Sketch for costume for Assyrian dances (1919) by Artist Vadym MellerThe Museum of Theatre, Music and Cinema of Ukraine
Vadym Meller was a Ukrainian-Russian Soviet painter, avant-garde Cubist, Constructivist and Expressionist artist, theatrical designer, book illustrator, and architect. Born in St Petersburg in 1884, he died in his adopted city of Kyiv in 1962.
Sketch for costume for Assyrian dances (1919) by Artist Vadym MellerThe Museum of Theatre, Music and Cinema of Ukraine
Meller was a keen and devoted student of art. In 1905, while studying law at Kyiv University, he travelled to Geneva to take private art lessons under Franz Roubaud. After graduating in 1908, he travelled to Munich to continue his artistic education.
Sketch for Officer’s costume for production of G. Kaiser’s Haz (Gas). (1923) by Artist Vadym MellerThe Museum of Theatre, Music and Cinema of Ukraine
His time in Munich was formative. He studied under Heinrich Knirr before enrolling in the Munich Academy of Fine Arts. Here, he was introduced to Paul Klee, Wassily Kandinsky, and the avant-garde art circle, Der Blaue Reiter.
Sketch for costume for the collaborative production Nebo horyt (The sky is on fire). (1921) by Artist Vadym MellerThe Museum of Theatre, Music and Cinema of Ukraine
Meller turned to scenography shortly after the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. The fervour of the moment opened up the arts to new ideas and styles. Some artists saw theatre as an opportunity to both exhibit modernist art and engage people collectively.
Sketch for costume for production of Yu. Slovatsky’s Mazepa. (1920) by Artist Vadym MellerThe Museum of Theatre, Music and Cinema of Ukraine
Meller was associated with the Constructivist movement - the loose avant garde group that intended to put high art to proletarian use. Fellow artists of this movement include Alexander Rodchenko, Varvara Stepanova, El Lissitzky, and Vladimir Tatlin.
Sketch for costume for choreographic sketch Masky set to music by F. Chopin (1919) by Artist Vadym MellerThe Museum of Theatre, Music and Cinema of Ukraine
Typical of Constructivist artworks, Meller's scenic paintings and costumes emphasise bold colours and exaggerated, geometric form. We have to imagine them as worn on stage, flashing colour and pattern as the actors gestured and moved.
Sketch for Capitalist’s costume (one version) for production of G. Kaiser’s Haz (Gas). (1923) by Artist Vadym MellerThe Museum of Theatre, Music and Cinema of Ukraine
The range of costumes that Meller produced reflects the wide tastes of theatre directors and audiences of the period. From Juliusz Słowacki's bloody drama Mazepa, to Gilbert & Sullivan's comic opera The Mikado, and Georg Kaiser's 1918 expressionist masterpiece, GAS.
Sketch for friar’s costume for production of Yu. Slovatsky’s Mazepa. (1920) by Artist Vadym MellerThe Museum of Theatre, Music and Cinema of Ukraine
Meller's work earned him acclaim and opportunities. Throughout his life he collaborated with some of the greatest directors, actors, and ballet dancers of the age. Even following the official disavowal of modernist art, in favour of Socialist Realism, Meller remained in favour
Sketch for soldier’s costume for production The Mikado (1927) by Artist Vadym MellerThe Museum of Theatre, Music and Cinema of Ukraine
Meller was a professor of the National Academy of Fine Arts and Architecture, and later the Kyiv Art Institute. He was the chief artist of the National Theatre, and also of the Kiev Music Comedy Theatre and Iv. Franko Kiev Academic Theatre.
Variant of sketch for costume for Person with a Watering Can. Hello on radiowave 477! (1929) by Artist Vadym MellerThe Museum of Theatre, Music and Cinema of Ukraine
In a country known for its radical modernist art of the early 20th Century, Vadym Meller remains an outstanding figure. To learn more about Meller and his work, visit the Museum of Theatre, Music and Cinema of Ukraine.
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