Robert Falk. A CHAPTER FROM "AROUND THE GABRICHEVSKYS", A MEMOIR

Aleksander Gabrichevsky and Robert Falk met in the 1910s, in the course of the Knave of Diamonds exhibitions. They remained in contact during their short membership of the State Academy of Artistic Sciences[1], but it was after the Second World War that the two of them truly became close. Even though Falk was shunned by establishment artists and was literally destitute, he remained true to himself. With the passage of time his art became even more profound and precise.

Gabrichevsky was also living through some extremely difficult times. He barely survived the 1947-1949[2] persecutions, and more oppression loomed in the future. It was very hard for Gabrichevsky to endure his forced isolation, as he was not someone to retreat within the walls of his study. When a new wave of persecution began to rise in 1952, Gabrichevsky was more than aware of the impending threat. It was during the same year that he had eye surgery, which provided him with a welcome pretext for retirement, the only remaining way to stay out of danger.

At this point, these two extraordinary individuals came together, one an artist and the other an artistic philosopher, both of them rejected by “the most progressive and open society in history." It was at the Moscow Conservatory, which was then the meeting point for the surviving members of the intelligentsia, that they made plans for Falk to paint Gabrichevsky's portrait.[3]

Falk painted almost all winter. Gabrichevsky approached his sitting for the portrait with great seriousness, and always showed up on time at Falk's studio in the Pertsov House on Soimonovsky Proyezd. The studio was on the top floor, and one of its windows offered a view of the Moskva River and the Kremlin, which Falk often painted in the absence of a sitter.

To pass the time between the sittings, Falk and Gabrichevsky often played the works of their favourite composers - among them Bach, Brahms and Mozart - as duets on the piano. Theirs was the perfect cooperation between an artist and his sitter. Falk and Gabrichevsky took such delight in each other's company that they may even have tried to slow down the work on the painting.[4] Eventually, Falk finished the portrait, but they continued to see each other as often as before, and were hoping to start another portrait the following year.

Meanwhile, the artist decided to paint me. We agreed that when I came back to Moscow after my summer holiday in Koktebel, he would quickly paint my portrait.[5]

We spent a few days choosing the right outfit. I tried on quite a number of dresses before Falk finally picked a yellow sleeveless one. He was interested in the contrast between my tan, almost dark purple on my back, and the vibrant colour of the dress. He spent a lot of time sketching and looking for the right pose. It seemed that everything was finally in place, but Falk decided he needed a spot of red in the painting.

One day he came to us and demanded a red earring. We looked everywhere, but in vain. Falk insisted. It was then that Natalya Alekseevna unhooked a crystal drop from a chandelier, and I took this improvised earring to the sitting with me. Falk was happy - he painted the back of the drop with orange cadmium paint. He was ready to start painting. The pose was tiring, so he distracted me by telling me about Paris, while carefully turning the conversation to art. It was only much later that I understood that this was his way of educating me and helping me make sense of my own impressions. Sitting for that portrait became an art class of sorts.

Time went by. Winter came, my tan turned from deep purple to pistachio green, and sittings for the portrait often started with Falk using his painting knife to scrape off all the paints he had put on the canvas in the previous week. When I came home, I had to tell Gabrichevsky all about the painting's progress. This was not easy because Falk did not like to show his unfinished work to anyone. In fact, I remained in the dark all the way through the winter.

Then finally came the viewing. Falk was nervous - Gabrichevsky's opinion was very important to him. No matter what, they were always happy with each other, since they saw each other as equals in their discussions, and Gabrichevsky did not have to resort to polite compliments.

Next year Falk began painting his second portrait of Gabrichevsky.[6]

Preparation of text for re-publication and comments by Yulia Didenko.

1. The State Academy of Artistic Sciences (1921-1931; from 1921 to 1925 named Russian Academy of Artistic Sciences). Gabrichevsky was one of the leading figures in the Department of Philosophy.
2. Gabrichevsky was arrested three times during Stalin’s rule, in 1930, 1935, and 1941. He was exiled twice for his “cosmopolitan and anti-patriotic writings”, 1935-1936 and 1942-1944. In 1949 he was ousted from the Academy of Architecture, where he worked as a department head.
3. This portrait was finished in 1951 and is currently held by the Perm Art Gallery.
4. “The sharp-tongued Natalya Alekseevna nicknamed them ‘Falk and his Saskia.’” Cit.: Severtseva, O.S. “Remembering Gabrichevsky // Aleksander Georgievich Gabrichevsky. Biography and culture in documents, letters, and memoirs” // comp. by O.S. Severtseva. Moscow, 2011. P. 672
5. ROBERT FALK. Portrait of Olga Severtseva (left-side view). 1950-1951. Oil on canvas. 81 х 66.7 cm. Olga Severtseva’s collection, Moscow
6. See A.V. Shchekin- Krotova’s memoir “Robert Falk: Meet My Kind of People” in this edition.