Kseniya (or Ksenia or Xenia) Boguslavskaya (russian: Ксения Богуславская, 24 January 1892 – 3 May 1972) was a

Russian avant-garde The Russian avant-garde was a large, influential wave of avant-garde modern art that flourished in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union, approximately from 1890 to 1930—although some have placed its beginning as early as 1850 and its e ...

artist (

Futurist Futurists (also known as futurologists, prospectivists, foresight practitioners and horizon scanners) are people whose specialty or interest is futurology or the attempt to systematically explore predictions and possibilities abou ...

Suprematist Suprematism (russian: Супремати́зм) is an early twentieth-century art movement focused on the fundamentals of geometry (circles, squares, rectangles), painted in a limited range of colors. The term ''suprematism'' refers to an abstra ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

and

interior decorator Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. An interior designer is someone who plans, researches, coordin ...

. Her husband

Ivan Puni Ivan Albertovich Puni (russian: Иван Альбертович Пуни; also known as Jean Pougny; 20 February 1892 – 28 December 1956) was a Russian avant-garde artist (Suprematist, Cubo-Futurist). Biography Early life Ivan Puni was born in ...

was also a painter. She seems to be the originator of the Mavva (symbol of the World Evil) featured in poems written by

Velimir Khlebnikov Viktor Vladimirovich Khlebnikov, better known by the pen name Velimir Khlebnikov ( rus, Велими́р Хле́бников, p=vʲɪlʲɪˈmʲir ˈxlʲɛbnʲɪkəf; – 28 June 1922) was a Russian poet and playwright, a central part of th ...

Career

Born in

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, she studied art in Paris from 1911 to 1913. She returned to St. Petersburg in 1913 and married

. Their apartment in St Petersburg became a meeting place for avant-garde artists and poets. With Puni she published the

cubo-futurist Cubo-Futurism (also called Russian Futurism or Kubo-Futurizm) was an art movement that arose in early 20th century Russian Empire, defined by its amalgamation of the artistic elements found in Italian Futurism and French Analytical Cubism. Cubo- ...

booklet ''Roaring Parnassus'' («Рыкающий Парнас») in 1914. During the year 1915, Boguslavskaya joined the ''

Supremus Supremus (; 1915–1916) was a group of Russian avant-garde artists led by the "father" of Suprematism, Kazimir Malevich. It has been described as the first attempt to found the Russian avant-garde movement as an artistic entity within its own hist ...

'' («Супремус»), a group of avant-garde artists. Some group members included (

Liubov Popova Lyubov Sergeyevna Popova (russian: Любо́вь Серге́евна Попо́ва; April 24, 1889 – May 25, 1924) was a Russian-Soviet avant-garde artist, painter and designer. Early life Popova was born in Ivanovskoe, near Moscow, to t ...

Nadezhda Udaltsova Nadezhda Andreevna Udaltsova (, 29 December 1885 – 25 January 1961) was a Russian avant-garde artist (Cubist, Suprematist), painter and teacher. Early life and education Nadezhda Udaltsova was born in the village of Orel, Russia, on 29 Decemb ...

Varvara Stepanova Varvara Fyodorovna Stepanova (russian: Варва́ра Фёдоровна Степа́нова; – May 20, 1958) was a Russian artist. With her husband Alexander Rodchenko, she was associated with the Constructivist branch of the Russian avant ...

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 ...

Ivan Kliun Ivan Vasilievich Kliun, or Klyun, born Klyunkov (Russian: Иван Васильевич Клюн; 1 September 1873, Bolshiye Gorky, Petushinsky District - 13 December 1943, Moscow) was a Russian Avant-Garde painter, sculptor and art theorist, as ...

Nina Genke-Meller Nina Henrichovna Genke or Nina Henrichovna Genke-Meller, or Nina Henrichovna Henke-Meller (russian: Нина Генке-Меллер, Нина Генке; 19 April 1893 – 25 July 1954) was a Ukrainian-Russian avant-garde artist, ( Suprematist ...

and others. The group was led by the founder of

Suprematism Suprematism (russian: Супремати́зм) is an early twentieth-century art movement focused on the fundamentals of geometry (circles, squares, rectangles), painted in a limited range of colors. The term ''suprematism'' refers to an abstra ...

, Kazimir Malevich. In 1915–1916 with other Suprematist artists, she worked in the

Verbovka Village Folk Centre Verbovka Village Folk Centre was an artisan cooperative in the village of Verbovka founded by Natalia Davidova in the Ukrainian province of Kiev. Natalia Davidova, one of the founders and the head of the Kiev Folk Center, was an Avant-garde art ...

in the Ukrainian province near Kiev. She exhibited at the first

exhibition in 1915, and helped organize the Suprematist 0.10 Exhibition in late 1915. She was also a member of '' Jack of Diamonds'' (1919) and ''

Mir iskusstva ''Mir iskusstva'' ( rus, «Мир искусства», p=ˈmʲir ɪˈskustvə, ''World of Art'') was a Russian magazine and the artistic movement it inspired and embodied, which was a major influence on the Russians who helped revolutionize Eur ...

'' (1916–1918).

Berlin Period

In 1919 she and Puni escaped from the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

across the ice of the

Gulf of Finland The Gulf of Finland ( fi, Suomenlahti; et, Soome laht; rus, Фи́нский зали́в, r=Finskiy zaliv, p=ˈfʲinskʲɪj zɐˈlʲif; sv, Finska viken) is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland to the north and E ...

. She lived in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

from 1919 to 1923, working as a scene designer for the Russian-German cabaret called ''Der Blaue Vogel'' and for the ''Russian Romantic Theatre''. In Berlin, she established ties with the ''

International Futurists International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

'', including poet Ruggero Vasari and

Kārlis Zāle Kārlis Zāle (28 October 1888 – 19 February 1942) was a Latvian sculptor. Zāle was born in Mažeikiai, but grew up in Liepāja. After training in Russia at the Kazan Art School under Alexander Matveyev and in Germany, he returned to Riga in ...

.''International Yearbook of Futurism Studies''. edited by Günter Berghaus. 2011, Volume 1; Volume 2011

Paris Period

After 1923 she lived with her husband in

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 ...

. Her husband died in Paris in 1956; she donated 12 paintings by Puni to the

Musée National d'Art Moderne The Musée National d'Art Moderne (; "National Museum of Modern Art") is the national museum for modern art of France. It is located in Paris and is housed in the Centre Pompidou in the 4th arrondissement of the city. In 2021 it ranked 10th in ...

in Paris in 1959 and donated some of his engravings and other papers to the

National Library of France National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

in 1966. She exhibited at the

Salon des Indépendants Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon (Pa ...

in 1966 and helped organize an exhibition of Puni's works at the

Musée de l'Orangerie The Musée de l'Orangerie ( en, Orangery Museum) is an art gallery of impressionist and post-impressionist paintings located in the west corner of the Tuileries Garden next to the Place de la Concorde in Paris. The museum is most famous as the ...

the same years. She died in

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 ...

, Paris in 1972.

References

1892 births 1972 deaths 20th-century Russian painters Russian avant-garde Russian designers Suprematism (art movement) 20th-century Russian women artists Emigrants from the Russian Empire to Germany Emigrants from the Russian Empire to France White Russian emigrants to France White Russian emigrants to Germany Russian women painters {{Russia-painter-stub