Serge Charchoune or Sergey Sharshun (russian: Сергей Иванович Шаршун) was a Russian painter and the first Russian

Dada Dada () or Dadaism was an art movement of the European avant-garde in the early 20th century, with early centres in Zürich, Switzerland, at the Cabaret Voltaire (Zurich), Cabaret Voltaire (in 1916). New York Dada began c. 1915, and after 192 ...

poet. Born August 4, 1888, in

Buguruslan Buguruslan (russian: Бугурусла́н) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in Orenburg Oblast, Russia. Population: History It was founded in 1748. Administrative and municipal status Within the subdivisions of Russia#Admin ...

, Russia, Charchoune lived most of his life in France where he died in

Villeneuve-Saint-Georges Villeneuve-Saint-Georges () is a commune in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. People from Villeneuve-Saint-Georges are called ''Villeneuvois'' in French. History Prehistory and Antiquity Vill ...

on November 24, 1975.

Biography

Serge Charchoune briefly studied art in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

before being drafted into the army in 1910. He deserted and in 1912, he went to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

where he quickly became interested in the Cubist Movement, studying under

Henri Le Fauconnier Henri Victor Gabriel Le Fauconnier (July 5, 1881 – December 25, 1946) was a French Cubist painter born in Hesdin. Le Fauconnier was seen as one of the leading figures among the Montparnasse Cubists. At the 1911 Salon des Indépendants Le Fauco ...

. During the war, he took refuge in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

where he met the painters

Albert Gleizes Albert Gleizes (; 8 December 1881 – 23 June 1953) was a French artist, theoretician, philosopher, a self-proclaimed founder of Cubism and an influence on the School of Paris. Albert Gleizes and Jean Metzinger wrote the first major treatise on ...

Marie Laurencin Marie Laurencin (31 October 1883 – 8 June 1956) was a French painter and printmaker. She became an important figure in the Parisian Avant-garde#:~:text=The avant-garde (/ˌ,art, culture, or society., avant-garde as a member of the Cubism, Cubist ...

, and

Francis Picabia Francis Picabia (: born Francis-Marie Martinez de Picabia; 22January 1879 – 30November 1953) was a French avant-garde painter, poet and typographist. After experimenting with Impressionism and Pointillism, Picabia became associated with Cubism ...

. After the

Bolshevik Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolsheviks, Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was ...

of October 1917, he tried to return to Russia, but failed and ended back in Paris. He attended Dadaist meetings at the ''café Certá'' and participated in Dada demonstrations, notably the "Trial of Barrès" organized by

André Breton André Robert Breton (; 19 February 1896 – 28 September 1966) was a French writer and poet, the co-founder, leader, and principal theorist of surrealism. His writings include the first ''Surrealist Manifesto'' (''Manifeste du surréalisme'') o ...

. He founded the Dadaist group Palata poetov and in 1921 wrote ''Foule immobile: poème'', arguably his most significant contribution to the movement. He exhibited at the Montaigne Gallery in a show organized by

Tristan Tzara Tristan Tzara (; ; born Samuel or Samy Rosenstock, also known as S. Samyro; – 25 December 1963) was a Romanian and French avant-garde poet, essayist and performance artist. Also active as a journalist, playwright, literary and art critic, comp ...

as well as at the Berlin gallery

Der Sturm ''Der Sturm'' () was a German List of avant-garde magazines, avant-garde art and literary magazine founded by Herwarth Walden, covering Expressionism, Cubism, Dada and Surrealism, among other artistic movements. It was published between 1910 an ...

. From the 1930s to the 1950s, Charchoune experimented with both abstract and representational figures, often mixing the two. His style, as described by British artist and critic

Merlin James Merlin James (born 1960 in Cardiff, Wales) is an artist living and working in Glasgow, Scotland. Life and work James studied at Central School of Art and Design, London, and the Royal College of Art, London. His college thesis, on French artist ...

, was an "alternative" abstraction as compared to many of his contemporaries. Charchoune took inspiration for his artworks from the music of classical composers like Bach and Tchaikovsky Charchoune's work can be found in the collections of the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

Centre Georges Pompidou The Centre Pompidou (), more fully the Centre national d'art et de culture Georges-Pompidou ( en, National Georges Pompidou Centre of Art and Culture), also known as the Pompidou Centre in English, is a complex building in the Beaubourg area of ...

Moscow Museum of Modern Art The Moscow Museum of Modern Art is a museum of modern and contemporary art located in Moscow, Russia. It was opened to public in December 1999. The project of the museum was initiated and executed by Zurab Tsereteli, president of the Russian Aca ...

and

National Museum of Serbia The National Museum of Serbia ( sr, / ) is the largest and oldest museum in Belgrade, Serbia. It is located in the central zone of Belgrade on a square plot between the Republic Square, formerly Theatre Square, and three streets: Čika Ljubina ...

Bibliography

Alain Bosquet Alain Bosquet, born Anatoliy Bisk (russian: Анато́лий Биск) (28 March 1919 – 17 March 1998), was a French poet. Life In 1925, his family moved to Brussels and he studied at the Université Libre de Bruxelles, then at the Sorbonne ...

''Charchoune, une archéologie de l'âme''. * Isabelle Ewig ''Serge Charchoune, soleil russe'', Galerie Thessa Herold, Paris, 2007. * René Guerra ''Profil de Charchoune'', Galerie de Seine, Paris, 1973. * Laurent Le Bon (sous la direction de) ''Dada'', catalogue de l'exposition présentée au Centre national d'art et de culture Georges-Pompidou du 5 octobre 2005 au 9 janvier 2006, Éditions du Centre Pompidou, Paris, 2005. * Giovanni Lista ''Dada libertin & libertaire'', L'Insolite, Paris, 2005.

References

External links

* http://www.lorenzelliarte.com/en/artists/serge-charchoune# * http://www.artnet.fr/artistes/serge-charchoune/ * http://www.the-athenaeum.org/art/list.php?m=o&s=du&oid=1.&f=a&fa=12289 {{DEFAULTSORT:Charchoune, Serge 1888 births 1975 deaths 20th-century Russian poets 20th-century Russian painters Russian expatriates in France People from Buguruslan Russian dadaists