THE ACTIVITY OF THE SUPREMATISTS AT THE STATE PORCELAIN FACTORY: THE MAIN PERIODS AND CONCEPTS
Suprematism as one of the significant movements in the art of the beginning of the 20th century had a considerable impact on the architecture and development of the art industry in Russia: in furniture, textiles, porcelain. In the article, the researcher discussed the invitation of Suprematists at the State Porcelain Factory. The author used the archive document (published in the paper) - a letter of recommendation by Iosif Shkolnik which enabled Nikolai Suetin to start work at the plant in December, 1922. Using archive materials, the author indicated the official dates when the Suprematists Nikolai Suetin and Ilya Chashnik became the employees of the factory. The researcher briefly analyzed their work with porcelain and described their marks and inscriptions on the porcelain production. The author underlined that the shapes and compositions of Nikolai Suetin featured harmony and perfection of proportions, and the works of Ilya Chashnik had specific energy of color and emotional expressivity. The leader of Suprematists Kazimir Malevich turned to work with porcelain later than his students. The art director of the State Porcelain Factory Nikolai Punin (from 1 May, 1923), who was looking for new ways to develop porcelain art, invited him to the plant. Kazimir Malevich created iconic Suprematist shapes in porcelain such as a teapot and two half-cups. The copyist artists of the factory reproduced Malevich’s drawings in porcelain as well. The evolution of Suprematism as an art movement influenced the development of its traditions in porcelain art. The author emphasized that “metaphysical”, symbolic figurative images appeared in the compositions of Nikolai Suetin in the late 1920s. At the same time, the artist continued to work with non-figurative, geometries shapes. The researcher summarized that the work of the Suprematists contributed to the development of new shapes, purity of color and composition in porcelain art. In 1932-1952, Nikolai Suetin as a teacher of young artists, and as the art director of the State Porcelain Factory named after M. V. Lomonosov, had a crucial role in this process. He consistently carried out the principles of Suprematism in porcelain. Suprematism and the Suetin school determined the image of Leningrad porcelain for the next decades.