Patriotic Propaganda Postcard With Verse by Vladimir Mayakovsky [Russian Avant-Garde] by Malevich, Kazimir (1879-1935) - 1914

Moscow: Segodniashnii lubok, 1914. Original lithographic postcard. Good condition. Extremely scarce lithograph illustrated by Kazimir Malevich, accompanied by captions by Vladimir Mayakovsky and published by the Moscow-based publication house Segodniashnii Lubok [English: Contemporary Lubok], on the one hand, show the influence of traditional folk art, but on the other are characterized by solid blocks of pure colors juxtaposed in compositionally evocative ways that anticipate his Suprematist work. Very good condition.<br />  <br /> At the beginning of WWI (August 1914), a group of Russian avant-garde artists, Vladimir Mayakovsky, Kazimir Malevich, Aristarkh Lentulov, Mikhail Larionov, Vasily Chekrygin, David Burliuk, and Ilya Mashkov (under the pseudonym J. Gorskin) created the Moscow association "Segodniashnii Lubok" (English: Today's Lubok). They produced anti-German and anti-Austrian satirical posters and postcards in support of the Russian military. The publisher was Gregory Gorodetsky.<br /> <br /> The collection of postcards published by "Today's Lubok" has a unique style. All cards are made with five pure colors (yellow, black, red, green, and blue). The same shade of each color is used throughout the entire collection. Text for all the postcards was written by Mayakovsky. The postcards were printed in Mukharsky typography (details can be found on the backside). The size of the postcards was standard, 14 x 9 cm.<br /> <br /> Presumably in the series were 42 postcards. However, the pictures of 12 of the postcards, still cannot be found by the experts or collectors who study this subject. The postcards in this series are extremely rare and most of them hard to find on the market. According to specialists on a subject, the level of rarity of these postcards is associated with the rapid changes due to WWI events, military censorship, as well as part of the postcard circulation having not been fully implemented. The publication "Today's Lubok" did not last long, ending its activities in November-December of 1914.<br /> <br /> The remaining postcards have historical and cultural value because they were created by world-famous artists. However, the authorship of many of the works has not yet been established. The only ones attributable are eleven postcards signed by K. Malevich, one postcard by V. Mayakovsky, and one by D. Burliuk. The authors of the remaining postcards are unknown. Postcards issued by "Today's Lubok" are less common than posters on the market.<br /> <br /> Ref.: MoMA 423.2001.1-18.