254 - Jean Metzinger (1883–1956)

Jean Metzinger (1883–1956) Bal de la Grande Ourse. Union of Russian Artists in Paris. Poster. 1925. Lithograph. [320 x 500 mm]. Color print. Very fine print on vellum, inscribed “To Marinetti” and signed by Natalia Goncharova in pen and ink beneath the image, then annotated in the lower right corner by the secretary of the Union of Russian Artists in Paris; mounted on board. Oblique fold down the center. Another center fold 15 mm from the lower edge. Full margins. AABM stamp (Lugt 3075). Filippo Tommaso Marinetti (1876–1944) and Natalia Goncharova (1881–1962) shared a close relationship but also experienced significant intellectual tensions during the rise of Futurism and the Russian avant-garde in the early 20th century. Goncharova criticized her counterpart for the misogyny of his movement: “ This is evidenced by a draft letter from Goncharova to Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, likely written during his visit to Russia in 1914, the original French version of which is cited in the Russian edition of the catalog by J. Bowlt and M. Drutt, *Amazonki avantgarda*, Moscow, Galart, 2000: “Women are good mothers, good wives, good lovers, good comrades, good workers—there is no reason to despise them. In Russia, the word - ???????? - man refers to human beings of both sexes. All of this shapes human relationships and our national identity.” (Centre Pompidou, exhibition “The Amazons of the Russian Avant-Garde,” 2021).