Vladimir Tatlin (28 December [O.S. 16 December] 1885 – 31 May 1953) was a Russian-Ukrainian and Soviet painter, architect and stage-designer. Tatlin achieved fame as the architect who designed The Monument to the Third International, more commonly known as Tatlin's Tower, which he began in 1919. With Kazimir Malevich he was one of the two most important figures in the Soviet avant-garde art movement of the 1920s, and he later became an important artist in the Constructivist movement.
Biography
Vladimir Tatlin (full name Vladimir Yevgrafovich Tatlin) was born in Moscow, Russian Empire. His father, Yevhraf Nikoforyvych Tatlin was a hereditary nobleman from Oryol, a mechanical engineer graduated from the Technological Institute in St.Petersburg and employed by the Moscow-Brest Railway in Moscow. His mother, Nadezhda Nikolaevna Tatlina (Bart), was a poet sympathizing the Narodnaya Volya revolutionary movement. After she died in 1887, his father married again and resettled to Kharkiv. His father, by whom he lived after having failed to study in Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture died in 1904, so young Vladimir had to interrupt his studies at the Kharkov Arts School and to leave for Odessa to become a merchant sea cadet. According to his own memories, sea and distant lands gave him both means of subsistence and source of inspiration; he sailed all across the Black Sea and also to Egypt.
In 1905 he started and in 1910 successfully completed his studies at N.Selivestrov Penza Art School in Penza. During the summer vacations he traveled to Moscow and St.Petersburg to participate in various art events. In 1911 he resettled to Moscow to live by his uncle and began his art career as an icon painter. He also sang in Ukrainian and was a professional musician-bandurist, and performed as such abroad.
Tatlin became familiar with the work of Pablo Picasso during a trip to Paris in 1913.
Tatlin achieved fame as the architect who designed the huge Monument to the Third International, also known as Tatlin's Tower. Planned from 1919, the monument was to be a tall tower in iron, glass and steel which would have dwarfed the Eiffel Tower in Paris (the Monument to the Third International was a third taller at 400 meters high). Inside the iron-and-steel structure of twin spirals, the design envisaged three building blocks, covered with glass windows, which would rotate at different speeds (the first one, a cube, once a year; the second one, a pyramid, once a month; the third one, a cylinder, once a day). For financial and practical reasons, however, the tower was never built.
Tatlin was also regarded as a progenitor of Soviet post-Revolutionary Constructivist art with his pre-Revolutionary counter-reliefs, three-dimensional constructions made of wood and metal, some placed in corners (corner counter-reliefs) and others more conventionally. Tatlin conceived these sculptures in order to question the traditional ideas of art, though he did not regard himself as a Constructivist and objected to many of the movement's ideas. Later prominent constructivists included Varvara Stepanova, Alexander Rodchenko, Manuel Rendón Seminario, Joaquín Torres García, László Moholy-Nagy, Antoine Pevsner and Naum Gabo.
Although colleagues at the beginning of their careers, Tatlin and Malevich quarrelled fiercely and publicly at the time of the 0.10 Exhibition in 1915 (long before the birth of Constructivism), also called "the last futurist exhibition", apparently over the 'suprematist' works Malevich exhibited there. This led Malevich to develop his ideas further in the city of Vitebsk, where he found a school called UNOVIS (Champions of the new art).
Tatlin also dedicated himself to the study of clothes, and various objects, and flight, culminating in the construction of Letatlin personal flying apparatus.
In the year of 1930 he taught in Kiev where one of his students was Joseph Karakis.
From the 1930s Tatlin worked for different theatres in Moscow and during the Great Patriotic War, in Gorkiy. In 1948 he was heavily criticized for his allegedly anti-communist stance and lost his job, but was not repressed.
Tatlin died in 1953 in Moscow and was buried at the Novodevichy Cemetery.
Il monumento di Tatlin del 1919
Vladimir Tatlin and an assistant in front of the model for the Third International
Vladimir Evgrafovič Tatlin (in russo: Владимир Евграфович Татлин?; Charkiv, 28 dicembre 1885 – Mosca, 31 maggio 1953) è stato un architetto, pittore e scultore russo.
Biografia
Tatlin era un artista completo, dedito sia alla pittura che alla musica folkloristica, motivato dai suoi continui viaggi in Turchia, in Grecia e sulle coste dell'Africa del Nord, per il suo lavoro di marinaio. Grazie alla sua passione per la pittura cubista e futurista riuscì ad annoverare fra il suo giro di amicizie Gončarova e Larionov, con i quali condivise varie esposizioni. Realizzò rilievi astratti polimaterici (i Controrilievi), inaugurando in tal modo il costruttivismo, con cui esprimeva l'arte funzionale, costruttiva, attenta ai nuovi materiali (dell'epoca) e alle tecniche industriali.
Il suo incontro con Pablo Picasso avvenuto a Parigi lo influenzò positivamente, riuscì in quel lasso di tempo ad attingere da lui la tecnica di scomposizione degli oggetti su piani diversi, fino a ottenere pure forme geometriche. Professore di arte e di tecniche pittoriche durante la rivoluzione russa, aderì alla corrente del produttivismo, secondo la quale l'arte veniva asservita ai principi pratici della costituzione di una società nuova e egualitaria. Nel 1919 era stato coinvolto nel progetto del Monumento alla Terza Internazionale, una torre metallica a forma di spirale di 400 metri, che doveva essere dedicato alla Terza Internazionale, ma i lavori di costruzione non furono mai iniziati e il progetto venne abbandonato. Il suo studente era Josif Karakis.
Nel 1932, per via del decreto staliniano, che aveva decretato lo scioglimento di qualunque gruppo potesse essere considerato troppo moderno all'epoca, decise di trasferirsi a Leningrado, dedicandosi al disegno industriale e alla scenografia.
Tatlin fu sepolto nel cimitero di Novodevichy a Mosca.
В. Е. Татлин. Эскиз костюма Винеры к спектаклю «Царь Максемьян и ево непокорный сын Адольфа». 1911
Tatlin, 1913, Female Model / Натурщица, oil on canvas
Forest 
Tatlin 1913, scene design for the play 'A Life for the Tsar'
Tatlin, c. 1942, Window Cleaner and Portrait of V., brush on paper
Russia-2000-stamp-Tatlin Tower and Worker and Kolkhoz Woman by Vera Mukhina
Quotes of Vladimir Tatlin
Quotes, 1910 - 1925
- In
reinforced concrete we have not only a new material but, of far greater
consequence, new constructions and a new method for designing
buildings. Therefore, in using [reinforced concrete], we have to
renounce the old traditions and concern ourselves with meeting new
tasks.
- Quote in: 'Zodchii 19' (1915), p. 198; as quoted by Vasilii Rakitin, in The great Utopia - The Russian and Soviet Avant-Garde, 1915-1932; Guggenheim Museum, New York, 1992, p. 30
- Let's split open our figures and place the environment inside them.
- Quote before 1920; ac cited by Christina Lodder, in Russian Constructivism, (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1983), 17
- [iron and glass, the] 'materials of the new Classicism'.
- Quote, 1921: in Nasha predstoiashchaia rabota,, V. Tatlin, T Shapiro, I. Meerzon, and P. Vinogradov, 'VIII s"ezd sovetov. Ezhednevnyi biulleten' s"ezda 13 (January 1, 1921), p. 11; as cited by Vasilii Rakitin, in The great Utopia - The Russian and Soviet Avant-Garde, 1915-1932; Guggenheim Museum, New York, 1992, p. 30
- [to create] A union of purely artistic forms for a utilitarian purpose.. [referring to his Tower / Monument, with a height of 400 meters, but never constructued]
- Quote, c. 1920; as cited by Camilla Gray, The Russian Experiment in Art: 1863-1922, London: Thames and Hudson, 1962, p. 225
- It [ [his Tower ] was to be dynamic, both in its outward form and inward activity..
- Quote, c. 1920's; as cited by Camilla Gray, The Russian Experiment in Art: 1863-1922, London: Thames and Hudson, 1962, p. 226
- [the task of material culture is] to shed light on the tasks of
production in our country, and also to discover the place of the
artist-constructor in production, in relation to improving the quality
both of the manufactured product and of the organization of the new way
of life in general.
- Quote, May 1924; from Tatlin's lecture on 'Material Culture and Its Role in the Production of Life in the USSR'; as quoted by Larissa A. Zhadova, ed., Tatlin, trans. Paul Filotas et al; Thames and Hudson, London, 1988, p. 252
- In May 1924, right in the middle of N.E.P., Tatlin offered his synoptic statement of what was still the task of material culture
Quotes, 1926 - 1954
- The influence of my art is expressed in the movement of the Constructivists, of which I am the founder – Tatlin.
- Quoted from a biographical note written by Tatlin in 1929, published in Tatlin', Weingarten; Kunstverlag Weingarten, 1987), p. 328; as quoted by Vasilii Rakitin, in The great Utopia - The Russian and Soviet Avant-Garde, 1915-1932; Guggenheim Museum, New York, 1992, p. 34
- The dream [of flying] is as old as Icarus.. .I too want to give
back to man the feeling of flight [with his 'Letatlin'-air-bike,
1929-1932]. This we have been robbed of by the mechanical flight of the
aeroplane. We cannot feel the movement of our body in the air.
- quote, c. 1930; cited by Christina Lodder, in Russian Constructivism; Yale University Press, Connecticut, 1983, p. 213
- The 'Letatlin' was a glider, what Tatlin called an 'air bike', since it would be manually pedaled by the user and contain no motor
- The engineers made hard forms. Evil. With angles. They are easily broken. The world is round and soft..
- quote, c. 1930; cited by Christina Lodder, in Russian Constructivism; Yale University Press, Connecticut, 1983, p. 214
- The 'Letatlin' Tatlin constructed in organic round and oval forms
Quotes about Vladimir Tatlin
- sorted chronologically, by date of the quotes about Vladimir Tatlin
- [Moscow, Spring of 1914:] Dear Sirs, On the 10th, 11th, 12th,
13th, and 14th of May this year the studio of Vladimir Tatlin (57
Ostozhenka, apartment 3) will be open from 6 to 8 p.m. for a free
viewing of his synthetic-static compositions. In addition, at seven
o'clock on the aforementioned days, the Futurist Sergei Podgaevskii will
dynamically declaim his latest poetic transrational records.
- as quoted by Vasilii Rakitin, in The great Utopia - The Russian and Soviet Avant-Garde, 1915-1932; Guggenheim Museum, New York, 1992, p. 25
- I am familiar with Tatlin's theatrical designs in which there is
a charming and original quality of color and an unusual balancing
[ekvilibristika] of line-{illeg.}. Perhaps this is only trickery, but
even trickery is already an art, and for this talent is required.
- Quote from Benua, in his review of the 0.10 exhibition (Dec. 1915/Jan. 1916): "Posledniaia futuristicheskaia vystavka," p. 3.; as quoted by Jane A, Sharp, in Chapter 'The Critical Reception of the 0.10 Exhibition: Malevich and Benua, in The great Utopia - The Russian and Soviet Avant-Garde, 1915-1932; Guggenheim Museum, New York, 1992, p. 50 - note 15
- [Tatlin, in a lecture] expressed his dissatisfaction with
authorities who did not really support his endeavors to work in
industrial concerns.
- Quote of K. Miklashevskii, 1920's in Hypertrophy in Art, note 37: 37 K; as quoted by Larissa A. Zhadova, ed., Tatlin, trans. Paul Filotas et al; Thames and Hudson, London, 1988, p. 137 n. 35
- If the idea of the monument [ Tatlin's Tower
] is truly new and valuable, then it will never die. Prophets have not
always been stoned and imposters have not always succeeded.
- In the 'Petrogradskaia Pravda', December 1920, quoted from an undated newspaper clipping in the collection of A. Korsakova, Moscow (transl. Vasilii Rakitin, 1992)
- An absurd and naive, monstrous beast [ Tatlin's Tower ] with a radio-telegraph horn on its head and the legislative assembly of the Third International in its belly?
- Quote of N. Radlov, in futurizme, (St. Petersburg: "Akvilon," 1923), p. 48 (transl. Vasilii Rakitin, 1992)
- The Council of People's Commissars would flee from such a
building on the first sunny day and, camped out nearby on the grass,
would immediately issue a decree that Tatlin's tower is for rent, at
public auction, to horticulturists wishing to grow pineapples.
- Quote of K. Miklashevskii, in 'Gipertrofiia iskusstva' (Petrograd, 1924), p. 59 (transl. Vasilii Rakitin, 1992)
- Tatlin does not transcend the confines of Cubism.
- Quote by Kazimir Malevich c. 1928, in 'The Constructive Painting of Russian Artists and Constructivism', in K. S. Malevich, Essays on Art, ed. Troels Andersen, (transl. Xenia Glowacki-Prus & Arnold McMillin), London: Rapp & Whiting, 1969, vol. 2, pp. 74-84
- Malevich asked his students and followers to repeat this short sentence after him, during his teachings
- 'Letatlin' (1929-32) is a flying bird, Tatlin's bicycle, on
which one can 'sail' through the air. In artistic circles reactions
varied yet all struck basically the same chord: he's flown out of art, - a move into technology..
- Quote of E. Kronman, in 'Ukhod v tekhniku. Tatlin 1 'Letatlin,' in 'Brigada khudozhnikov 6' (1932), pp. 19-23; cited by Vasilii Rakitin in The great Utopia - The Russian and Soviet Avant-Garde, 1915-1932; Guggenheim Museum, New York, 1992 - note 73
- The name 'Letatlin' is a combination of the Russian word 'letat', meaning: 'to fly', and Tatlin's own last name
- [Tatlin and his 'Letatlin'] an amazing character, but absolutely no artist.
- Quote of A. Efros, in 'Mastera raznykh epokh', 'Sovetskii khudozhnik, (Moscow, 1979), p. 547; cited by Vasilii Rakitin in The great Utopia - The Russian and Soviet Avant-Garde, 1915-1932; Guggenheim Museum, New York, 1992 - note 74
- ['Letatlin' is] not so much.. ..an invention as.. ..a sui-generis work of art
- quote of N. Frausek, in 'Iskusstvo v tekhniku', 'Tekhnika', April 9, 1932, p. 4; cited by Vasilii Rakitin in The great Utopia - The Russian and Soviet Avant-Garde, 1915-1932; Guggenheim Museum, New York, 1992 - note 75
- In her diary, Popova recorded Tatlin's story about how, right before his departure from Paris for Moscow [in 1913], he visited 'Pavel' Picasso himself.. ..(see A. Strigalev, O poezdke Tatlina v Berlin i Parizh,
in 'Iskusstvo 2' (1989), pp. 39-43).. .After seeing Picasso's Cubist
constructions, Tatlin said, he began to work according to other
principles [than Cubism ].
- Vasilii Rakitin, in The great Utopia - The Russian and Soviet Avant-Garde, 1915-1932; Guggenheim Museum, New York, 1992, p. 29
- The Constructivists
recklessly spoke of replacing art with life and wanted to make the
object of production the object of art. Tatlin built a stove in his room
to keep from freezing, sewed a specially tailored coat to keep from
shivering in the wind, and cut himself a comfortable work suit. Playing
with the industrial production of an object was not the last motivation
of the design solutions of the Moscow Constructivists.
- Vasilii Rakitin, in The great Utopia - The Russian and Soviet Avant-Garde, 1915-1932; Guggenheim Museum, New York, 1992, p. 34
Shukhov and Tatlin towers.ogv 1 min 8 s, 1,280 × 720; 19.4 MB
Vladimir Tatlin as sea-man, 1914-15
Коллективная фотография, сделанная в 1933 или 1934 годах. Нина Игнатьевна Бам (1-я справа во 2-м ряду), Александра Михайловна Бам (1-я справа в 1-м ряду), Владимир Ефграфович Татлин (2-й справа во 2-м ряду), Сергей Матвеевич Ромов (стоит за Татлиным), Мария Игнатьевна Бек (в девичестве Бам в 1-м ряду, первая слева).
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