Natalia GoncharovaRussian, 1881–1962The White Eagle
Can I see it?
Not on view at present
Where is “The White Eagle” now? Collection: Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis. Not on view at present. Checked September 29, 2026.
Minneapolis, United States
It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the work
Russian artists responded to the outbreak of war in Central Europe in 1914 in paintings and works on paper. In her portfolio Mystical Images of War, Natalia Goncharova depicts all aspects of armed conflict past and present, ranging from the archangel Michael riding triumphantly through flames on horseback to celestial beings observing fighter planes in combat. She realizes her apocalyptic vision of war in this powerful portfolio of masterful lithographs formally inspired by the solemn gravity of traditional Russian icons and the dynamism of contemporary Futurist painting. She successfully draws upon these diverse stylistic influences to express the horror of armed conflict.
Minneapolis Institute of Art
Details
- Accession number
- P.90.26.2
In the catalog
Sources
- Minneapolis Institute of Art
- Image: Minneapolis Institute of Art — © Minneapolis Institute of Art
In the life of Natalia Goncharova
The whole lifeMarch – April 1912
The Donkey's Tail: over fifty paintings
More than fifty of her paintings hung at the first Donkey's Tail exhibition, which Larionov organised as a break with European influence; the censor confiscated “The Evangelists” as blasphemous.
autumn 1913
Solo show on Bolshaya Dmitrovka
Goncharova's largest solo show (together with the spring show in St Petersburg, over 700 works of 1900–1913) closed with the first catalogue-monograph on her and Larionov, edited by I. M. Zdanevich; its preface carries the famous words about turning away “from the West” to the East, whose authorship is disputed.
1914
Designs “The Golden Cockerel” for Diaghilev
On Alexandre Benois's recommendation Diaghilev invited Goncharova to design the opera-ballet “The Golden Cockerel”; after its first performances in Paris and London succeeded, their collaboration continued.
spring 1914
The Synod seizes 22 paintings in St Petersburg
By sanction of the Chief Procurator of the Synod, 22 paintings were removed from her solo show at Nadezhda Dobychina's Art Bureau, although a church censor had cleared them in advance; Count I. I. Tolstoy, Baron Nikolai Wrangel and Mstislav Dobuzhinsky came to her defence, and the paintings were returned.
June 1915
Leaves Russia for the Ballets Russes
Diaghilev invited Goncharova and Larionov to work permanently for his Ballets Russes, and they left Russia, settling first in Switzerland. She felt the parting from her homeland keenly, as she wrote to the poet Sergei Bobrov.
1915–1962 · Residence
Paris
