Sothebys : Further Highlights from Sotheby's Russian Sales of Pictures and Works of Art

RUSSIAN PICTURES SALE ● LONDON ● 6 JUNE 2017

ISAAK LEVITAN, Summer (1891)

oil on canvas, 82 by 127cm

£1,000,000-1,500,000 / US$ 1,250,000-1,870,000

Summer was one of 28 paintings by Levitan acquired by the railway industrialist Andrei Lyapunov (1880- 1923) in 1917. His art collection, was considered one of the finest in Moscow at the time.

The work belongs to the same American collection as Ilya Repin's "Portrait of Yuri Repin" which will be on exhibition in Moscow.

Levitan arrived in Zatishye, in the Volga province of Tver, in May 1891, and the area went on to inspire some of his greatest works.

Later that summer, he was invited to stay at the estate of Nikolay Panafidin, a book dealer and friend. He was given space for a temporary studio, and began to work on the landscapes he hoped to present at the 20th Itinerant Exhibition in February 1892, including Summer, and his landmark work, By the Whirlpoolboth of which were published on the same page of the illustrated exhibition catalogue.

ALEXEI BOGOLIUBOV, View of Venice with Santa Maria della Salute in the Background

oil on canvas, 72 by 120.5cm

£250,000-300,000 / US$ 311,000-373,000

This painting has remained in the same family since the late 19th- century.

Alexei Bogoliubov loved visiting Venice, and he often painted its romantic, picturesque views. This excellent example shows the magnificent architectural ensemble of the famous church of Santa Maria della Salute, as seen from the banks of the Grand Canal.

The painting seems to have been of personal significance to the artist as it appears in an etching which was presented as a gift to all those who attended the lunch following his funeral.

PETR KONCHALOVSKY, Women

Bathing under the Willows (1922) oil on canvas, 138 by 178cm

£180,000-250,000 / US$ 224,000-311,000

The work was taken to Paris by Konchalovsky's brother not long after it was painted, and passed down to the artist's nieces. They were the Russian teachers of the present owner, who was given this painting as a gift.

In 1920, inspired by the landscape at Kuntsevo and Abramtsevo, Konchalovsky abandoned the interior portraits and natures-mortes that had been the mainstay of his oeuvre for the past decade and turned instead to living nature. The work was published in Pavel Muratov's monograph on Konchalovsky in 1923 while the artist was still working on the painting. It is not therefore included in the listings from 1922 but is illustrated in its unfinished state.

KONSTANTIN KOROVIN, After the Ball

(1917)

oil on canvas, 99 by 63cm

£ 100,000-150,000 /

US$ 125,000-187,000

The painting was acquired by the great-uncle of the present owner before 1935.

Painted exactly 100 years ago, in Moscow in the year of the revolution, After the Ball belongs to Korovin's nocturnes which are characterised by their musicality and air of nostalgia. In the 1910s Korovin did much work for the stage and most of his portraits of this period are of prominent figures from the performing arts. The sitter holds flowers as if she has just stepped off the stage, and the mood is one of quiet reflection. The events of 1917 seem to belong to another, distant world.

KONSTANTIN KRYZHITSKY, Woodland

Landscape (1898)

oil on canvas, 90 by 143cm

£80,000-120,000 / US$ 99,500-150,000

The painting was acquired by the grandfather of the present owners before the Second World War.

Born in Kiev in 1858 Kryzhitsky was famed for his monumental landscapes which were acquired by both Alexander III and Pavel Tretyakov.

A restless traveller, Kryzhitsky made lengthy expeditions around northern and central Russia. The geographical diversity of his landscapes and their vague titles make it nearly impossible to pinpoint their exact locations. The rolling hills and rich, impenetrable woodland depicted in the present lot are nevertheless reminiscent of the lush environs of Zvenigorod, a fashionable town just outside Moscow.

RUSSIAN WORKS OF ART, FABERGÉ AND ICONS ● LONDON ● 6 JUNE 2017

A Fabergé Jewelled Gold, Turquoise And Hardstone Study Of Forget-Me- Nots (c. 1910)

height 18cm, 7⅛in.

£250,000 - 350,000 / US$ 310,000-434,000

This is the first Fabergé study of forget-me-nots to come to public auction in fifteen years and possibly the largest in decades.

In the language of flowers, the forget-me-not is especially rich in meaning and associations. A lasting symbol of remembrance, faithfulness and undying love, its descriptive name was first coined by the Germans. One myth recounts the story of two lovers walking along the Danube River. Seeing the bright blue blossoms along the bank, the man retrieved the flowers and gave them to the lady, just as he was swept away by the river, begging her not to forget him as he perished.

A Fabergé Gold, Enamel And Hardstone Study Of Cornflowers (c. 1910)

height 12.8cm, 5in.

£180,000- 250,000 /

US$ 224,000-310,000

Another naturalistic cornflower study is now on long-term loan to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Fabergé's cornflower studies can be classified into two somewhat distinct groups. The first, larger group consists of slightly more stylised and jewelled examples, but this example is from a small group of rare cornflower studies executed with a more naturalistic treatment. Lacking in precious stones, they are enamelled in matte- finish blue, and their sepals in yellow and green in a closer approximation of reality.

A Fabergé Jewelled Gold And Enamel Timepiece, Workmaster Henrik Wigström, St Petersburg (1904-1908) height 8.9cm, 3½in.

£180,000 - 250,000 / US$ 224,000-310,000

The actor Yul Brynner (1920-1985) was born in Vladivostok and retained an interest in his Russian heritage and in Russian objects throughout his life. He purchased this Fabergé timepiece from Wartski in 1966, and later narrated Lost to the Revolution, a documentary of the Forbes Collection of Imperial Fabergé eggs, in 1981.

Mikhail Gurie: A Rare Fabergé Silver Figural Cup, First Silver Artel, St Petersburg, 1909-1913

height 5.7cm, 2¼in.

£12,000 - 18,000 / US$ 14,900-22,400

This rare Fabergé cup depicts Mikhail Gurie, the manager of the flagship Fabergé shop in St Petersburg. Affable, charming and energetic, he inspired deep affection at the company, and remained with them for eighteen years, until the closure of the St Petersburg shop in 1918. He developed a rapport with the Imperial family, and his duties included delivering objects to their various residences. Emperor Nicholas II, who never claimed to possess an artistic eye, would consult Gurie regarding Imperial purchases. To Empress Maria Feodorovna he was endearingly known as 'my little Gurie'.