Varvara Stepanova. Piece of printed cotton flannel, red and brown chevrons. Russia, 1924

Printed cotton flannel with geometric design of wine red and dull olive-brown chevrons on a pale fawn natural colour ground

Given by Martin Roth

This is a rare specimen of a Russian geometric-printed textile produced by the artist-designer Varvara Stepanova in 1924.

Following the Russian Revolution and the First World War, Russia suffered a crisis in production. In 1922, the textile industry - the largest industrial employer pre-war - was on the brink of collapse, only producing entirely plain textiles. In 1923, an official appeal was put out for artists and designers to come forward to create textile prints and designs for the new Soviet Republic. Along with Alexander Rodchenko and Liubov Popova, Stepanova was among the first responders. They went on to teach at the state art and technical school, VkhUTEMAS, which trained artists for industrial production.

The textile swatch, with its geometric design, is a good example of modern Russian textile production. Before the Revolution, textile designs had almost all been ordered from Paris, their motifs being largely flowers, history scenes and wildlife. The stark, abstract geometry of Stepanova and her peers aimed to replace these themes, by producing works whose design lacked class references and previous cultural baggage. In 1921 the Constructivist movement had formally renounced painting for solely decorative use that was inextricably tied to the bourgeoisie and capitalism. This initiative was succeeded by the Productivist movement, of which Stepanova was a member, that treated art as part of industry. The boldness and simplicity of these designs was also born out of necessity, informed by limited resources and the initial inexperience of the new rural workers who were now manning the reopened factories.

Much Russian design in the 1920s was largely speculative, due to the lack of raw material. Textiles, however, were one of the few realisable projects. However, the Russian consumer lacked enthusiasm for these new class-conscious prints, particularly in rural communities where floral prints were much preferred. Surviving designs and textile samples such as this are therefore very rare. The majority of extant examples of Stepanova textile design comes from her grandson Alexander Lavrentiev, who personally gifted this swatch in April 2014 to Martin Roth, then Director of the V&A, during the latter's visit to Moscow. Roth then gifted the swatch to the Textile and Fashion collection.

Daniel Milford-Cottam
16/12/2016

Registered File number 2016/956 taken from Departmental Record

This is a rare specimen of a Russian geometric-printed textile produced by the artist-designer Varvara Stepanova in 1924.

Following the Russian Revolution and the First World War, Russia suffered a crisis in production. In 1922, the textile industry - the largest industrial employer pre-war - was on the brink of collapse, only producing entirely plain textiles. In 1923, an official appeal was put out for artists and designers to come forward to create textile prints and designs for the new Soviet Republic. Along with Alexander Rodchenko and Liubov Popova, Stepanova was among the first responders. They went on to teach at the state art and technical school, VkhUTEMAS, which trained artists for industrial production.

The textile swatch, with its geometric design, is a good example of modern Russian textile production. Before the Revolution, textile designs had almost all been ordered from Paris, their motifs being largely flowers, history scenes and wildlife. The stark, abstract geometry of Stepanova and her peers aimed to replace these themes, by producing works whose design lacked class references and previous cultural baggage. In 1921 the Constructivist movement had formally renounced painting for solely decorative use that was inextricably tied to the bourgeoisie and capitalism. This initiative was succeeded by the Productivist movement, of which Stepanova was a member, that treated art as part of industry. The boldness and simplicity of these designs was also born out of necessity, informed by limited resources and the initial inexperience of the new rural workers who were now manning the reopened factories.

Much Russian design in the 1920s was largely speculative, due to the lack of raw material. Textiles, however, were one of the few realisable projects. However, the Russian consumer lacked enthusiasm for these new class-conscious prints, particularly in rural communities where floral prints were much preferred. Surviving designs and textile samples such as this are therefore very rare.

T.213-2016