Study of a Portrait

The artwork "Study for a Portrait" by Liubov Popova, which is part of the Kostakis Collection at the MOMus - Museum of Modern Art, is one of the preserved versions of the "Portrait." It serves as a characteristic example of the mature phase of the artist's Cubo-Futurist period, during which she achieved frontality without entirely eliminating the sense of depth. The Cubist analysis of form into planes, along with the simultaneous presence of wavy lines in the hair, accomplishes frontality and brings the composition closer to the viewer. Additionally, triangular and diagonal structural relationships prevail over orthogonal ones.
The words "CUB[O]" "FUTURISMO" on the painting surface likely constitute a statement by the artist regarding the aesthetic and functional rules of Cubo-Futurism.
During the restoration of the painting in 2005 at the former State Museum of Contemporary Art in Thessaloniki, another artwork was discovered on the back of the paper: a highly comprehensive study for the work "Italian Still Life," which is located at the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow.