MacDougall's Russian Art Auctions 8-9 June 2011
8 June 2011
* 124. ZHUKOVSKY, STANISLAV (1875-1944)
View from a Window, signed, inscribed "Ostrozki/Podorosk" and dated 1936 on the reverse.
Oil on canvas, 80.5 by 80.5 cm.
120,000-180,000 GBP
Provenance: Private Collection, Hanover (since the 1930s).
Acquired from the above by the previous owner in 1993.
Private collection, Europe.
Authenticity of the work has been confirmed by the expert I. Geraschenko.
The painting View from a Window is an outstanding example from the Polish period of Stanislav Zhukovsky, one of the best Russian landscape painters of the late 19th and first third of the 20th century.
In 1923 the artist left post-revolutionary Russia, which was plagued by constant upheavals, and returned to his Polish home-land. Here he painted landscapes of the virgin forests of Polesie, Białowieża and Świsłocz, which he knew so well from his childhood. He continued painting the interiors of palaces and country estates, which had already brought him acclaim back in the early 1900s, but he remained primarily a landscape artist.
Zhukovsky's interiors always open on to the world. Wide-open
windows play a significant role, allowing the surrounding countryside to come inside. Thus, the present painting derives its emotional temper from the heady expanse of the estate land, bathing in the bright spring sunshine. Sunlight floods in through the window, falling upon the sprigs of lilac in a vase on the window-sill and making them glow with a rich palette of mauve and blue tones.
In View from a Window, Zhukovsky reveals an extremely refined taste and poetic sensitivity characteristic of his best works.
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.