Olga Rozanova: Artist and Poet (Works of Early 1910s)
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: This article offers a novel interpretation of a number of futurist texts by Olga Rozanova (1886—1918), an artist and poet who ranks among the pioneers of the Russian avant-garde and whose literary output has seldom been subjected to detailed philological scrutiny. Drawing on Rozanova’s earliest theoretical writings, notably the Manifesto of the “Union of Youth” (1913), the study traces the artistic principles that she regarded as central to the New Art movement and examines the extent to which her own creative practice in the 1910s adhered to the programmatic statements of the manifesto. It is demonstrated that the striking visual characteristics of Rozanova’s painting style are closely intertwined with her poetic experiments. A particular focus on color emerges as a hallmark of her poetry from the St. Petersburg period, imbuing her verse with rich imagery and symbolic resonance. The interrelation between her visual and verbal art is illustrated through an analysis of the poem “ Is It a Dream …” and the painting “ Fire in the City ”, revealing profound synergies between Rozanova’s painterly and poetic practices. The paper also proposes a revised dating of “ Is It a Dream …”, suggesting that it was composed in 1914 rather than 1917, as previously assumed by scholars. The conclusion emphasizes that a meticulous comparative analysis of Rozanova’s visual and literary oeuvre enables a more precise reconstruction of the chronology and dating of her poetic texts.
Source: Nauchnyi Dialog
Author: O. V. Bogdanova
Institution: Russian Christian Humanitarian Academy
Language: Russian
Subfield: Literature and Literary Theory
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $247
OpenAlex ID: W7160406155