Rayonism, also called "Rayonnism," "Rayism," and, in Russian, "Luchism,"

is an abstract art movment developed by Mikhail Larionov and Natalia Goncharova in Russia beginning in 1911.

It was after hearing a lecture on Futurism that Mikhail Larionov and Natalia Goncharova were inspired by speed, technology and modernity to create the style.

Bull's Head (1913) by Larionov

The Rayonists built on "styles of the past and then sought an art that floated beyond abstraction, outside of time and space, and to break the barriers between the artist and the public." The name is linked to lines of reflected light and the crossing of those rays. The movement was short lived and was critical in the development of abstract art in Russia.

Larionov's manifesto on Rayonism stated that it is a synthesis of Cubism, Futurism, and Orphism. Aspects of each of those isms can indeed be seen in Rayonist paintings.

Mikhail Larionov Red Rayonism 1913

Cubism's breaking up of forms, Futurism's movement of forms, and Orphism's rich color. In addition, the Rayonists expounded a theory that objects emitted invisible rays which the painters could manipulate to their own purposes. "The rays which emanate from the objects and cross over one another give rise to rayonist forms. The artist transforms these by bending them to his desire for aesthetic expression." Goncharova and Larionov often applied the paint in their Rayonist works with palette knives.

Rooster and Hen by Mikhail Larionov

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