‘Fleet on the Sea’ textile from the Russian avant-garde period

The Russian revolution, that took place as the country began to modernize, was paralleled by a revolution in art that took place in the nineteen-tens and twenties and which came to be known as the Russian avant-garde. In order to commemorate the revolution and to spread knowledge of its philosophy among the people, town squares and other public spaces were decorated with posters bearing political messages. Textile design was no exception to this trend and the so-called ‘propaganda art’ movement produced a variety of characteristic works. The museum’s collection contains seventy-four design drawings and fourteen textiles from the Russian avant-garde movement and these can be categorized into two trends, one embodying propaganda messages and the other abstract designs. Symbols of the industrial society that was the goal of post-revolutionary Russia were common, resulting in unique motifs, such as mattocks, gears, tractors, electricity wires, dams, factories etc. while the same time, geometrical motifs were also being produced to create abstract designs.
This textile design by Vera Lotonina features the Russian fleet and sailors. Using carefully selected colors and depicting the people or battleships as a geometric design, the rhythmical combination makes it a very impressive work.