Larionov was born at
Tiraspol, in the
Kherson Governorate of the
Russian Empire. In 1898 he entered the
Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture under
Isaac Levitan and
Valentin Serov. He was suspended three times for his radical outlook. In 1900 he met fellow avant-garde artist
Natalia Goncharova and formed a lifelong relationship with her. From 1902 his style was
Impressionism. After a visit to Paris in 1906 he moved into
Post-Impressionism and then a
Neo-primitive style which derived partly from Russian
sign painting. In 1908 he staged the Golden Fleece exhibition in Moscow, which included paintings by international avant-garde artists such as
Matisse,
Derain,
Braque,
Gauguin and
Van Gogh. Other group shows promoted by him included
Tatlin,
Chagall and
Malevich. He was especially a close friend and mentor to Tatlin; however, the latter broke off their relations in 1912 and started openly criticizing him, supposedly to escape Larionov's "monolithic authority". Larionov was a founding member of two important Russian artistic groups
Knave of Diamonds (1909–1917) and the more radical
Donkey's Tail (1912–1914). He gave names to both groups. His first solo show was for one day in Moscow in 1911. He was influenced by the Georgian artist
Niko Pirosmani. Larionov then became influenced by the
Cubo-Futurist art movement, and in 1913, with Natalia Goncharova, he invented
Rayonism, which was the first creation of near-abstract art in Russia. He had a one-man show at the
Omega Workshops. Around this time, Larionov was at the forefront of the Moscow avant-garde. He staged public
performance art featuring participants with painted faces and dressed in eccentric clothes. He also took part in the production of the 1914 experimental film ''
Drama in the Futurists' Cabaret No. 13'', which integrated elements from the street performances. In 1915 he left Russia and worked with the ballet owner
Sergei Diaghilev in Paris on the productions of the
Ballets Russes. He spent the rest of his life in
France and obtained French citizenship. He died, aged 82, in the Paris suburb of
Fontenay-aux-Roses. In 2001, the
Central Bank of Transnistria minted a silver coin honoring this native of today's
Transnistria, as part of a series of memorable coins called
The Outstanding People of Pridnestrovie. The highest price paid for a Larionov painting at auction is 2,200,000 British pounds. He is in the highest category "1A – a world famous artist" in "
United Artists Rating". He is buried at
Ivry Cemetery,
Ivry-sur-Seine. File:Larionov akaziivesnoj.jpg|
Acacias in Spring (1904) File:Larionov self portrait.jpg|
Self-Portrait (1910) File:Этюд женщины.jpg|
Study of a woman (1912) File:Larionov red rayonism.jpg|
Red Rayonism (1913) File:Mikhail Larionov dancer on motion (1915).jpg|
Dancer in motion (1915) File:Mikhail Larionov Lady with a fan. Sketch of a costume for the ballet «Natural History». (1916).jpg|
Lady with a fan (1916) ==See also==