Boris Israilovich Anisfeld

Collection of the French Ambassador to the Soviet Union, Maurice Dejean
Thence by descent to the previous owner

The canvas has been strip lined. The paint surface is fairly clean. There are afew very minor lines of craquelure where paint has been applied most thckly on the blossoms. UV light reveals areas of retouching to the corners and along the edges and further small spots elsewhere. Held in a simple wooden frame. Unexamined out of frame.
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The offered lot Flowering Tree is a rare example of Boris Anisfeld's early Impressionist paintings. Anisfeld married in 1904 while still a student at the Academy, and the following spring and summer were spent travelling and sketching on the Volga to Tver on a belated honeymoon. The trip was a marked contrast to the constrained atmosphere of the Academy and his eye and hand responded quickly to the inspiring message of the outdoors.

Anisfeld always asserted that he drew great inspiration from nature and stated that he painted several landscapes en plein air in summer: "In painting I think in colour first. I paint what I think, not always what I see. In summer I paint only from nature and try to express my impressions of nature in all her phases. I do not always paint the colour another might see, but only what my impression of the scene is at the time. My moods vary, and I paint the scene before me to correspond with my mood of the moment". Although, the size of the present lot makes it relatively unlikely that Anisfeld painted it on his honeymoon, it is likely that he incorporated many visual impressions from this trip along the Volga.

The unusual perspective and composition, in which the tree extends from top to bottom of the canvas flattening the picture space recalls works by Igor Grabar such as Spring Current (fig.1).  In Flowering Tree Anisfeld in not concerned with specific representation but transforms the tree into a spectacular pattern of jewel-like colours.  Whilst the delicate tonality and handling of brushwork are influenced by Impressionism the subtle linear design of the flowering branches reflect decorative concerns. Anisfeld participated in the 1908 exhibition of Russian art in the Vienna Secession and might have found inspiration in Gustav Klimt's early landscapes, such as Pear Tree (fig.2)