Three Figures

Throughout Stepanova's oeuvre it is the human figure that dominates her compositional landscape. Always resolved in the most schematic of ways, the human body is transformed into a machine, or even a robot, as Costakis, one of the artist's early followers, preferred to call them. The anatomic, narrative description of individual faces held little interest for Stepanova. Particularly from 1919 onwards, she focused on the rendition of movement and dynamic actions in a new pictorial production identified as 'Theatrical Constructivism'. Her stage designs and costumes were inspired by simple geometric shapes and functional forms, yet enlivened by a strong sense of the ornament. In Three Figures, the varying thickness of lines, crisscrossed to create an almost relief-like surface, convey an expressive textural richness and very modern effect of découpage.