. Ed. Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, 2024. P.  328-329 [Sheet by John E. Bolwt & Nicoletta Misle]

Expert report

Goncharova, chronologically the primary woman artist of 20th-century Russia, both cultivated an intellectual interest in the traditional handicrafts and primitive rituals of old Russia and also used them as subjects for her pictures and designs. Naturally, Goncharova’s attitude influenced the formal arrangements of her painting, contributing to the intense stylisation, forceful colour combinations and naive perspectives and proportions that we recognise in Fishing. Goncharova observed the peasants firsthand during her frequent trips to the family country home at Polotnianyi Zavod near Moscow and that they became a major part of her artistic vocabulary is clear from Fishing and similar explorations of the “primitive” such as Washing Linen(1910) and Peasants Picking Apples (1911) (both Tretiakov Gallery, Moscow). Goncharova’s study of Russian peasant costume and ornament also prepared the way for her folkloristic evocations in Diaghilev’s Paris productions of Le Coq d’Or(1914) and L’Oiseau de Feu (1926) as well as for her book illustrations to Kruchenykh’s Pustynniki [Hermits] (1913) or to the Paris edition of the Conte de Tsar Saltan (1922). This recognition of the vitality and potential of traditional Russian art forms also prompted her and Larionov to organise an exhibition of “Icons and Broadsheets” in Moscow in 1913.

Fishing is direct evidence of Goncharova’s own response to, and reordering of, certain conjunctions and devices of “traditional” art in her search for experimental pictorial resolutions. Of course, in the context of the Russian avant-garde, the term “primitive” must be used in a broad sense, for it covers not only cultural manifestations of “primitive” peoples (pre-Christian Russians, the Scythians, the Siberian nomads, the Russian peasantry), but also the canons of mediaeval Russian culture, especially icon-painting, as well as the urban folklore of the 19thand 20th centuries. In the bright colours, emphatic lines, intense stylisation, and general optimism of Russian peasant art, Goncharova found a vigour and integrity that seemed to be lacking in contemporary bourgeois culture. Goncharova and her immediate colleagues such as Larionov, Malevich, Shevchenko (who published the Neo-Primitivist manifesto in 1913) and Tatlin regarded the traditional arts and crafts as a decisive element in the renovation of Russian art and design, even arguing that Russia was part of Asia and that the East was the real birthplace of all modern art. Of course, Goncharova also studied contemporary Western models including post-Impressionism, Cubism, and Futurism, and the combined influences of Gauguin and Matisse, for example, are manifest in the colouring and decorative flatness ofFishing. In other words, Goncharova was able to borrow Western forms and reprocess them within the indigenous environment, a procedure that often involved a sudden shift of aesthetic registers from “high” to “low”. Moreover as Goncharova affirmed in a speech that she gave in Moscow in 1912, she did not hesitate to give preference for the domestic over the imported: “Cubism is a positive phenomenon, but it is not altogether new. The Scythian stone images, the painted wooden dolls sold at fairs are those same Cubist works”.

John E. Bowlt y Nicoletta Misler

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