Nikolay Lavrentiev and Varvara Rodchenko belong to the known dynasty of artists and photographers and continue the matter of a legendary avant-garde couple of Alexander Rodchenko and Varvara Stepanova. "Vladimir Mayakovsky" from the Museum's collection represents a photomontage, which was created as an illustration for the book by Pavel Zheleznov “Maxim Gorky. Vladimir Mayakovsky. The poems-memoirs.” The montage involves two superimposed images: Mayakovsky's photo portrait made by Alexander Rodchenko in 1924 and the photograph of the monument to the poet, established in Moscow in 1958. The Rodchenko's portrait of Mayakovsky belongs to the row of classic images; this is the document, which certifies us in the reality of what is happening: in the luminous halo the spirit of the poet powerfully and steadily rises above the city and grows up directly in front of us. Indeed, it is not only the recognizable sullen look that convinces us in his presence, but also the contrast with his missing “counterpart” – the monument on the foreground that looks like a toy.

Oksana Voronina