Important Russian Art
1 December 2021
* 29. REPIN, ILYA (1844–1930)
Mitropolit Philip II Being Expelled from the Church by Ivan the Terrible on 8 November 1568, signed and dated 1866.
Oil on canvas, 59.5 by 50.5 cm.
40,000–60,000 GBP
Provenance: Collection of S.V. Sozonova, St Petersburg.
With Jacob Heimann, Milan, c. 1935.
Authenticity of the work has been confirmed by the expert V. Petrov.
Exhibited: Possibly, Exhibition of Russian Art, 1 Belgrave Square, London, 4 June–13 July 1935.
Literature: S. Ernst, Ilia Efimovich Repin, Leningrad, Komitet Populiarizatsii Khudozhestvennykh Izdanii pri Gosudarstvennoi Akademii Istorii Materialnoi Kultury, 1927, p. 17, mentioned.
Grabar, I., Repin. Tom pervyi. Ot pervykh shagov do epokhi rastsveta, Moscow, Izogiz, 1937, p. 51, possibly illustrated with incorrect discription; pp. 60, 62 mentioned.
Grabar, I., Repin. Tom vtoroi. Ot pervykh portretov do poslednikh tvorcheskikh let, Moscow, Izogiz, 1937, p. 259, listed under works from 1866.
Mitropolit Philip II Being Expelled from the Church by Ivan the Terrible on 8 November 1568 is one of the earliest surviving works by Ilya Repin to remain in private hands. Painted in 1866, during the artist’s formative period while studying at the Russian Academy of Arts, it has not been seen publicly for over a century.
Published in Igor Grabar’s 1937 Repin monograph, the picture appears to be the work for which the young artist received official approval from the Academic Committee on 8 October 1866. According to Grabar the work was known to have been in the collection of S.V. Sozonova in Saint Petersburg before the Revolution.
Another pencil sketch for this composition is in the collection of the National Gallery Prague.
The present lot as illustrated in the volume I of the 1937 publication.
The present lot as listed in the volume II of the 1937 publication.
Study for "Mitropolit Philip II Being Expelled from the Church by Ivan the Terrible on 8 November 1568", 1866. The National Gallery Prague.
Notes on symbols:
* Indicates 5% Import Duty Charge applies.
◎ Indicates the lot is located in Russia. Please note that permit for export from Russia has not been obtained. Successful bidders would collect their lots in Moscow after payment.
Ω Indicates 20% Import Duty Charge applies.
§ Indicates Artist's Resale Right applies.
† Indicates Standard VAT scheme applies, and the rate of 20% VAT will be charged on both hammer price and premium.