Nikolai Petrovich Bogdanov-Belsky

A La Vieille Russie, New York
Acquired from the above by the present owner

Original canvas. The picture is clean and ready to hang. Some pigments fluoresce under UV. Held in a gold painted plaster frame. Unexamined out of frame.
"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."

Perhaps Russia's greatest bass, Fedor Chaliapin is also one of the most depicted figures in Russian portraiture of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. He first became acquainted with Russian painters and designers when he performed in Mamontov's private operas in 1896. His great stage presence, imposing voice and powerful build made him an appealing subject for artists such as Serov, Golovin, Kustodiev and Korovin, as well as Bogdanov-Belsky. After seeing him in a performance of Rimsky-Korsakov's Sadko, the critic Vladimir Stasov was overwhelmed by the physicality of the opera singer:

"...the Viking himself suddenly appears, looking as if his bones had been hacked from the cliffs. There he stands, immense... His gigantic voice, the prodigious eloquence of his singing, the Herculean movements of his body and arms, as if a statue had been given life and movement, the look under his thick frowning brow: all this was so new, so powerfully and deeply real..."

This presence is energetically harnessed by Bogdanov-Belsky in this portrait of 1915, a time when Chaliapin was at the height of his stardom, having spent the previous fifteen years touring Europe and America. He was to remain in Russia throughout the First World War, after which he resumed touring and eventually emigrated to France in 1922.