- 101
Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky
Estimate
60,000 - 80,000 GBP
Log in to view results
bidding is closed
Description
- Street in Bakhchisarai
- signed in Latin and Cyrillic and dated 1892 l.r.; the reverse with a US Customs label of the 1890s
- oil on canvas
- 24 by 38cm, 9 1/2 by 15in.
Exhibited
Chicago, The World's Columbian Exposition, 1892-1893
Literature
Listed in a letter from the artist to Count Ivan Ivanovich Tolstoy, Feodosia, 10 June 1892
Condition
The canvas has been strip lined at the edges. There is a layer of surface dirt. Minor abrasions in all corners and along each edge. Inspection under UV reveals a 1 cm wide spot of restoration to the left of the ladies in the doorway and in the vines along the walls. Minor spots of restoration elsewhere. Held in a handsome gold painted wooden 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."
"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
In 1892, Aivazovsky undertook his last great journey; a voyage by sea to America. His intention was to visit the World's Fair in Chicago, where he himself was exhibiting twenty pictures. As it turned out, he travelled to New York, Washington and the Niagara Falls but after two months cut short his visit and returned to Russia. The twenty pictures he sent to Chicago were listed in a letter to Count Ivan Ivanovich Tolstoy; the first five of these were part of his Christopher Columbus cycle, the other 15 were a cross section of his usual subjects and included views of Naples, Venice, Athens and Constantinople. Number 12 is the offered painting, Street in Bakhchisarai. The picture was purchased in America and has been in a private collection ever since, and is here published for the first time.
Bakhchisarai was the capital of the Crimean Khanate and the centre of political and cultural life of the Crimean Tartars. Like all Crimean towns, the population of Bakhchisarai in the 19thcentury was ethnically very diverse and would have included communities of Armenians, Russians and Greeks as well as Tartars. Aivazovsky depicts three Armenian girls in resplendent national costume emerging from a sunlit garden. One of them gives charity to a blind beggar in a white turban who is being looked after by a small child. Tartar dignitaries look on from the wooden balconies of the palace, and against the background of the rocky cliffs that surround the town is depicted a white minaret.
Bakhchisarai was the capital of the Crimean Khanate and the centre of political and cultural life of the Crimean Tartars. Like all Crimean towns, the population of Bakhchisarai in the 19thcentury was ethnically very diverse and would have included communities of Armenians, Russians and Greeks as well as Tartars. Aivazovsky depicts three Armenian girls in resplendent national costume emerging from a sunlit garden. One of them gives charity to a blind beggar in a white turban who is being looked after by a small child. Tartar dignitaries look on from the wooden balconies of the palace, and against the background of the rocky cliffs that surround the town is depicted a white minaret.
The present work is included in the numbered archive of the artist’s work compiled by Gianni Caffiero and Ivan Samarine.