The art of Boris Grigoriev (1886–1939) has been formed as a mixture of his varios interests in art from retrospectivism of the World of Art assosiation and neoclassicism to expressionism and cubism. Portrait of Vsyevolod Meyerhold (1916) has an unusual construction. The famous theatrical director is standing with his arms raised in a weird and warped pose. 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.”
Nathan Altman (1889–1970) lived long creative lives, progressing from an initial interest in French Cubism. Even his early works carry the spark of their creative independence. The Portrait of Anna Akhmatova (1914) is among the best examples of Russian avant-garde art.
