Alexander Evgenievich Yakovlev

Philips London, Fine 19th Century European Paintings and Watercolours, 12 March 1996, Lot 125

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 Structural Condition The canvas has been lined and this is ensuring a stable and secure structural support. Paint surface The paint surface has a rather uneven and markedly discoloured varnish layer and I would be confident that cleaning would result in a considerable colour change and a great improvement in the overall appearance. Inspection under ultra-violet reveals quite extensive retouchings, particularly in the sky where there are 2 horizontal areas of retouching coming in from the left and right vertical framing edges (half way up the vertical framing edges) and several other areas of inpainting. There are other scattered retouchings across the paint surface and the majority of these appear excessive and should they be removed I am confident that many would be found to be at least partially unnecessary. Summary The painting therefore appears to be in reasonably good and stable condition with the potential to be significantly improved should the painting be cleaned, restored and revarnished.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

Alexander Yakovlev's fascination for antiquity and allegorical frescoes dominates the entirety of his artistic output. He painted a large number of nudes and mythological scenes in his Paris studio and during the summer, would escape to his beloved Mediterranean retreat on Capri, the Marina Piccola from where he would travel to Naples and Pompei to soak up its ancient history, frescoes and mosaics.

In 1928 Yakovlev began a series of mythological works. In this immense, symbolic canvas the artist draws his inspiration principally from Ovid's description of the Creation of the world, Metamorphoses. Paying homage to the aesthetic ideal, the primary thread running through its constituent 15 books, Yakovlev has painted a mythological landscape, which serves as a backdrop to several symbolic scenes, each open to various interpretations. The most plausible is that linked with the centaur, the legendary hero with which Yakovlev identified himself and which is referenced throughout the entire composition.

Taking up almost two thirds of the canvas, the vast sky is symbolic of the myth of Ixion, King of the Lapithes, who married Dia, daughter of Deioneus. Ixion had promised his father-in-law a multitude of gifts but, following the marriage, he did not keep his word. Deioneus took Ixion's horses as punishment for this but the furious Ixion killed his father-in-law by throwing him into a fiery well. Although a perjurer and murderer, Ixion was nevertheless pardoned by Zeus, who admitted him to Mount Olympus. Far from thanking his benefactor, Ixion attempted to seduce Zeus' wife, Hera but in order to fool him, she created a cloud in her image, Nephele. According to Pindar it is from this union that the centaurs are descended, men from the head to the waist but with the body of a horse.

It is just possible to make out the cloud Nephele disguised as Hera in the offered picture. Yakovlev has placed her at the centre of the clouds, and, directly below, a centaur, apparently a symbolic self portrait. Yakovlev, with his devilish appearance and obvious charm, was also known by his friends as Faun, or Piripe, a name derived from Priape, the son of Dionysus and Aphrodite. Yakovlev felt an affinity with this mythical creature, and during the 1924 Croisière Noire voyage, asked that the car in which he travelled be given the name and logo of a centaur. The image of the centaur was to appear in many works during 1928, the year in which the offered lot was executed (fig.1).

In the left hand corner of the composition, a Satyr and two Bacchantes sit in the shade of a tree and behind this group, a herdsman, recognisable as Pan by his horns and goat's hooves watches over a his grazing animals.

We are grateful to Caroline Haardt de la Baume, author of the forthcoming Alexander Yakovlev catalogue raisonné for providing this note.