Painter. Probably best known by her nickname, Marevna, she was recognized as the first female cubist and was a noted artistic presence in Europe and England for much of the 20th Century. Born Maria Bronislawowna Worobjewa-Stebelskaja in Cheboksary, Kazan, to Polish nobility, she was raised in Tbilisi, Georgia, where she began her studies prior to entering Moscow's Stroganov Art Academy in 1910. She moved to Italy the following year and met Russian author Maxim Gorky in Capri; he gave her the name Marevna (after a Russian fairy sea princess) which became her signature. Relocating to Paris in 1912, she was quickly immersed in the artistic community of La Ruche. Marvena's first important exhibition was at The Tuileries in 1912. In 1915 she met the soon-to-be legendary Mexican muralist Diego Rivera, beginning a stormy and complicated relationship that produced a daughter, and continued until Rivera abandoned his Parisian connections to return home in 1921. Initally a noted portraitist, Marevna, partially due to Rivera's influence, fully embraced cubism (which she called "dimensionalism") with its varied geometric shapes and bold dividing lines, while expanding her repertoire. She continued her work in France after 1921, but later moved to England where she resided with her daughter, actress and dancer Marika Rivera, at Athelhampton, Dorset. Marevna kept painting, including portraits, and later moved with Marika and her children to Ealing, London. There, she maintained a studio, and remained active until well advanced in years. Her work was neglected for a time, but today can be seen in the Guggenheim Museum, New York, the Petite Palace Museum in Geneva, Liverpool's Tate Gallery, and elsewhere. Marevna's first solo exhibition came at Moscow's Tretyakov Gallery in 2004; today a wing of the Athelhampton home where she lived and worked houses a museum dedicated to her creations.
Painter. Probably best known by her nickname, Marevna, she was recognized as the first female cubist and was a noted artistic presence in Europe and England for much of the 20th Century. Born Maria Bronislawowna Worobjewa-Stebelskaja in Cheboksary, Kazan, to Polish nobility, she was raised in Tbilisi, Georgia, where she began her studies prior to entering Moscow's Stroganov Art Academy in 1910. She moved to Italy the following year and met Russian author Maxim Gorky in Capri; he gave her the name Marevna (after a Russian fairy sea princess) which became her signature. Relocating to Paris in 1912, she was quickly immersed in the artistic community of La Ruche. Marvena's first important exhibition was at The Tuileries in 1912. In 1915 she met the soon-to-be legendary Mexican muralist Diego Rivera, beginning a stormy and complicated relationship that produced a daughter, and continued until Rivera abandoned his Parisian connections to return home in 1921. Initally a noted portraitist, Marevna, partially due to Rivera's influence, fully embraced cubism (which she called "dimensionalism") with its varied geometric shapes and bold dividing lines, while expanding her repertoire. She continued her work in France after 1921, but later moved to England where she resided with her daughter, actress and dancer Marika Rivera, at Athelhampton, Dorset. Marevna kept painting, including portraits, and later moved with Marika and her children to Ealing, London. There, she maintained a studio, and remained active until well advanced in years. Her work was neglected for a time, but today can be seen in the Guggenheim Museum, New York, the Petite Palace Museum in Geneva, Liverpool's Tate Gallery, and elsewhere. Marevna's first solo exhibition came at Moscow's Tretyakov Gallery in 2004; today a wing of the Athelhampton home where she lived and worked houses a museum dedicated to her creations.
Bio by: Bob Hufford
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