Lot 20
  • 20

Petr Petrovich Konchalovsky

Estimate
300,000 - 500,000 GBP
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Description

  • Petr Petrovich Konchalovsky
  • Still life with Hollyhocks
  • signed in Cyrillic l.l.; further inscribed, titled, numbered 485 and dated 1923 on the reverse
  • oil on canvas
  • 94.5 by 74cm, 37 1/4 by 29 in.

Exhibited

Moscow, Red Cross Exhibition, 1924
Paris, Chambre Syndicale de la Curiosité et des Beaux-Arts, 4, Exposition Pierre Kontchalovsky, 4-19 March 1925, no.39

Literature

Exposition Pierre Kontchalovsky, exhibition catalogue, Paris: Chambre Syndicale de la Curiosité et des Beaux-Arts, 1925, listed under works for 1923 as no.39, Fleurs
K.Frolova, Konchalovsky, Khudozhestvennoe nasledie, Moscow: Iskusstvo, 1964, listed, p.108, no.485

 

Condition

Original canvas which is loose on the stretcher and undulated in places. There is a layer of light surface dirt and paint abrasion to the upper and lower edges, including some paint loss in the lower left corner. There are very minor patches of craquelure and the varnish has discoloured. UV light reveals no apparent signs of retouching. 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."

Catalogue Note

Recently rediscovered in a private French collection, Still Life with Hollyhocks is a stunning and important work from one of Konchalovsky's most sought-after periods. In terms of its synthesis of colour, texture and form, Still Life with Hollyhocks with its characteristic ash-grey and emerald tones, is a superb representation of the aims Knave of Diamonds group, of which Konchalovsky was a founding member. Making use of the achievements of Cézanne, and occasionally Matisse, these artists brought back mass, volume, colour and three-dimensional form to objects, as Dmitry Sarabyanov remarks: "From this springs their interest in still life, which assumed an important role in their work, and took on a significance it had not held hitherto in the history of Russian art... The components of the Jack of Diamonds style were various: their striving for a logical system was combined with spontaneity and impetuosity. The art of these so-called Moscow Cézannists vacillates between the clamour of a city street on the one hand, and strict rationality on the other' (Russian Painters of the Early Twentieth Century, Aurora Art, 1973, p.141) – a contrast visible here in the vibrant and sculpted petals against the dark and silvery planes behind. While in Konchalovsky's earlier works an expressive image might have domineered over an overall conception, the background no more than a contrast for a subject, in his important late 1910s and early 1920s canvases, it is striking how all the elements serve the strategic harmony of the whole.

We are grateful to Aurelia Bourquard for providing additional cataloguing information.