MacDougall's Russian Art Auctions 1 December 2011
1 December 2011
49. MALIAVIN, PHILIPPE (1869-1940)
Portrait of a Prosperous Peasant Woman, signed.
Oil on canvas, 107 by 89 cm.
100,000-150,000 GBP
Provenance: Private collection, UK.
Authenticity of the work has been confirmed by the expert V. Petrov.
The present work is one of the large group of portraits that Maliavin painted after leaving Russia. Maliavin’s émigré work was loaded with generalisations made in retrospection, in which images of an old, long-gone Russia now became his main subject.
Portrait of a Prosperous Peasant Woman belongs to the best of Maliavin’s output of the late 1920s and early 1930s. Its deep, rich colour palette is underpinned by contrasts in light and hue. The blue of the dress works in perfect harmony with the black background and the bright red flowers of the Pavlovo Posad shawl of the woman, “painted into” the rural landscape. Maliavin had no apparent interest in poeticising, judging by the appearance of these strange-looking, even ugly, village women, but his “realistic” Expressionism did introduce a distinctive decorative and ethnic note into Russian art.
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.