Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky

Previously in the collection of a Ukrainian émigré family who settled in New York City in the late 1940s

Original canvas, which is slightly uneven. There is a layer of surface dirt and the varnish is slightly discoloured. There are areas of paint loss to the bottom right horizontal frame edge, the lower right and upper left corner. There is some inpainting running vertically down lines to the right and left edges of the canvas approximately 1cm from the edge. UV light reveals very minor spots of retouching to the sky and lower right corner and the aforementioned line of retouching running down the left hand edge. Held in an elaborate moulded gold painted 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."

Travelling south through Ukraine in the summer of 1888, Chekhov describes in his letters the baking heat and dust of Crimea and its 'blurred sun'.  'Yesterday we went to Shah-Mamai, Aivazovsky's estate, twenty-five versts from Feodosia. It is a magnificent estate, rather like fairyland; such estates may probably be seen in Persia. Aivazovsky himself, a vigorous old man of seventy-five, is a mixture of a good-natured Armenian and an overfed bishop; he is full of dignity, has soft hands, and offers them like a general' (Letter from A.Chekhov to his sister, 22 July 1888).

 

Windmills, thatched huts, ox-trains and flocks of sheep are recurring motifs in Aivazovsky's landscapes to which he turned frequently in his mature years. Unlike his dramatic seascapes, these compositions feel intimate in their depiction everyday agricultural and festive scenes such as ploughing, farmers returning from the fields or wedding festivals (1892, Feodosia Picture Gallery). The present landscape is especially distinctive for its billowing clouds of dust, which find perhaps their closest equivalent in the opaque smoke of exploding cannons in his marine battle scenes.

From Shah Mamai, Chekhov travelled on to Sumi where the threshing process reminded him of boyhood summers on Count Platov's estate in nearby Taganrog: 'the lazy tread of the oxen, the clouds of dust, the grimy, perspiring faces of some three score of men - all this has stamped itself upon my memory like the Lord's Prayer. ...' (29 August 1888, Letter from A.Chekhov to A.Suvorin). This rare depiction of Crimean farming by Aivazovsky brings Chekhov's contemporary descriptions to life.