MacDougall's Russian Art Auctions 1-2 Dec 2010
1 December 2010
* 306. GORBATOV, KONSTANTIN 1876-1945
View of a Monastery signed, also further signed, dated 1933, inscribed in Latin and numbered "15" on an old label on the reverse
Oil on canvas, 80 by 109.5 cm.
70,000-90,000 GBP
Provenance: A gift to the Russian Orthodox Cathedral of our Lady of the Sign, New York.
Authenticity has been confirmed by the expert V. Petrov.
View of a Monastery belongs to the series of views of provincial Russia painted by K. Gorbatov in the first half of the 1930s in his Berlin studio. The snowy Russian winter, the mighty fortress walls, the small shops and the churches – Gorbatov depicts that which was so dear to him in Russia and which remained with him in his years as an émigré. But if the winter monastery paintings of twenty years earlier breathe with the freshness of plein air, the vividness of the principles of Impressionism and the Moscow school of the Union of Russian Artists, this immediacy is missing in the paintings of the 1930s. In terms of its atmosphere View of a Monastery may give a feeling of looking to the past, but stylistically it displays features close to the World of Art and style moderne. The expressiveness of the local colour, the almost stage-like spatial arrangement – all combine to create a composite image, a symbol of a lost Russia of a bygone age.
Notes on symbols:
* Indicates 5% Import Duty Charge applies.
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.