Ilya Mashkov painted ‘Portrait of the Artist Adolf Izrailyevich Milman’ in 1916–1917. During this period, he was actively engaged in organizational activities. He participated in the creation of the professional union of artists, joined the society ‘Mir iskusstva’ [‘World of Art’]. Soon other participants of the ‘Jack of Diamonds’ joined the art association: Alexander Kuprin, Aristarchus Lentulov, Adolf Milman, Vsevolod Rozhdestvensky, and Robert Falk.
‘Portrait of Milman’ appeared at the exhibition ‘World of Art’ at the end of 1916 and, according to press reviews, had the usual ‘succes de scandale’ for the author. The model of the painting, the artist Adolf Milman, was Mashkov’s student. He was a member of the association “Jack of Diamonds” with his mentor since its creation.
Mashkov combined different points of view on the canvas, thereby depicting the characteristic gestures of the portrayed and important symbolic details of the studio. The artist created the volume of figures with the help of the shadows, but they are conditional. At the same time, the shapes of the face, hands and unnaturally long fingers are depicted in details. Mashkov carefully and delicately reproduced the facial features and expressive plasticity of the model.
The color of the portrait is characterized by great restraint, even asceticism, rare for Mashkov’s paintings of the 1910s. Despite the artistry and nonacademic, freedom of painting, the picture differs from the canvases of the ‘Jack of Diamonds’ period.
Adolf Milman was born in 1888, in Chisinau, studied at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture. Then, he studied in the workshop of Ilya Mashkov. Researchers divide his creative work into two main periods. He started with still lifes, in which he used complex and unusual color schemes. After 1914, he started to paint cubist landscapes. He often arranged his paintings in the same way as Mashkov. He depicted views from a birdseye view in such a way that the roofs of the houses formed a colored mosaic. Milman painted landscapes of the Crimea, cities on the Volga, and also he loved the views of France.
The fate of the artist was tragic. He suffered from an incurable disease since 1920 that led to paralysis. For the last eight years of his life, the artist was bedfast. Adolf Milman died in 1930 and was buried in the Montparnasse Cemetery. His only solo exhibition was held in Feodosia in 1920.
‘Portrait of Milman’ appeared at the exhibition ‘World of Art’ at the end of 1916 and, according to press reviews, had the usual ‘succes de scandale’ for the author. The model of the painting, the artist Adolf Milman, was Mashkov’s student. He was a member of the association “Jack of Diamonds” with his mentor since its creation.
Mashkov combined different points of view on the canvas, thereby depicting the characteristic gestures of the portrayed and important symbolic details of the studio. The artist created the volume of figures with the help of the shadows, but they are conditional. At the same time, the shapes of the face, hands and unnaturally long fingers are depicted in details. Mashkov carefully and delicately reproduced the facial features and expressive plasticity of the model.
The color of the portrait is characterized by great restraint, even asceticism, rare for Mashkov’s paintings of the 1910s. Despite the artistry and nonacademic, freedom of painting, the picture differs from the canvases of the ‘Jack of Diamonds’ period.
Adolf Milman was born in 1888, in Chisinau, studied at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture. Then, he studied in the workshop of Ilya Mashkov. Researchers divide his creative work into two main periods. He started with still lifes, in which he used complex and unusual color schemes. After 1914, he started to paint cubist landscapes. He often arranged his paintings in the same way as Mashkov. He depicted views from a birdseye view in such a way that the roofs of the houses formed a colored mosaic. Milman painted landscapes of the Crimea, cities on the Volga, and also he loved the views of France.
The fate of the artist was tragic. He suffered from an incurable disease since 1920 that led to paralysis. For the last eight years of his life, the artist was bedfast. Adolf Milman died in 1930 and was buried in the Montparnasse Cemetery. His only solo exhibition was held in Feodosia in 1920.
