5 June 2013 Russian Art Auctions
5 June 2013
49. GROOTH, IVAN (1717-1801)
A Goose and a White Peacock, signed and dated 1786.
Oil on canvas, 81 by 64 cm.
40,000–60,000 GBP
Provenance: Private collection, Europe.
Authenticity of the work has been confirmed by the expert V. Petrov.
Ivan Grooth was a German-born artist who became court painter to Empress Elizaveta Petrovna of Russia. The Empress was a keen huntswoman and commissioned the Italian Architect Rastrelli to build her a hunting pavilion and menagerie, Mon Bijou, in the grounds of Tsarskoe Selo. Grooth was tasked with the decoration of the pavilion and he created a series of 43 paintings depicting hunting scenes and domestic animals. Mon Bijou was dismantled a few decades later and the whereabouts of most of these paintings is now unknown. It is possible that the present lot once decorated
the walls of the Mon Bijou pavilion.
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.