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* 7. VERESCHAGIN, PETR (1834-1886)
A View of the Chusovaya River, signed with initials and inscribed in Cyrillic.
Oil on canvas, 36 by 56.5 cm.
45,000-60,000 GBP
Provenance: Fine Art Furniture and Decorative Arts, Michaan's, 9 June 2017, lot 3145.
Acquired at the above auction by the present owner.
View of the Chusovaya River by Petr Versechagin is an epic depiction of the Ural landscape and belongs to the artist’s famous series commissioned by the Ural Mining Railway Partnership. The purpose of the commission was to create a series of spectacular depictions of the sites where the first regional railroad was being constructed. It was not by chance that the Partnership assigned the task of promoting the beauty of the Perm region to Vereschagin. The artist, who himself was a native of Perm, also came from the renowned artistic dynasty of academic landscape painters. At the time of being commissioned, the artist was already famous in his own right and his brilliant views of St Petersburg and other cities, as well as landscapes of the Crimea, the Caucasus and the Baltic were sought-after by collectors.
In 1875-1876, the artist purposefully travelled to the Urals to make sketches of the River Chusovaya, along which a railway was at that time being built. Military service during the Russian-Turkish War interrupted Vereschagin’s artistic work. However, in the late 1870s – early 1880s the artist spent an entire decade producing paintings from these numerous studies, sensitively incorporating new historical realities into the charming Ural landscapes. Among them was the composition presented for this auction, which is inscribed in Russian “Chusovaia River” in the lower right corner of the canvas. Such inscriptions are characteristic of many other works in this cycle. Most of Vereschagin’s paintings of the Urals pay tribute to the Chusovaya River – the main water artery that cuts through the Ural Mountains. It served as a shipping route for the output from sites rich in natural deposits, ore mining and smelting plants, to central part of the country.
The great river, with the beauty of its nature reserve and picturesque curves of its banks set against the dramatic backdrop of austere mountains, or “stones”, as they were known in the Perm region, became a protagonist in the best works of Vereschgin’s Ural series. In total, approximately 30 paintings were created and shown at the academic exhibition in St Petersburg. Today, the majority of these works are located in the leading Russian museum collections and the appearance of A View of the Chusovaya River at auction presents a unique opportunity for collectors.
Notes on symbols:
* Indicates 5% Import Duty Charge applies.
◎ Indicates the lot is located outside the UK. Successful bidders would collect their lots outside the UK 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.