Cubo-Futurism (Russian: кубофутуризм, romanized: kubofuturizm) was an art movement that developed within Russian Futurism in early 20th-century Russia. It combined elements from Italian Futurism and French Analytical Cubism. Cubo-Futurism was the primary style of painting and sculpture used by Russian Futurists. In 1913, the term "Cubo-Futurism" was first used to describe works by members of the poetry group "Hylaeans," who shifted from Symbolism to Futurism and zaum, a type of experimental poetry by Kruchenykh and Khlebninkov. Later that year, the term became associated with artists in Russian post-revolutionary avant-garde groups. These artists explored non-representational art by breaking apart traditional forms, lines, viewpoints, colors, and textures in their work. The influence of Cubo-Futurism spread to performance art, where painters and poets collaborated on theatre, cinema, and ballet. These works aimed to challenge traditional theatre by using nonsensical zaum poetry, emphasizing improvisation, and involving audiences (an example was the 1913 Futurist satirical tragedy Vladimir Mayakovsky).
The mix of different artistic styles in Cubo-Futurism showed a focus on changing society and breaking old ideas, which was influenced by the post-revolutionary time period. Each poet or painter was free to create their own artistic style, inspired by the ideas of revolution and collective action, while reinterpreting traditional art and social practices.
Background
In late Tsarist Russia, society was divided into many different social classes. Russia’s industrial growth, economic development, and urbanization were much slower than those of Western countries. Many people could not read or write, healthcare was poor, and communication outside big cities was limited. Russian artists who later joined the Cubo-Futurist movement saw how the rise of machines changed daily life. They noticed the beauty and energy of machines, which inspired them to focus on technology in their art, poetry, and ideas. Ukrainian-born artist Aleksandr Shevchenko (1883–1948) said in 1913 that the world had become like a huge, moving machine, and this change influenced people’s thinking and art. The idea of machines creating a fair and equal society became a central belief for Cubo-Futurists. This belief shaped their art, leading them to use abstract shapes, geometric forms, sharp lines, and broken natural shapes that resembled machines.
At the start of the 20th century, Russia’s society was deeply divided between a small group of wealthy aristocrats and businessmen and the working class. These wealthy individuals had access to international art markets and collected many European artworks from the early 1900s. Collectors Sergei Shchukin (1854–1936) and Ivan Morozov (1871–1921) gathered works from Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, Fauvist, Cubist, and Futurist movements across Europe. Their collections included paintings by artists like Picasso, Matisse, Cézanne, Monet, and Gauguin. These works introduced Russian artists to new styles, which later influenced the Cubo-Futurist movement.
Cubo-Futurism was first named in 1913, but the movement began earlier with a group of Russian artists called Soyuz Molodyozhi ("Union of Youth") in 1910. This group was formed by Ukrainian-born poet and painter David Burliuk (1882–1967), who called them "budetlyane," a Russian version of the word "futurists." This name was inspired by Italian artist Filippo Tommaso Marinetti’s (1876–1944) 1909 Futurist Manifesto. Marinetti encouraged artists and writers to move away from the past and instead focus on the look of machines, cities, and modern life. He believed futurism stood for freedom, unity, and a better future. Influenced by Marinetti, Cubo-Futurists used broken, fragmented shapes and abstract forms to show the fast, repeating movement of technology. They combined Marinetti’s modern ideas with the style of analytical cubism, which used flat shapes, dark colors, and multiple viewpoints, to create art that expressed the revolutionary ideas of their time.
History
The term "Cubo-Futurism" was first used in a lecture in 1913. It originally described the poets in the literary group "Hylaea," also spelled "Guilée" and "Gylea," led by David and Vladimir Burliuk. Korney Chukovsky, a Russian art critic, created the term to describe the work of poets such as Vladimir Mayakovsky, Aleksey Kruchonykh, Velimir Khlebnikov, Benedict Livshits, and Vasily Kamensky, who were part of the Hylaea group. Later, when these poets began acting in unusual ways, such as wearing strange clothing, the movement was often called "Russian Futurism." Over time, "Cubo-Futurism" came to describe artists influenced by both Cubism and Futurism, though the terms were still used interchangeably.
The earliest examples of Cubo-Futurist art appeared in the paintings of Natalia Goncharova, who used Cubist and Futurist techniques as early as 1909. Russian artists learned about European avant-garde movements through modern technology, like telegraphy and transportation. Cubo-Futurism as an art style fully developed between 1912 and 1913, but the poetic style of Russian Futurism faded later.
Kazimir Malevich became one of the first major painters to adopt Cubo-Futurism. He used the term to describe his work in the 1912 "Donkey's Tail" and 1913 "Target" exhibitions. For Malevich, Cubo-Futurism connected the calm style of traditional Cubism with the energy of Futurism. Instead of painting industrial scenes or using flat colors, he focused on rural Russian themes, blending them with modern art styles. An example of his work is The Knifegrinder, painted around 1912–1913.
Natalia Goncharova joined the Futurist movement around 1912–1913, and Cubo-Futurist influences appeared in her art. Her style did not change dramatically. In 1913, an exhibition of her work at a Russian gallery received mixed reactions. Mikhail Larionov also supported the movement by publishing manifestos about Rayonism, an art style inspired by Cubo-Futurism.
Other artists, such as Aleksandra Ekster and Lyubov Popova, became part of the Cubo-Futurist movement. Popova learned about Cubism during her time in Paris and painted in the Cubo-Futurist style from 1913 to 1914. Unlike the Italian Futurist movement, the Russian movement had many female painters.
Cubo-Futurists, including poets and artists, were known for unusual public and artistic activities. For example, Mayakovsky wore bright yellow clothing, and others painted on their faces or attached objects to their paintings. These actions were similar to those later seen in the Dada movement in Europe.
In 1913, the opera Victory over the Sun was completed. It featured a prologue by Khlebnikov, a libretto by Kruchenykh, and music by Matyushin. Malevich designed the costumes and set, and his painting Black Square appeared on a stage curtain. The next year, a Russian Futurist book titled Tango with Cows was published by Vasily Kamensky, with illustrations by the Burliuk brothers.
By 1914, Russian Futurists, many of whom were also Cubo-Futurists, became upset with Italian Futurists. When Italian leader Marinetti visited Russia, he faced negative reactions, unlike his earlier visit in 1910. Some Russian artists, like Larionov, even wanted to throw rotten eggs at Marinetti. Female Cubo-Futurist painters were also upset by Marinetti’s disrespectful attitude toward women.
The Russian Futurists also disliked the Ego-Futurists, a rival group formed in 1911 by Igor Severyanin. Both groups had negative feelings toward each other.
By 1915, Cubism and Futurism became less popular among Russian artists. However, the first all-Russian Futurist exhibition, called "Tramway V," opened in March 1915. It was organized by Ivan Puni and focused on Vladimir Tatlin’s work, causing a scandal. In 1916, a Cubo-Futurist book titled Universal War was published by Aleksey Kruchenykh, possibly with his wife, Olga Rozanova.
Cubo-Futurism ended with the 0,10 Exhibition in 1915–1916, organized by Puni. The competition between Malevich and Tatlin led to the movement’s decline. Many artists shifted to new styles, such as Malevich’s Suprematism or Constructivism.
According to Gino Severini, an Italian Futurist painter who met Russian artists, the movement ended in 1916. However, the Encyclopædia Britannica notes that the style continued until about 1919.
Art
The Cubo-Futurist movement changed how artists viewed painting. Instead of showing the real world as it was, artists focused on creating images of a perfect future. This future was imagined as a place of fairness and shared goals among people.
One example is Kazimir Malevich’s painting The Knife Grinder (The Glittering Edge) from 1912–13. Bright, shiny colors in the painting show movement and energy, representing the fast pace of modern life through machines and industry. The man in the painting is hidden among abstract shapes, showing how he becomes part of a larger, organized system. Malevich and other Cubo-Futurist artists used their work to show the changes they wanted in society, such as progress, revolution, and unity among workers. They believed their art reflected the ideas of a shared, working-class future, as artist Nathan Altman once said: “Only futurist art is built on shared principles… Only futurist art is, at the present time, 'the art of the proletariat.'”
Cubo-Futurist artists worked independently, even though they shared the movement’s ideas. Artists like Kandinsky, Larionov, Malevich, and Tatlin used the movement’s theories but created their own styles. This showed the freedom they had to imagine their own versions of a modern world.
Artists connected to Cubo-Futurism include:
Sculpture was a smaller part of the Cubo-Futurist movement. Russian artists were inspired by Italian artist Umberto Boccioni and Spanish artist Pablo Picasso’s work. They combined Cubist and Futurist styles in their sculptures. These artists disliked old, traditional art styles, showing their interest in change, new ideas, and fresh beginnings.
Cubo-Futurist sculptors included Joseph Chaikov, Boris Korolev, and Vera Mukhina. These artists taught at the Soviet state art school in Moscow called Vkhutemas.
Literature
Poets who tried Cubo-Futurist ideas believed it was important to break the rules of poetry. They criticized older Russian poets who focused on difficult, abstract ideas that few people understood. Instead, Cubo-Futurist poets wanted to make poetry more accessible by using simple, everyday language and ideas. They aimed to give people more freedom to express themselves and interpret poetry in their own ways. These poets wanted to create completely new words and new ways to combine them, changing poetry into a form that showed their vision of a modern future. They saw writing as a place to improve language and literature, breaking apart words to create new terms and change how people thought about poetry. This method was called "transrational poetry" (or "zaum"). Just as artists admired the speed and power of machines and technology, Cubo-Futurist poets found excitement in transrational poetry. Their experiments later included using sounds that imitate real noises. One example is Velimir Khlebnikov’s "sound-paintings" in his play Zangezi. Poets in this movement also used unusual methods during public performances, such as wearing painted faces, acting like clowns, and wearing unusual clothing to draw attention to their work and highlight their futuristic ideas.
When Cubo-Futurist ideas were introduced into theatre, many people in Russian society were shocked. Like artists, theatre workers used the movement’s focus on changing culture, transforming art, and creating new ideas in their performances. In July 1913, a group of Cubo-Futurist poets and artists met for an event called Pervyi vserossiiskii sezd Baiachei Budushchego (First-All Russian Congress of Bards of the Future [The Futurist Poets]). They decided to create a "new 'Futurian' theatre" run by their group to modernize Russian theatre. Their performances were more intense, using playful, strange language, improvisation, and unexpected actions. As Roman Jakobson (1896–1982) said, "The Futurists’ performances brought… the public… Many came for the scandal, but many students were excited about the new art and the new world it promised."
Effects of Cubo-Futurism
Cubo-Futurism played an important role in the development of art styles such as Rayonism, Suprematism, and Constructivism. The movement served as a bridge between art that focused on realistic images and art that used abstract, non-representational forms. Cubo-Futurism allowed artists to explore the limits of showing real subjects and to experiment with geometric shapes and broken forms to express movement and energy. These techniques helped artists rethink how they could represent the world and their art.
Cubo-Futurism helped artists Mikhail Larionov (1881–1964) and Natalia Goncharova create Rayonism, one of the first Russian art styles that did not focus on recognizable objects.
Later, either Rayonism or Cubism and Futurism (or a mix of these styles) influenced Kazimir Malevich to develop Suprematism, an art style now regarded as one of the most important modern art movements of the 20th century.