Her father was an architect. Natalia's mother's family, the Belyaevs, had produced a number of priests and were noted for being patrons of music. From 1891 to 1896 Goncharova attended the gymnasium in Moscow. In 1898, having formed her decision to be an artist, Goncharova entered the College of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture (Moscow) where she studied sculpture under Pavel Troubetskoi, who worked in the style of Auguste Rodin. Three years later she left the college despite having won a silver medal and not having completed the ten-year period of study of that curriculum. This coincided with her adoption of painting as her preferred medium of expression.
A Career and a Husband
By 1900 Goncharova had met her future husband, Mikhail Larionov. He had also enrolled in the college in 1898, but in the Department of Painting. Her decision to take up painting was encouraged by Larionov and by her fascination with the play of light and the harmonies of color. Like many Russian artists of her time, the first few years of the 20th century was a period of exposure to and adoption of the styles that had evolved in the capitals of Western Europe. At the time she was drawn to Impressionism and Divisionism, styles associated respectively with Monet and Seurat.
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