Alexander Evgenievich Yakovlev

Galerie Phillipe Heim, Paris
Private Collection, Switzerland

The sheet has been laid on board. The sheet has slightly discoloured and there is a layer of light surface dirt. There are two small areas of paper loss in the top left corner, some minor tears to the sheet in the upper edge, and areas of scattered pinholes in the top left and top right corners. There are some minor surface scratches and pinholes in places elsewhere. Held in a black and gold frame behind glass. Unexamined out of frame.
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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."

Yakovlev's travels in the Far East in 1918-1919 provided him with a rich source of new impressions and liberated him from the dark shadow of the Russian revolution which broke out while he was in China. He would never return to Russia, basing himself in Paris for the rest of his life.  Yakovlev has signed the present work with his pseudonym, Piripe, a name which derives from Priape, the son of Dionysus and Aphrodite.

It was a scholarship from the Imperial Academy of Arts that took him to Peking, the Chinese provinces, Mongolia and Japan. The tour was highly productive and he returned to Europe with a large portfolio of sanguine sketches and watercolours documenting scenes from the daily lives of people from every social strata. This precious preparatory material would form the basis of important compositions for many years after his return.
 
The Japanese actor Usaemon is also the subject of a charcoal and sanguine sketch by Yakovlev, published in volume 79 of The Studio magazine. Yakovlev was an amateur scholar of the Kabuki theatre, a highly stylized performing art that dates from early seventeenth century and employs flamboyant costumes, elaborate make-up and exaggerated body movements to create a sense of the spectacular. This vivid portrait of Usaemon captures the exuberance of this ancient theatrical tradition and is a fantastic example of Yakovlev's passion for the Orient.