<Back to Index>
- Painter Ivan Puni (Jean Pougny), 1894
PAGE SPONSOR
Ivan Puni or Puny (Jean Pougny, Russian: Иван Пуни; February 20, 1892 – December 28, 1956) was a Russian avant garde artist (Suprematist, Cubo - Futurist).
Ivan Puni was born in Kuokkala (then Grand Duchy of Finland in the Russian Empire, now Repino in Russia) to a family of Italian origins. He is the grandson of the famous Italian composer of ballet music Cesare Pugni.
In 1909 - 1910 he studied in various workshops, including the Académie Julian in Paris. In 1915 Puni together with the group of avant garde artists (Aleksandra Ekster, Liubov Popova, Ivan Kliun, Ksenia Boguslavskaya, Olga Rozanova, Nadezhda Udaltsova, Nina Genke and others) joined Supremus a group led by the founder of Suprematism, Kazimir Malevich.
In 1915 - 1916 Puni, together with other suprematist artists, worked at Verbovka Village Folk Center.
In 1919 he taught at the Vitebsk Art School under Marc Chagall.
He was married to Ksenia Boguslavskaya.
In 1920 Ivan Puni and Ksenia Boguslavskaya emigrated first to Germany, and then (in 1923) to France. Since then Ivan Puni adopted the name Jean Pougny. He became a French citizen in 1946.
Ivan Puni (Jean Pougny) died in Paris in 1956.
