Boris Grigoriev (1886–1939)

Grigoriev B. Portrait of Vsyevolod Meyerhold. 1916

Boris Grigoriev’s portrait of Vsyevolod Meyerhold has an unusual construction. The famous theatrical director is stands with his arms raised in a weird and warped pose, as if caught in the middle of an eccentric mise-en-scиne. The allegorical figure of a hunter in oriental dress stands behind him, holding a bow. Vsyevolod Voinov called Grigoriev’s painting a “double portrait of Vsyevolod Meyerhold”. He believed that it “reflected the grimaces and break-up of the modern spirit, when the nightmares of the fairground clown were preferable to the nightmares of Russian reality.”

Vsyevolod Emilievich Meyerhold (1874–1940): Theatrical director, actor. Headed experimental work under the pseudonym of Doctor Dapertutto at a studio on Borodino Street in Moscow (from 1914). Published the L’amore delle tre melarance magazine (1914–16). Directed and performed the role of Lord Henry in The Portrait of Dorian Gray, a film based on the novel by Oscar Wilde (1915).

Grigoriev B. Countryside. 1918

Created in the wake of the revolutionary events, Boris Grigoriev’s Raseya cycle (1917–22) brought the artist fame and helped to define his creative credo. Raseya was perceived as a profound and expressive image of Russia in 1917 — hungry and exhausted by labour and war. The mistrustful glances of the rustic heroes of Countryside reflect the inner tension and psychologism. Grigoriev’s combination of Neoclassicism with elements of Expressionism, restrained colour nuances and simplified and grotesque forms turn the simple-hearted men, women and children of Raseya into the heroes of a dramatic era. Contemporaries highly rated Grigoriev’s painting, believing that for future generations “this work will speak volumes more than any chronicle or book, painting a profound picture of the history of the dictatorship of workers and peasants.” The artist completed the cycle in emigration.