A 1924 performance at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow introduced an optophonic piano, a device engineered to synchronize auditory output with projected light patterns and textures. This invention emerged from the creative output of Vladimir Baranov-Rossiné, a Russian painter, sculptor, and inventor who navigated the volatile landscapes of the Russian Empire, Norway, and France during the early twentieth century.
Early Education and Creative Development
Born Shulim Wolf Leib Baranov in 1888 in Velyka Lepetykha, he pursued formal artistic training at the Hrekov Odesa Art school before enrolling at the Higher Art School at the Imperial Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg. He studied at the School of the Society for the Furthering of the Arts in 1902, followed by attendance at the Imperial Academy from 1903 to 1907. Although he entered the Russian Academy of Arts in 1908, he was dismissed after a single year due to irregular class attendance. During this period, he engaged with the Zveno group in Kyiv, an initiative organized by David and Wladimir Burliuk.
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Relocating to Paris in 1910, he resided within the La Ruche artist colony until 1914 alongside contemporaries such as Sonia Delaunay-Terk, Alexander Archipenko, and Nathan Altman. He maintained a consistent exhibition schedule in the French capital starting in 1911. Upon returning to Russia in 1914, he subsequently moved to Norway for the duration of the First World War, holding a solo exhibition in Oslo in 1916. He returned to his home country to exhibit with Mir Iskusstva in Petrograd and the Jewish Society for the Furthering of the Arts in Moscow in 1918.
Technical Innovation and Later Career
Beyond his aesthetic pursuits, he held various patents for functional inventions. He developed a photochromometer to assess the qualities of precious stones and a device called the Multiperco, which manufactured and distributed carbonated beverages. He also collaborated with Robert Delaunay on the Cameleon process, a system for pointillist and dynamic military camouflage. In 1922, he taught at the Higher Artistic-Technical Workshops (VKhUTEMAS) in Moscow and participated in the First Russian Art Exhibition in Berlin. Following his 1925 move to France, he continued his work until his arrest by German occupation forces in 1943. He was deported to Auschwitz, where he died in 1944.
Fast facts
- Born: 1888, Velyka Lepetykha
- Died: 1944, Auschwitz
- Occupations: Painter, sculptor, inventor
- Education: Hrekov Odesa Art school, Higher Art School at the Imperial Academy of Arts
- Known inventions: Optophonic piano, photochromometer, Multiperco
- Citizenship: Russian Empire, Soviet Union
Questions readers ask
What was the optophonic piano?
It was a synaesthetic instrument designed to produce sounds and colored lights simultaneously, first presented at the Bolshoi Theatre in 1924.
Did he work in fields other than painting?
Yes, he was an inventor who held multiple patents, including those for military camouflage techniques and a machine for carbonated drink production.
