MIKHAIL MIKHAILOVICH TARKHANOV (RUSSIAN 1888-1962) Abstract Composition (Red, Yellow, Blue), 1930s gouache on paper 42 x 31 cm (16 1/2 x 12 1/8 in.)
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Mikhail Tarkhanov (1888-1962) was a Russian avant-garde graphic artist known for his abstract, water-based textured compositions. He graduated from the Stroganov Moscow State University of Arts and Industry in 1915, later enrolling at VKhUTEMAS, where he studied under Vasili Kandinsky and Vladimir Favorsky. From 1932 until his death, the exhibition of abstract art was banned, so he secretly pursued his abstract work while working officially for various Soviet institutions. He was able to exhibit his beautiful, unique compositions only a handful of times from 1919 to 1931, alongside artists such as Natan Altman, El Lissitzky, Kazimir Malevich, and Alexander Rodchenko. Much of his oeuvre has remained unseen until the present. Tarkhanov`s works are included in the permanent collections of the Tretyakov Gallery, the Russian Museum, the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, and at the Getty Center. This is a prime example of one of Tarkhanov`s intricate designs created by a carefully crafted oil-water medium.
