Pamono Ivan Puni / Jean Pougny, The Ace of Diamonds, 1915, Oil on Cardboard> Art Deco

Iwan Albertovich Puni (Russian: Иван Альбертович Пуни; also known as Jean Pougny; April 3, 1890 – December 28, 1956) was a Russian avant-garde artist (Suprematism, Cubo-Futurism) who later became French. His style evolved towards Lyric Primitivism, influenced by Pierre Bonnard and Édouard Vuillard. After his exhibition at the Salon des Indépendants in 1910 during his first stay in Paris, where he discovered Fauvism and Cubism, Puni returned to Russia and joined the avant-garde group Union of Youth, where he became associated with Mayakovsky and Velimir Khlebnikov. At his Futurist exhibition in March 1915, he presented eleven Cubist-inspired works, along with a relief titled “Card Players,” which has since disappeared.

This painting, which continues the theme of the lost piece and “The Ace of Clubs”, also presented by our gallery, depicts the game of “Whist,” a classic English card game. Puni deconstructs the world of cards, fascinated by the shapes and colors of the deck. This is a typical example of Russian avant-garde painting in the Cubo-Futurist style.

Oil on cardboard, framed, signed at the bottom right and dated “1915” on the back.

Numerous annotations on the back: in Russian, the artist’s name, the title “The Ace of Diamonds,” the date, an old English label (collection or gallery), and a stamp from the Russian State Archives.

Accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from expert Jean Chauvelin, dated January 18, 2024.

Dimensions without the frame : H : 29 cm L : 23 cm

with the frame : H : 36 cm W : 30 cm D : 2 cm