Vasili Dmitrievich Polenov, 1844-1927

The following condition report has been supplied by: Hamish Dewar Ltd, Fine Art Conservation, 14 Mason's Yard, Duke Street St James's, London SW1Y 6BU tel + 44 (0)20 7930 4004, fax + 44 (0)20 7930 4100, hamish@hamishdewar.co.uk www.hamishdewar.co.uk The canvas is unlined on a conventional wooden keyed stretcher. The turnover and tacking edges have been strengthened with a thin strip-lining. This is ensuring an even and secure structural support and no further structural intervention is required. There are a number of patches of different sizes on the reverse of the canvas. The paint surface has an even varnish layer. Retouchings are visible under ultra-violet light, the majority of which correspond to the patches on the reverse of the canvas. The most significant of which are: 1) 2 areas in the upper left of the composition which measure approximately 7 x 3 cms and 3 x 4 cms, 2) 2 small areas across the clouds just above the horizon which measure approximately 3 x 2 cms and 3 x 1 cms, 3) an area in the lower left of the composition measuring approximately 5 x 5 cms and a smaller area measuring approximately 3 x 1 cms in the lower right of the composition, 4) very thin vertical lines running parallel to the framing edge and an area in the snow-covered hills measuring approximately 3 x 7 cms. There are other small scattered spots and lines of inpainting. The painting is therefore in stable condition and no further work is required.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The offered lot forms part of a series of canvases painted during the 1890s on the Polenov's estate at Bekhovo on the river Oka. Ranging from quickly executed oil sketches to larger compositions with an almost epic feel such as his 1891 Early Snow (fig.1), they deftly chronicle the effect of the changing seasons on the same stretch of land.

These works incorporate the more painterly technique of plein air painting - an approach which he had honed on his earlier travels to the Middle East, and which imbued his art with a more spontaneous and impressionistic quality. Polenov's compositions of this time brilliantly testify to his ability to convey mood within his landscapes, and visually inspire the same range of emotional reaction in the viewer as might be generated by listening to a series of subtly varied chords.

 

His interest in the variations in the weather is clear from the very precise names he gave the works when they were shown at the Moscow Society of Artists in 1893: Sultry, A Light Breeze, Thaw. It was the melancholic Autumn months which especially affected Polenov, as he once confessed to Viktor Vasnetsov he was unable to comprehend how nature could make the landscape burst with so much life during the spring, only to kill it dead in winter.