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Gontcharova at La Scala

by Vittoria Crespi Morbio.
Essay by Vittoria Crespi Morbio, An Amazon of the Paintbrush.
Appendices: biographical notice; chronology of stage designs by Jane Pritchard.
Collection «Performing Artists at La Scala».
Amici della Scala – Umberto Allemandi & C., Turin, 2009.
Italian edition, pp. 109.

A paintbrush Amazon, Nathalie Gontcharova (Nagaevo near Tula 1881–Paris 1962) after escaping from revolutionary Russia took part in the adventure of the Parisian avant-gardes, was politically committed to the left and began her career under Djagilev’s vigilant eye. Revitalizing her own stylistic origins in Russian primitivism, she achieved a highly original synthesis consisting of pure colours and spare outlined forms to which she remained ever faithful like an unvanquished combatant. She left her mark on La Scala in stage designs for unforgettable Stravinskij performances.