ATTRIBUTED TO ISAAK ILICH LEVITAN | Dacha

The canvas has been lined and is buckling along the left edge. There is a loss to the grass approximately 9cm from the bottom and 6cm from the left edge, as well as several small areas of paint loss to the roof above the veranda towards the centre of the work. There are minor abrasions along the edges and some scattered craquelure in places. Inspection under UV light reveals retouching to the aforementioned losses, the shrubs and roof on the right, to the centre roof on the left, to the shrubs on the left, a fine line of retouching to the right of the first floor window, as well minor scattered retouching elsewhere. There is further retouching to the centre of the right edge, the upper left corner, as well as further retouching elsewhere along the edges.
"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."

'How little Levitan has been appreciated and how poorly his work valued' lamented Levitan’s great friend Anton Chekhov soon after his death. 'It’s shameful. Here is a colossal, original, unique talent – something so fresh and strong. It ought to have marked a breakthrough. Alas, Levitan passed away too soon'. But in fact the impact of his lyrical landscapes would be immense; indeed 'it was so great that we can say without exaggeration that after Levitan, Russian landscape painting entered a new stage and acquired quite a new character' wrote Federov-Davidov. Levitan’s grand vistas are magnificent, but where he excelled was in drawing out the poetry of unremarkable pockets of the countryside – small copses, ramshackle houses, backwater ponds. The wooden porticos and stairways of a Russian dacha surrounded by lilac bushes and trees are a recurring motif in his work. For example, he often sketched and painted Chekhov’s dacha at Babkino. The brilliant lighting on the flowers in the foreground of the present work, set against a dark background, is a technique commonly found in Levitan’s oils (for example, The First Green, May, 1888 or Ferns by the Water, 1895), while the depiction of the long-leafed shrubs is very reminiscent of his greenhouse study The Orangery (The Tula State Museum).

The feathery brushwork, the tone and the subject of the present work strongly suggest Levitan’s hand and the signature also appears to be characteristic. Without a suggested date however, it is impossible to identify this painting in a listing of Levitan’s works with any certainty and the attribution therefore remains unconfirmed.