Daniella Hsia Bulack

Nikolai Kalmakov: Contextualizing a Forgotten Decadent

In current scholarship on the Russian Silver Age (c. 1880 – 1925) and the Mir Iskusstva group of artists, there is little in writing on the work and life of Nikolai Kalmakov due to his characterization as a solitary creative eccentric. In this paper, my aim is to situate Kalmakov within the context of the Mir Iskusstva group and the Russian Silver Age more broadly, as well as nuance his life and work by elucidating connections between him and wider cultural trends within both Russia and Europe. The three main aspects of his works that I will examine to make and argue these connections are his artistic stylings and formal characteristics, his treatment and representation of women, and elements of the spiritual and occult found within his work. The cover image is Kalmakov’s Death (1913) and was central to guiding the research for this project as well as the structure of my paper, as it embodies all three of the primary topics I chose to explore. This decorative panel features a feminine embodiment of Death surrounded by floral and foliate arabesques. The preponderance of line is particularly Beardsley-inspired and is typical of Kalmakov’s early style. Within the period of 1912 – 1917, Kalmakov exhibited his early works in the exhibitions put on by the St. Petersburg-based avant-garde group Mir Iskusstva (World of Art). This was one of his major early works.

 
Salome Title Page, Line block process print, 13 11/16 × 10 3/4 inches
 

This is the title page for the first English edition of Oscar Wilde’s Salome published in 1894. It is one of many illustrations completed by Aubrey Beardsley for the play, however, several of them were considered too erotic to be published . Later in 1907, John Lane published a portfolio with all of Beardsley’s completed Salome illustrations. In regards to the purposes of this project, this particular image shows compelling similarities and visual sources for Kalmakov’s Death, namely the foliate decoration and foreboding, mythological, feminine figures.

 
Leda and the Swan, 1927, Opaque watercolor on paper, 17 3/4 x 21 2/3 inches

Kalmakov’s depiction of the story of Leda and Zeus as a swan highlights a dichotomy in his depiction of women and femininity within his artistic oeuvre. Rather than being depicted as a repulsive, lascivious and ontologically evil femme fatale as in other works of women by Kalmakov, Leda is treated more as a classical nude in the academic tradition. She is simultaneously nude but rendered “modest” by her covered face and averted gaze and the curves of her body are accentuated by the curves of the swan’s neck.

La femme de Satan, 1919, Pencil and opaque watercolor on paper, laid on cardboard, 19 1/2 x 10 7/16 inches
 

Kalmakov’s oeuvre does not shy away from the monstrous. The overtly satanic works of his ‘Infernal” series from around 1920 luxuriate in their depictions of Satan and his demons. This depiction of a rebel, fallen angel makes its subject’s demonic nature terrifyingly apparent while still compellingly retaining some of its formerly angelic features. The gold-encrusted, feathered wings, fiery halo, and idealized musculature all serve to evoke the heavenly origins of the fallen creature that is now presented to the viewer to fear, admire, or pity.

 
The Triumph of Man, 1927, Oil on board
 

This painting depicting the wife of Satan is one example of the misogynist works produced by Kalmakov between 1913 and 1928. Her exoticized, erotic treatment as a femme fatale is exaggerated even further by the demonic face below her feet and the hellfire that spews behind her. By showing a sexualized woman standing quite literally at the mouth of hell, this work represents the overlaps between beliefs in the demonic and occult and the 19th-century fear of women’s sexuality and increasing independence. The impact of the work of Felicien Rops on Kalmakov is especially palpable here.

 
L’ange rebelle (The Rebellious Angel), 1924, Oil on board, 21 1/16 x 14 inches
 

This panel was the central painting in Kalmakov’s 1928 commission to decorate the interior of the Chapelle Fortin du Résurrectoire in Paris. The strange sigils that float around the figure are found within the other paintings of the series, which feature an esoteric mixture of demons, monsters, mythological characters, and historical figures This work shows Kalmakov’s involvement not just in the occult, but also in the complex ideological landscape of Silver Age Russia. The patron for this project, Heliodore Fortin, believed in the synthesis of all world religions to achieve a more transcendent form of humanity.

Daniella Hsia Bulack

(she/her)
Art History ‘22

I am a senior Art History major and Chemistry minor who is pursuing a career in paper conservation. I am interested in studying art from the 17th-19th centuries, however, both ends of this range seem to extend further into the past and present the more I study. Art historical topics that particularly interest me are Japonisme, 19th century avant-garde movements, 17th – 19th c. Northern European art, and Asian-American history and Black-Asian relations in the US. Outside of academic pursuits, I enjoy big small animals, small big animals, spicy noodles, and trying out new hobbies as excuses to avoid direct sunlight.