David Burliuk is the father of Russian futurism, the artist of the Russian avant-garde. At the beginning of the century, they, together with their friend Mayakovsky, slapped the public taste: they walked around with painted faces, with a spoon in their buttonhole, and they shocked the public. There is evidence that it was Burliuk who persuaded the shy Mayakovsky not to hide his poems and concentrate on poetry. Then fate dispersed them. Burliuk emigrated from Russia and settled in America.

Myalavin is undoubtedly one of the first names in Russian art. He was a member of the “World of Art” and the “Union of Russian Artists” associations. A man of amazing and characteristic fate. Fame in Russia came to him after recognition abroad. Academicians of the Imperial Academy criticized his masterpiece “Laughter”. But at the world exhibition in Paris, it was given a gold medal. Besides, “Italians who understand nothing in art” bought a painting for their museum of modern art. There is no prophet in his own country. And at home, meanwhile, they continued to teach the artist content. Educate. And they were brought up to such an extent that Malyavin stopped showing his works. He was honored with a personal exhibition in Russia after the revolution. Ironically, it was not the imperial academicians who organized it, but the Bolsheviks.At first, the artist met the arrival of the new government with enthusiasm, and even created a series of portraits of Lenin. But he quickly became disillusioned and in 1922 left his homeland by cunning. The artist died in France, in Nice in 1940.

Before us is Nemukhin's work from a cycle dedicated to the leaders of the Russian avant-garde. He has Jack Mayakovsky. Jack Marc Chagall. In this case, it is a dedication to the figure of the theatrical avant-garde, director, theater innovator, reformer and experimenter Vsevolod Meyerhold. The figure is very complex, ambiguous and colorful. It is not without reason that Meyerhold was painted by Yuri Annenkov, Boris Grigoriev, Alexander Golovin and other outstanding portrait painters of their time. Malevich made the sets for his production of Mystery-Buff based on Mayakovsky's material. And Mayakovsky personally played several roles at the premiere instead of the actors who did not appear.