Untitled
David Burliuk
Ukrainian, 1882–1967
1908
An oil on burlap in which Burliuk transforms a rustic horse-and-field motif into an experimental, primitive-inflected modern image, deliberately exploiting the coarse weave and thick paint to energize folk forms.
A dark, silhouette-like horse anchors the center while jewel-toned fields are made of dotted, zigzag and circular motifs, the visible burlap and heavy impasto giving the scene a stitched, tactile vibration.
Created at the height of Russian Neo‑Primitivism, the painting helped fuse folk-art sensibilities with European avant-garde experiments, showing how raw materials and simplified motifs could propel painting toward abstraction and modernism.
Medium
Oil on burlap
Dimensions
23 x 25" (58.3 x 63.5 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Willian Feinberg (the donors retaining a life interest)
Accession
564.1964
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
