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David Burliuk
Surrealist Scene

1930

$15,000
£11,486.92
€13,448.78
CA$21,576.83
A$21,919.77
CHF 12,522.77
MX$267,508.26
NOK 146,528.10
SEK 148,699.17
DKK 100,586.79

About the Item

Signed lower right and dated 1930 lower left. David Burliuk, celebrated as the “Father of Russian Futurism,” carried the radical energy of the early avant‑garde into his émigré years, producing works that balance modernist innovation with folkloric resonance. This canvas from the early 1930s reflects Burliuk’s mature idiom: a vigorous surface animated by thick impasto, fractured planes, and a palette that oscillates between earthy tonalities and electrifying bursts of color. The composition embodies Burliuk’s dual allegiance to Futurist dynamism and the enduring rhythms of rural life. Angular structures and compressed perspective recall his Futurist experiments, while the subject matter—rooted in archetypal figures, symbolic landscapes, or village motifs—anchors the work in cultural memory. The result is a painting that feels both forward‑looking and deeply rooted, a dialogue between modernity and tradition. Burliuk’s brushwork conveys more than representation; it seeks to capture vitality itself. In this way, the painting stands as a testament to his role as a bridge between the radical currents of the European avant‑garde and the folk traditions that remained central to his vision. David Burliuk was born into a privileged class of Russian society. His wife was educated with the Czar's children, and he was well positioned to become an artistic leader. Burliuk studied at the Kazan School of Fine Arts in 1898, and then studied in Odessa, Moscow, Munich, and in Paris at the Ecole des Beaux Arts*. His early works were fauve-like, "violent in color and heavy with paint" and were exhibited with the Blue Riders in Munich. In Russia, as a breaker of artistic tradition, he was expelled in 1911 from the Moscow Institute. With other futurists*, he undertook a public campaign with lectures, journals and films--all focused on the craziness of modern, industrial life. With the advent of World War I, he left Russia and traveled for four years including to Siberia, Japan, and the South Seas. To start all over again, he moved to America in 1922 and settled on Long Island where he continued to paint until his death there in 1967. His subjects range from neo-primitive paintings to peasant life in Russia to futurist depictions of South Sea fishermen. Much of his painting in Russia vanished in the Russian Revolution. Throughout his life, Burliuk was innovative, energetic and upbeat. In the United States, he developed his "radio style", a style that involved symbolism*, neo-primitivism, and expressionism*. "But Burliuk's early work in pre-revolutionary experimental art was his most creative."
  • Creator:
    David Burliuk (1882 - 1967, Ukrainian)
  • Creation Year:
    1930
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 15 in (38.1 cm)Width: 22 in (55.88 cm)Depth: 3 in (7.62 cm)
  • More Editions & Sizes:
    Edition of 1Price: $15,000
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    Saratoga Springs, NY
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU170215683042

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