Poster – The Realistic Manifesto: Antoine Pevsner and Naum Gabo. Berlinische Galerie, Berlin, 1989
The Realistic Manifesto was published in Moscow in 1920 by the Russian artist Naum Gabo (1890–1977) and his brother Antoine Pevsner. “Space and time are the only factors that shape our reality,” they observed in their polemic, and so they alone should define art. The brothers rejected colour, line and volume as formal elements, as these merely served to describe the world by imitating it. For Gabo and Pevsner art, however abstract, was only “realistic” if it was an authentic component of life. They called for independent art that could achieve more: the vision of an all-embracing new social order. Gabo applied those principles to his own sculpture. In 1922 his revolutionary works were shown at the First General Russian Art Exhibition at the Van Diemen gallery in Berlin. This experience opened the eyes of many German artists to a completely new dimension of art.
This double-sided poster, probably published on the occasion of the 1989 exhibition “Naum Gabo: A Russian in Berlin 1922-1932” held at Berlinische Gerlerie, Berlin, is printed on one side with English, French and German translations of the original Russian text, and with a photolitho facsimile of the 1920 letter press original on the other.
Title: The Realistic Manifesto – Poster
Artist/Author: Antoine Pevsner and Naum Gabo
Publisher: Berlinische Galerie, Berlin
Publication date: 1989
Format: large format folded poster
Condition: Very good
Provenance: The Archive of Peter Townsend
Stock Number: RB04580 83
The Realistic Manifesto was published in Moscow in 1920 by the Russian artist Naum Gabo (1890–1977) and his brother Antoine Pevsner. “Space and time are the only factors that shape our reality,” they observed in their polemic, and so they alone should define art. The brothers rejected colour, line and volume as formal elements, as these merely served to describe the world by imitating it. For Gabo and Pevsner art, however abstract, was only “realistic” if it was an authentic component of life. They called for independent art that could achieve more: the vision of an all-embracing new social order. Gabo applied those principles to his own sculpture. In 1922 his revolutionary works were shown at the First General Russian Art Exhibition at the Van Diemen gallery in Berlin. This experience opened the eyes of many German artists to a completely new dimension of art.
This double-sided poster, probably published on the occasion of the 1989 exhibition “Naum Gabo: A Russian in Berlin 1922-1932” held at Berlinische Gerlerie, Berlin, is printed on one side with English, French and German translations of the original Russian text, and with a photolitho facsimile of the 1920 letter press original on the other.
Title: The Realistic Manifesto – Poster
Artist/Author: Antoine Pevsner and Naum Gabo
Publisher: Berlinische Galerie, Berlin
Publication date: 1989
Format: large format folded poster
Condition: Very good
Provenance: The Archive of Peter Townsend
Stock Number: RB04580 83
The Realistic Manifesto was published in Moscow in 1920 by the Russian artist Naum Gabo (1890–1977) and his brother Antoine Pevsner. “Space and time are the only factors that shape our reality,” they observed in their polemic, and so they alone should define art. The brothers rejected colour, line and volume as formal elements, as these merely served to describe the world by imitating it. For Gabo and Pevsner art, however abstract, was only “realistic” if it was an authentic component of life. They called for independent art that could achieve more: the vision of an all-embracing new social order. Gabo applied those principles to his own sculpture. In 1922 his revolutionary works were shown at the First General Russian Art Exhibition at the Van Diemen gallery in Berlin. This experience opened the eyes of many German artists to a completely new dimension of art.
This double-sided poster, probably published on the occasion of the 1989 exhibition “Naum Gabo: A Russian in Berlin 1922-1932” held at Berlinische Gerlerie, Berlin, is printed on one side with English, French and German translations of the original Russian text, and with a photolitho facsimile of the 1920 letter press original on the other.
Title: The Realistic Manifesto – Poster
Artist/Author: Antoine Pevsner and Naum Gabo
Publisher: Berlinische Galerie, Berlin
Publication date: 1989
Format: large format folded poster
Condition: Very good
Provenance: The Archive of Peter Townsend
Stock Number: RB04580 83
