It’s surprising and illuminating what we can discover about an artist through the study of the ephemera associated with them. The Ephemera Society of America has the word defined as ‘anything short lived or transitory’, in other words ephemera is the stuff that’s not made to last, it’s impermanent and often has fragile facture. For artists this material is often posters or handbills and catalogues connected to specific exhibitions. As part of my ongoing research into the life and practice of Natalia Gontcharova I’ve had the good fortune to be able to track down and collect some of this valuable primary source material mostly via online vendors.
Today I want to draw your attention to the catalogue from her show in 1956 at The Galerie de L’Institut in Paris. The exhibition was entitled ‘Natalie Gontcharova: Works Old and New’ and included 30 individually listed things plus 25 unspecified watercolors. As I scoured this document I noticed one anomalous listing in particular. Look at number 4 in the catalogue listing and see if you see what I saw. It says Replique (1909-1956). Replica(s?) (1909-1956). Now what does this mean? If you are like me and have looked at hundreds if not thousands of catalogue listings in your time in this business you notice how strange this listing is. The typical date that appears alongside the title of the work is generally one year or perhaps a smallish span like from 1909-1911 indicating that either it is not clear when exactly was the date of creation or that the piece was created during the span. What we see here however is literally the entire span of Natalia’s working career! What on earth? And with a title ‘Replica’? Of course what it brings to mind for me is her practice of making repetitions of themes and that at spot 4 in this catalogue was perhaps a group of such repetitions. Of course the photos included in the catalogue proceed from 3 to 5 and 6 and exclude 4. What do you think is going on here? Of note also is that the title Replique does not appear in any other contemporaneous exhibition catalogues or in the legendary list from the 1913 show. Love to hear your thoughts
Comments