Véra Rockline (, ''Vera Nikolaïevna Rokhlina''; 1896 – 4 April 1934) was a Russian post-impressionist painter.

Personal life and career

Rockline was the daughter of a Russian man and a French woman, and started her career in Moscow, studying in the studio of

Ilya Mashkov Ilya Ivanovich Mashkov (russian: Илья Иванович Машков; – 20 March 1944) was a Russian artist, one of the most significant and at the same time most characteristic painters of the circle of " Jack of Diamonds" (russian: Бу� ...

, who considered her one of his most brilliant students. In 1918 she became an apprentice at

Aleksandra Ekster Alexandra () is the feminine form of the given name Alexander (, ). Etymologically, the name is a compound of the Greek verb (; meaning 'to defend') and (; GEN , ; meaning 'man'). Thus it may be roughly translated as "defender of man" or "pr ...

's studio in Kiev, Ukraine. Ekster, who personally knew

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

and

Guillaume Apollinaire Guillaume Apollinaire) of the Wąż coat of arms. (; 26 August 1880 – 9 November 1918) was a French poet, playwright, short story writer, novelist, and art critic of Polish descent. Apollinaire is considered one of the foremost poets of t ...

had great influence on Rockline's initial style, also inspiring her creative and free painting spirit. In 1918 and 1919, she exhibited at the 24th Moscow Artists Association Exposition, and in other gallery and association exhibitions. Also in 1918, she married a Mr.Rokhlin, from whom she adopted his name. In 1919 she left Russia, spending two years in

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million p ...

and in 1921 she immigrated to France, where she eventually obtained French citizenship. At first, Rockline and her husband lived with relatives of her mother, in Burgundy. In 1922, they moved to Paris, where there were a large Russian community, of which Rockline became part, living at Rue de Hambourg, nº 12, near

Montmartre Montmartre ( , ) is a large hill in Paris's northern 18th arrondissement. It is high and gives its name to the surrounding district, part of the Right Bank. The historic district established by the City of Paris in 1995 is bordered by Rue Ca ...

Road to success

In 1922, Rockline exhibited paintings in the Russian section of the

Salon d'Automne The Salon d'Automne (; en, Autumn Salon), or Société du Salon d'automne, is an art exhibition held annually in Paris, France. Since 2011, it is held on the Champs-Élysées, between the Grand Palais and the Petit Palais, in mid-October. The f ...

, at the Salon des Independants and at the Salon Tuileries, where she had a positive reception from media and visitors. Some of her paintings won prizes in the expositions. The journalist and art critic Raymond Escholier (1882-1971), curator of

Petit Palais The Petit Palais (; en, Small Palace) is an art museum in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France. Built for the 1900 Exposition Universelle ("universal exhibition"), it now houses the City of Paris Museum of Fine Arts (''Musée des beaux-arts ...

museum, called her series of artistic nude paintings a "symphony of flesh". After styling herself on Cubism and

Impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

, Rockline started to develop her own style, "something between

Courbet Jean Désiré Gustave Courbet ( , , ; 10 June 1819 – 31 December 1877) was a French painter who led the Realism movement in 19th-century French painting. Committed to painting only what he could see, he rejected academic convention and t ...

and

Renoir Pierre-Auguste Renoir (; 25 February 1841 – 3 December 1919) was a French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionist style. As a celebrator of beauty and especially feminine sensuality, it has been said that "Re ...

", according to the critics from ''L’Art et les Artistes" magazine'.

Paul Poiret Paul Poiret (20 April 1879 – 30 April 1944, Paris, France) was a French fashion designer, a master couturier during the first two decades of the 20th century. He was the founder of his namesake haute couture house. Early life and care ...

was one of her admirers and bought two of her paintings, helping to promote her art and introduced her to the French poet and art aficionado,

Charles Vildrac Charles Vildrac (November 22, 1882 – June 25, 1971), born "Charles Messager",''1971 Britannica Book of the Year'' (for events of 1971), "Obituaries 1971" article, page 532, "Vildrac, Charles" item was a French libertarian playwright, poet a ...

(1882-1971), who helped Rockline on her first solo exhibition in his gallery in 1924. In 1927, she became member of Salon d’Automne Society, a privileged position and became independent of her husband, probably divorcing him and moved to

Montparnasse Montparnasse () is an area in the south of Paris, France, on the left bank of the river Seine, centred at the crossroads of the Boulevard du Montparnasse and the Rue de Rennes, between the Rue de Rennes and boulevard Raspail. Montparnasse has bee ...

. Her financial independence coincided with a change in her art style. Her works became lighter, free, closer to Impressionism, with a softer color palette, predominantly with Renoir-styled brushstrokes. Always focused on depicting female nudes, who predominated on her studio, she joined the Women Artists' Society and established close contact with several art colleagues, in particular

Zinaida Serebriakova Zinaida Yevgenyevna Serebriakova (russian: Зинаида Евгеньевна Серебрякова; – 20 September 1967) was a Russian and later French painter. Family Zinaida Serebryakova was born on the estate of Neskuchnoye near Kh ...

. Rockline had several solo art exhibitions in Paris galleries, including Vildrac (1925), Bernheim (1926), La Boetie (1930) and Barreiro (1932, 1933). At the peak of her fame and success, Rockline committed suicide on 4 April 1934, in Paris. She was buried in Recey-sur-Ource, Côte-d’Or,in Burgundy.

Legacy

Although Rockline was almost forgotten in the later half of the 20th century, from 2000 on a new interest on her art arose from galleries and art collectors. In 2002 a large exhibition of her work was held in Montparnasse, “Elles de Montparnasse", where her works were shown together with works by

Tamara de Lempicka Tamara Łempicka (born Tamara Rosalia Gurwik-Górska; 16 May 1898 – 18 March 1980), better known as Tamara de Lempicka, was a Polish painter who spent her working life in France and the United States. She is best known for her polished Art D ...

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 as a member of the Cubists associated with the Section d'Or. Biography Laurencin was born in Paris ...

, Hannah Orlova,

Sonia Delaunay Sonia Delaunay (13 November 1885 – 5 December 1979) was a French artist, who spent most of her working life in Paris. She was born in Odessa (then part of Russian Empire), and formally trained in Russian Empire and Germany before moving to Fr ...

and

Natalia Goncharova Natalia Sergeevna Goncharova (russian: Ната́лья Серге́евна Гончаро́ва, p=nɐˈtalʲjə sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvnə ɡənʲtɕɪˈrovə; 3 July 188117 October 1962) was a Russian avant-garde artist, painter, costume designe ...

. A retrospective exhibition of Vera Rockline's works was held in Galerie Drouart (Paris, France) in 1984. Since 2017 Galerie Drouart (now Cabinet Expertise Drouart) is preparing the catalogue raisonné of Vera Rockline. In June 2008, her painting ''Card Players'' (1919) was sold in an auction at Christie's, in London, for 2 million pounds.

Selected art

File:Vera Rockline The Card Players.jpg, The Card Players (1919) File:Rockline Nu assis avec miroir 1920.jpg, Nude with red beret at her toilet (1920) File:Rockline jeune-femme-a-leventail-bleu-1919.jpg, Portrait of a young woman with blue fan (1919) File:Roclline Autoportrait 1922.jpg, Self-Portrait(1922) File:Rockline nude-in-blue-interior-1919-1921.jpg, Nude with blue interior (1919-1921)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rockline, Véra 1896 births 1934 deaths 1934 suicides 20th-century Russian painters 20th-century Russian women artists Artists from Moscow Artists who committed suicide French people of Russian descent Russian women painters Soviet emigrants to France Suicides in France