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Robert
Delaunay

France • 1885−1941
Sooner or later, in the biographies of many whose names are now known and the picture - in the best museums of the world, contains the value "Paris". Someone remains in it forever, someone leaves him forever in your heart. And someone, for example, Robert Delaunay, just happened to be in Paris. Is it any wonder that the main character of his paintings - the Eiffel tower?

About the childhood of Robert Delaunay little is known. When the boy was five years old her parents divorced, and his education engaged in by uncle. This situation is his future wife, Sonia Delaunay - she lost his parents early and was raised by an uncle. Incidentally, an interesting thing to compare "random coincidences" in the lives of artists and their loved ones, be it near simultaneous move between Vitebsk, St. Petersburg and Vitebsk again Marc Chagall and his future wife Bella, or a series of coincidences in life Mikhail Larionov and Natalia Goncharova that led them to get acquainted. Not less interesting to observe the "accidents" in the life of Robert Delaunay and his future wife.

After graduating in Belleville School of theater and decorative art, Delaunay at the beginning of his career became interested in impressionism and post-impressionism (1904-1909 gg). In his early work shows the influence of Cezanne and Gauguin Breton period.

Robert Delaunay already outlined the main aspect of painting, the disclosure of which he dedicated all of my work, light and color. By its definition, "impressionism - the birth of light in painting".

The next step was the hobby cubism. In 1908, the artist joined the Association "Golden section". However, the pure cubist he, perhaps, was not too expressive was his "geometry", shone too brightly. In your conditional cubist period Robert Delaunay writes mostly landscapes and cityscapes. For the first time in his paintings appears Eiffel tower. Cubism Delaunay refracted light in the most literal sense: the light flows alter the depicted structure and become full-fledged "character" of the picture.

In 1910 Robert Delaunay married to a Russian woman Sonia Terk, also an aspiring artist who demonstrate outstanding talent and skillful mastery of the brush. Robert "stole" the wife of a famous gallery owner Wilhelm Haibara, that did not stop them to save for life great relationship with Haibara and repeatedly to exhibit in his gallery. After a few months of Robert and Sonia Delaunay was born the son of Charles - the artist was already pregnant by Robert, when we were getting married. The marriage was a catalyst for both of them. Sonia has expanded the color palette of Robert, and he opened for her the world of abstract forms. They were together until the death of Robert in 1941.

In the early 1910s, Robert Delaunay was finally convinced to put in the forefront the form he is not interested and returned to postimpressionists hazy smear, finally throwing cubist lines and contours. In 1911 at the invitation Kandinsky Robert Delaunay joined the Association "Blue rider" and participated in the Munich exhibition, and then officially announced the break with the Cubists. Instead, he created his art direction - simultaneism (from the Latin simul, together, at the same time). Simultaneity depicted concentric color circles, and color combinations (so-called simultaneous contrasts) created a sense of movement. Guillaume Apollinaire, who was friends with the couple Delaunay, called the new style "orphism" referring to the ancient Greek Orpheus. A comparison with the Orpheus - not only about the power. Artistsa picture, built on a combination of bright concentric circles, really "sound" that seems to be spreading in all directions from the source of sound, color and light at the same time. Paintings in simultaneism style were first shown to the public in 1913 at the exhibition of the Salon des indépendants.

According to some researchers, Robert Delaunay was the first who introduced the concept of "pure painting". And certainly he was one of the first abstract painters, who quit the subject of images. Of course, other artists did not write figurative paintings, but Delaunay was the first appointed color is the main and only significant scenic factor. Even the fauves - known connoisseurs of color is not threatened! And Delaunay stated that it perceived color as a way to "paint", but the essence of painting is in color.

Their main teacher Robert Delaunay proclaimed Georges Seurat founder pointillism the first has spread out into its component not in shape and color, and created on his canvases a glittering mosaic.

The first world war the couple Delaunay spent partly in Spain, partly in Portugal. In Spain, Robert Delaunay wrote the scenery for the ballet Russes "Cleopatra", and his wife Sonia Delaunay - created costumes. In 1921, the couple returned to Paris, where he plunged into the Bohemian life. They were friends with Modigliani, Chagall, Zadkine. The great achievement of Robert Delaunay in the opening of the Parisian public of the "great Officer" Henri Rousseau. Sonia and Robert did not conform to the template about the difficult nature of genius, on the contrary - they were both easy to communicate and easily found a common language with others.

In Paris Robert regained for his paintings of the paintings. Still, his beloved "model" - the Eiffel tower was again so close! A new round of abstract art in the works of Delaunay occurred in the 30-ies. And in the late 30's Robert Delaunay had the opportunity to connect art and architecture. His monumental relief panels (1, 2) abolished the boundaries of painting. It is noteworthy that his wife at the same time endured simultaneous image from the canvas to the fabric.

In Paris, the Pompidou Center, Robert and Sonia Delaunay allocated a huge room - the founder's ideas on the primacy of color, in love with the Eiffel tower in Paris appreciate.


Author: Alain Esaulova
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