Nathan Altman
1890–1970 · Cubist painter and stage designer from Russia and the Soviet Union
Nathan Altman (Vinnytsia, 1889 - Saint Petersburg, 1970) was one of the most representative avant-garde artists of pre-revolutionary and early Soviet Russia. Born in what was then the Russian Empire, now Ukraine, into a family of Jewish merchants, he combined Cubist painting with stage design and book illustration. His work links the prerevolutionary avant-gardes with Soviet art of the 1920s.
He studied painting and sculpture at the Odessa School of Art from 1902 to 1907 and held his first exhibition in that city in 1906. In 1910 he moved to Paris, where he worked in the studio of Vladimir Baranoff-Rossine and came into contact with Chagall, Archipenko and Shterenberg. In 1912 he settled in Saint Petersburg, where in 1914 he painted his Cubist portrait of Anna Akhmatova, one of his best-known works.
After the revolution he served on the board for artistic affairs of the People's Commissariat for Education, alongside Malevich, and joined the Institute of Artistic Culture. From 1920 to 1928 he designed sets for the Habima Theatre and the Moscow State Jewish Theatre, work that became central to his career. He settled in Paris in 1928 and returned to Leningrad in 1936, where he worked mainly in theatre, book illustration and writing on art. He died in that city at the age of 81.
His legacy lies in the move from Cubism toward experiments with materials and toward stage design. A memorial plaque on the Casa de los Specialistas apartment building on Lesnoy Prospekt commemorates him, and his works are held by the State Russian Museum and the Tretyakov Gallery.
Works (1)
Where to see the work
- Russian Museum Saint Petersburg · 1
Teachers and pupils
Studied with
- Kyriak Kostandi 1852–1921
- Gennady Ladyzhensky 1852–1916
Curiosities
A temporary sculpture on Palace Square
In 1918 he installed a temporary architectural sculpture on Palace Square to mark the first anniversary of the October Revolution. According to the sources, the canvas that formed part of the work was later cut up and reused as foot bandages for soldiers, an unusual fate for an avant-garde piece.
Materials on the canvas
Some works from 1918 to 1920, such as Composition with Material Objects, combine oil with plaster, enamel, glue and sawdust on canvas. These surfaces move away from flat painting and take the Cubist interest in material into relief, as the title Painting of Materials also suggests.
A plaque in Leningrad
On the Casa de los Specialistas apartment building, at number 61-1 on Lesnoy Prospekt, a memorial plaque honours the artist. It is a quiet reminder of a career that passed through Paris, Moscow and Leningrad and developed largely within the world of theatre.