Russian Pictures: Including the Bar-Gera Collection of Soviet Non-conformist Art

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Lot 80
  • 80

Alexander Nikolaevich Benois

Estimate
5,000 - 7,000 GBP
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Description

  • Alexander Nikolaevich Benois
  • Set Design for The Queen of Spades
  • signed in Cyrillic and dated 1919 l.l., signed in Latin and dated 1919 l.r.
  • ink and watercolour over pencil on paper
  • 34 by 62cm, 13 1/2 by 24 1/2 in.

Exhibited

Stockholm, Dansmuseet, Alexandre Benois och Konstens värld (Mir iskusstva), 13 September 2002 – 12 January 2003

Catalogue Note

Benois illustrated Pushkin's tale of The Queen of Spades on numerous occasions, both for publications and the stage. The present lot is for the 1919 production of Tchaikovsky's opera at the State Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet (formerly the Mariinsky Theatre) and depicts Act II, Scene II, where Herman slips into the old Countess' room in the hope of learning her secret of winning at cards.