MAREVNA (1892-1984)
Composizione Cubista
Circa 1914
Oil on canvas
31 x 26 inches
NATALIA GONCHAROVA (1881-1962)
Composizione Cubofuturista
1913
Gouache on paper
28 1/2 x 10 1/2 inches
Birth of Modern Art
Cubism, where objects are broken up and reassembled in abstracted form, was an early art movement of the 20th century. It led to the birth of pure abstraction, where artists created works with no discernible reference to real objects. Marie Vorobieff, otherwise known as Marevna, is credited with being the first woman cubist painter. Natalia Goncharova, a Russian artist, was a key figure in many of these avant-garde movements. A major retrospective of her work opened at the Tate Modern in June 2019.