FOREWORD
The following collection of works have come from the Estate of David Ellie Phillips; the grandson of Diego Rivera and Marie Vorobieff, known under the artistic name of Marevna. The name Marevna was purportedly given to her after a Russian fairy sea princess by Maxim Gorky, a Russian author and political activist whom she met in Italy, and this then became her signature.
The sale contains a collection of paintings, drawings, sculptures and ephemera from the artist’s life.
It was Marevna’s time as a member of the La Ruche artist during the early 20th century that shaped her oeuvre. During this period she worked alongside Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall, Amedeo Modigliani, Ossip Zadkine, Diego Rivera, Georges Braque, Chaïm Soutine, Max Jacob, Moïse Kisling, Henri Matisse, Guilaume Apollinaire, Fernard Léger and others. For many of these artists, Marevna was the subject of their artworks, however it is often forgotten that whilst these artists were painting and sketching Marevna, she was also sketching these artists, and actively engaging in the artistic discourse of the time such as Cubism and Pointillism. She has herself become internationally acknowledged for convincingly combining these two elements.
Marevna’s affair with Diego Rivera, which led to her daughter, Marika Rivera, saw her labelled as one of ‘Rivera’s women’. Many similarities are seen between Marevna and Frida Kahlo, both great loves of Rivera; they were stylistically unique, active in the discourse of their period, and were each denied the praise and recognition their works deserve during their lifetime.
For many Marevna is a forgotten artist; over-shadowed by her male counterparts and over-shadowed by the intensity of Rivera’s romancing and abandonment.
Marevna’s artworks are memoirs through the stages of her life. Often the dates on her works refer to the period of the narrative she is painting and not the date the piece was created. In this sale there are many examples of pieces that have been dated retrospectively with earlier dates.
As Marevna neared the end of her life she would return to her work to make alterations and additions. Apparent in this collection are highlights and changes she made to her earlier works with pen, often because the charcoal or pencil had faded.
This sale is a fascinating journey through the life of Marevna, a contemporary to the great masters, and herself a shaper of the rich history of a prolific artistic time.
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