ÉCOLE DE PARIS AND OTHER MASTERS

12:00 GMT 24 April 2025

Artist Index / Full Catalogue / Bidding

◎ 8. IACOVLEFF, ALEXANDRE (1887-1938)

Sorcière Tho de Cao Bang, Haut-Tonkin, signed and dated 1933.

Oil on canvas, 89 by 146 cm.
400,000-600,000 GBP

Provenance: Estate of the artist, Paris.
Collection of the artist's sister, the opera singer Alexandra Iacovleff, (1889-1979).
Acquired from the above by the general Victor Tanguy (1915-1997), Paris.
Iacovleff, collection Victor Tanguy de Paris, Vente aux enchères Philippe Rouillac, Château de Cheverny, 11 June 2007, lot 297.
Acquired at the above auction by the present owner.
Important private collection, Europe.

Exhibited: Alexandre Iacovleff Peintre Attaché a L'Expédition Citroën Centre-Asie, Galerie J. Charpentier, Paris, 16 May-4 June 1933.
Memorial Exhibition of the Work of Alexandre Iacovleff (1887–1938), The Grand Central Art Galleries, New York, 11–29 April 1939.
Les artistes russes hors frontière, Musée du Montparnasse, Paris, 21 July–31 October 2010.

Literature: Exhibition catalogue, Alexandre Iacovleff, peintre attaché à l'expédition Citroën-Centre-Asie, Troisième mission G.-M. Haardt, Audouin-Dubreuil, Paris, 1933, listed p. 10, No. 121, listed as Les sorcières à Kaobang (Haut-Tonkin).
Exhibition catalogue, Memorial Exhibition of the Work of Alexandre Iacovleff, New York, The Grand Central Art Galleries, 1939, p. 19, No. 29, listed as Tonkinese Witches.
Exhibition catalogue, Les artistes russes hors frontière, Paris, Edition Paradox, 2010, p. 55, illustrated.

Related Literature: For a study of the sorceress, see, Dessins et peintures d'Asie exécutés au cours de l'expédition Citroën Centre-Asie sous la direction de Lucien Vogel, 1934, plate 49, illustrated as Sorcières Tho de Kao-Bang. Haut-Tonkin.
C. Haardt de La Baume, Alexandre Iacovleff, l'artiste voyageur, Paris, Flammarion, 2000, p. 147, illustrated.


The present monumental work Sorcière Tho de Cao Bang, Haut-Tonkin serves as a great example of Alexander Iacovleff’s outstanding artistic accomplishment from La Croisière Jaune. The composition depicts three Tonkinese sorceresses with a dramatic central figure in a striking and memorable head-dress. The work was painted in Paris in 1933 in the run-up to the exhibition at Galerie J. Charpentier, and is listed under No. 121 in the catalogue.

The original plan of La Croisière Jaune, a Citroën-sponsored expedition organised by the artist’s friend Georges-Marie Haardt (1884-1932), was to cross Central Asia and the Far East, and reach the pacific coast. The last stage was abruptly cancelled due to Haardt’s sudden death in March 1932. At the end of April the expedition arrived in Marseilles. Once back at home in Paris, Iacovelff started preparing for the solo exhibition at Galerie J. Charpentier, where in May 1933 he presented approximately 400 paintings and works on paper. The published catalogue divided the works by genre and geographic principal.

The exhibition became an important stage in showcasing Icovleff’s masterful artistic talent, which was noted by contemporary critics, including Alexander Benois and Pavel Muratov, amongst others. A. Benois wrote: “Even more so than the previous La Croisière Noir exhibition several years ago, the current show astounds with the breadth and quality of the presented oeuvre.” (Benois, A.N., “Vystavka Aleksandra Iakovleva”, Posldenie novosti, 1933, No. 4441, 20 May 1933). The critic’s words are confirmed by the excellence of the works produced in Tonkin, the northern region of present-day Vietnam, further inspired by the artist’s stay in Hue, the capital of the last imperial Nguyễndynasty, and the mystical city of Cao Bang.

The image of the three sorcerers is reminiscent of the Moirae, the three goddesses of fate in Greek mythology, and is truly bewitching. The artistic power of Iacovleff depicts them as both overpowering and elusive; adorned in blazing red vestments, they are fluid like lava, yet feminine and fragile at the same time. In this masterpiece, Iacovleff embodies European sentiment towards the mystery of Asian culture.

A female portrait drawing dated 1932 and published by Iacovleff in the 1934 album Dessins et Peintures d'Asie executes au cours del’expédition Citroën Centre-Asie (plate 47), bares notable likeness in appearance and is the same model as the protagonist of the present composition. Along with other graphic depictions of Tonkinese sorcerers and inhabitants of the region, it provided the artist with plentiful source of inspiration upon his return from the expedition, and together with the rest of La Croisière Jaune output holds not only artistic, but also historical and documentary significance.


We are grateful to the expert Dr Elena Yakovleva for her assistance with cataloguing this lot.






The present lot as listed in the 1933 exhibition catalogue
The present lot as listed in the 1939 exhibition catalogue
The present lot as illustrated in the 2010 exhibition catalogue

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.