Donkey's Tail

Donkey's Tail (Osliniy khvost) was a Russian artistic group formed from the most radical members of the Jack of Diamonds circle. Led by Mikhail Larionov, who invented the deliberately provocative name, it included Natalia Goncharova, Kazimir Malevich, Marc Chagall, and Aleksandr Shevchenko, and was influenced by Cubo-Futurism. The name mocked the Parisian hoax in which a donkey's tail had "painted" an abstract canvas - Larionov declared that if the public believed they painted with a donkey's tail, they would be one. The group's only exhibition ran in Moscow, March 11 to April 8, 1912, drawing some ten thousand visitors and selling fourteen works. It centered on Larionov's neo-primitive soldier scenes and Goncharova's peasant and religious paintings, several of which censors removed before opening. The group dissolved in 1913, its energy passing into Rayonism.

Defining characteristics

• Neo-primitive handling: flattened forms and rough, sketchy brushwork borrowed from folk art
• Everyday Russian subjects - peasants, soldiers, barbers, city poor
• Color palettes matched to subject matter, from mud and leather tones to signboard brightness
• Quick, intentionally rough execution that teases expectations of finish
• Eastern sources - Chinese popular prints, Persian miniatures, Indian and Tatar art - over French models

Key figures

• Mikhail Larionov (1881-1964) — Founder and theorist who named the group and organized its exhibitions
• Natalia Goncharova (1881-1962) — Painted the peasant and religious works that caused the exhibition's censorship scandal
• Kazimir Malevich (1878-1935) — Exhibited with the group at the start of his Cubo-Futurist phase
• Marc Chagall (1887-1985) — Participant in the 1912 Moscow exhibition

Example works

• Rayonist Sausages and Mackerel — Mikhail Larionov (1912)
• The Four Evangelists — Natalia Goncharova
• Cyclist — Natalia Goncharova (1913)

Sources

• Donkey's Tail - Wikipedia encyclopedia

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