Russia 1700-1900
Except otherwise stated, all results include the premium.
See also : Orientalism 1830-1900 Terracotta and porcelain Coins 1000-1775 Medal and decoration
Chronology : 1850-1859 1879 1896
See also : Orientalism 1830-1900 Terracotta and porcelain Coins 1000-1775 Medal and decoration
Chronology : 1850-1859 1879 1896
1740 The Ioann Ruble
2012 SOLD for CHF 3.6M before fees by Sincona
The very unpopular Empress Anna Ivanovna is ill and has no children. She designates a new born baby to succeed her, her grand-nephew Ioann Antonovich, under the regency of her former lover. When she dies in October 1740, the Crown Prince is two months old.
The Saint-Petersburg mint prepares the coins for the future reign. The pattern silver rubles dated 1740 bear on the obverse the Cyrillic inscription Ioann III by the grace of God Emperor and Autocrat of All Russia. On the same side, the traditional imperial effigy is replaced by a large 3 interlaced with two I. The reverse is illustrated with the two-headed eagle with its attributes : the crown, the shield, the scepter and the orb.
This design is immediately obsolete : the child's reign name is not Ioann III but Ivan VI. Only five units have been identified. One of them was sold for CHF 3.6M before fees by Sincona on October 9, 2012, lot 227 here linked on the NumisBids auction platform. The location of the other four has not been established.
In 1741 the child grew up and the new rubles are minted with his effigy at one year old. His father overthrew the regent. The Russians fear the return of the German influence and overthrow the child and his mother by a coup d'état in December 1741. Ivan VI's coins are redeemed and their possession is made illegal.
Another difficult succession will generate in 1825 the other top rarity of the Romanov numismatics, the pattern ruble prepared in the name and effigy of Grand Duke Constantine before he formally refuses to ascend the throne. Eight units are known.
The Saint-Petersburg mint prepares the coins for the future reign. The pattern silver rubles dated 1740 bear on the obverse the Cyrillic inscription Ioann III by the grace of God Emperor and Autocrat of All Russia. On the same side, the traditional imperial effigy is replaced by a large 3 interlaced with two I. The reverse is illustrated with the two-headed eagle with its attributes : the crown, the shield, the scepter and the orb.
This design is immediately obsolete : the child's reign name is not Ioann III but Ivan VI. Only five units have been identified. One of them was sold for CHF 3.6M before fees by Sincona on October 9, 2012, lot 227 here linked on the NumisBids auction platform. The location of the other four has not been established.
In 1741 the child grew up and the new rubles are minted with his effigy at one year old. His father overthrew the regent. The Russians fear the return of the German influence and overthrow the child and his mother by a coup d'état in December 1741. Ivan VI's coins are redeemed and their possession is made illegal.
Another difficult succession will generate in 1825 the other top rarity of the Romanov numismatics, the pattern ruble prepared in the name and effigy of Grand Duke Constantine before he formally refuses to ascend the throne. Eight units are known.
1800 Order of St. Andrew
2008 SOLD for £ 2.7M by Sotheby's
A badge from the crown jewels of Imperial Russia was sold for £ 2.7M from a lower estimate of £ 400K by Sotheby's on June 12, 2008, lot 540. This piece of big size, 13 x 9 cm weighing 160 g, is covered with 45 carats of diamonds.
Its drawing, very fine, has two bodies. The main part is an eagle with two heads and with wings and tail deployed. This one is partly covered by a cross of St Andrew with the image of the saint. Over it, there is the beautiful image of the imperial crown. All of this is in diamonds except the eyes of the eagle which are rubies and beaks and claws which are gold.
The jewel was made around 1800 as a decoration of the Order of St. Andrew. It was a privilege of the tsar's family to wear this type of decorations in the great occasions of the State. The descent from that piece is known : presented by the Imperial family to the ducal family of Oldenburg, it returned in 1890 to Empress Maria Feodorovna who wore it.
Its drawing, very fine, has two bodies. The main part is an eagle with two heads and with wings and tail deployed. This one is partly covered by a cross of St Andrew with the image of the saint. Over it, there is the beautiful image of the imperial crown. All of this is in diamonds except the eyes of the eagle which are rubies and beaks and claws which are gold.
The jewel was made around 1800 as a decoration of the Order of St. Andrew. It was a privilege of the tsar's family to wear this type of decorations in the great occasions of the State. The descent from that piece is known : presented by the Imperial family to the ducal family of Oldenburg, it returned in 1890 to Empress Maria Feodorovna who wore it.
1848 Pair of Vases in Porcelain of St. Petersburg
2009 SOLD for £ 2.6M by Sotheby's
In a style imitating Sèvres, the porcelains from the Imperial Factory of St. Petersburg reached gigantic sizes in the reign of Nicholas I, becoming one of the best symbols of the Tsarist opulence at that time. These vases, most often presented in pairs, are true engineering feats.
During the 1920s that were so difficult economically for Russia, one of these pairs was purchased by an American oil tycoon to garnish his mansion in Oklahoma City. They were in this place since so long that the heirs were not aware of their historical importance and felt them rather cumbersome.
Like all other pieces in this category, they are bandeau shaped with gilt handles of acanthus leaves. The picture on one of them, showing a concert, is a copy of a painting that was lent by the Hermitage to the Factory in 1832 to serve as a model. This lot was sold for £ 2.2M by Sotheby's on November 26, 2013. Please watch the video shared by the auction house
The porcelains of Oklahoma are dated 1833 and their height, 1.38 m, is particularly noteworthy. A later pair unsold at Christie's in November 2011, dated 1835 and 1836, had the same size.
Twice a year, at Easter and Christmas, the Imperial manufacture of porcelain and glassware offered to the Tsar the most prestigious pieces created in their workshops. Thus the Emperor Nicholas I furnished the private apartments of the Imperial Palace.
Financially, these gifts were offset by increasing orders from the Emperor for offering similar pieces to his allies in the ruling royal and ducal families of other countries. I have already had occasion to note in this group the role that gifting had for aristocratic cohesion at the Imperial court of Russia.
A pair of porcelain vases from St. Petersburg was sold for £ 2.6M from a lower estimate of £ 1.2M by Sotheby's on June 10, 2009. Dated 1848, 1.5 meters high, it is the largest format that has been done at that time by this factory.
These monumental vases are adorned with ring shaped reproductions of paintings from the collection of Catherine the Great, in this case two stables scenes of Philips Wouwerman.
During the 1920s that were so difficult economically for Russia, one of these pairs was purchased by an American oil tycoon to garnish his mansion in Oklahoma City. They were in this place since so long that the heirs were not aware of their historical importance and felt them rather cumbersome.
Like all other pieces in this category, they are bandeau shaped with gilt handles of acanthus leaves. The picture on one of them, showing a concert, is a copy of a painting that was lent by the Hermitage to the Factory in 1832 to serve as a model. This lot was sold for £ 2.2M by Sotheby's on November 26, 2013. Please watch the video shared by the auction house
The porcelains of Oklahoma are dated 1833 and their height, 1.38 m, is particularly noteworthy. A later pair unsold at Christie's in November 2011, dated 1835 and 1836, had the same size.
Twice a year, at Easter and Christmas, the Imperial manufacture of porcelain and glassware offered to the Tsar the most prestigious pieces created in their workshops. Thus the Emperor Nicholas I furnished the private apartments of the Imperial Palace.
Financially, these gifts were offset by increasing orders from the Emperor for offering similar pieces to his allies in the ruling royal and ducal families of other countries. I have already had occasion to note in this group the role that gifting had for aristocratic cohesion at the Imperial court of Russia.
A pair of porcelain vases from St. Petersburg was sold for £ 2.6M from a lower estimate of £ 1.2M by Sotheby's on June 10, 2009. Dated 1848, 1.5 meters high, it is the largest format that has been done at that time by this factory.
These monumental vases are adorned with ring shaped reproductions of paintings from the collection of Catherine the Great, in this case two stables scenes of Philips Wouwerman.
AIVAZOVSKY
1
1856 view of Constantinople
2012 SOLD for £ 3.23M by Sotheby's
Born in the Armenian community of the busy port town of Theodosia on the north shore of the Black Sea, Ivan Aivazovsky was a great traveler. After doing trips throughout Europe, he obtained in 1845 a job that allowed him to combine his passions : he became a painter for the staff of the Russian Admiralty.
His art shows the ever changing sea in the exceptional light of the extreme hours of the day. His naval battles add fire to the sun or the moon, often seen full face. Few painters have given such an emotional density to landscapes. Turner had admired the work of his very young colleague when they met in Rome in 1842. Precursor of the Impressionists, Aivazovsky nevertheless worked in the studio from pencil sketches and composed his colors from memory.
He became a specialist of the Grand Tour images on which his deeply glowing romantic skies illuminated easily recognizable landscapes, mostly but not only by the sea. He maintained throughout his career this Mediterranean imaging which opened to him the access to lucrative exhibitions in Europe.
An oil on canvas 100 x 122 cm painted in 1851 is a serene view of Venice with San Giorgio Maggiore in the distance. A gondola comes to the fore, but the real subject is the warm color in its gradient that leads from the bright blue of the sea up to the pink cloudy sky. It was sold for £ 1M by Macdougall's on November 25, 2012.
He loved Constantinople which he first visited in 1845 and extensively sketched. He stated : 'There is probably nowhere in the world as majestic as that town, when you're there you forget about Naples and Venice.'
A view in moonlight of Constantinople and the Golden Horn painted in 1846 is kept at the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg. A serene sunset view executed in 1856 from the same original sketch, oil on canvas 125 x 195 cm, was sold for £ 3.23M from a lower estimate of £ 1.2M by Sotheby's on April 24, 2012, lot 6. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
His art shows the ever changing sea in the exceptional light of the extreme hours of the day. His naval battles add fire to the sun or the moon, often seen full face. Few painters have given such an emotional density to landscapes. Turner had admired the work of his very young colleague when they met in Rome in 1842. Precursor of the Impressionists, Aivazovsky nevertheless worked in the studio from pencil sketches and composed his colors from memory.
He became a specialist of the Grand Tour images on which his deeply glowing romantic skies illuminated easily recognizable landscapes, mostly but not only by the sea. He maintained throughout his career this Mediterranean imaging which opened to him the access to lucrative exhibitions in Europe.
An oil on canvas 100 x 122 cm painted in 1851 is a serene view of Venice with San Giorgio Maggiore in the distance. A gondola comes to the fore, but the real subject is the warm color in its gradient that leads from the bright blue of the sea up to the pink cloudy sky. It was sold for £ 1M by Macdougall's on November 25, 2012.
He loved Constantinople which he first visited in 1845 and extensively sketched. He stated : 'There is probably nowhere in the world as majestic as that town, when you're there you forget about Naples and Venice.'
A view in moonlight of Constantinople and the Golden Horn painted in 1846 is kept at the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg. A serene sunset view executed in 1856 from the same original sketch, oil on canvas 125 x 195 cm, was sold for £ 3.23M from a lower estimate of £ 1.2M by Sotheby's on April 24, 2012, lot 6. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
2
1873 American Shipping off the Rock of Gibraltar
2007 SOLD for £ 2.7M by Christie's
An oil on canvas 109 x 132 cm dated 1873 assesses Aivazovsky's attentive interest in maritime events.
In December 1872 a two-masted American ship named Mary Celeste was found abandoned at sea between Azores and Portugal. The lifeboat was gone but the cargo had not been looted. The ghost ship was conducted to Gibraltar where it was awaiting the outcome of the judicial investigation.
Aivazovsky's painting is titled American shipping off the Rock of Gibraltar. Far away in the mist, the steep profile of the rock is perfectly recognizable. The rough seas are shaking the tall ship while a lifeboat filled to the brim by sailors adds an epic dimension into the forefront.
This painting was sold for £ 2.7M by Christie's on 13 June 13, 2007. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
No seafarer from the Mary Celeste was ever retrieved and the mystery was never cleared up.
In December 1872 a two-masted American ship named Mary Celeste was found abandoned at sea between Azores and Portugal. The lifeboat was gone but the cargo had not been looted. The ghost ship was conducted to Gibraltar where it was awaiting the outcome of the judicial investigation.
Aivazovsky's painting is titled American shipping off the Rock of Gibraltar. Far away in the mist, the steep profile of the rock is perfectly recognizable. The rough seas are shaking the tall ship while a lifeboat filled to the brim by sailors adds an epic dimension into the forefront.
This painting was sold for £ 2.7M by Christie's on 13 June 13, 2007. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
No seafarer from the Mary Celeste was ever retrieved and the mystery was never cleared up.
1875 Café du Boulevard by Repin
2011 SOLD for £ 4.5M by Christie's
Paris had fun. The citizens dream of slum and the misers dream of gentry. It is the time of Offenbach and Zola.
Young Russian artist who came to Paris in 1873 to complete his training, Ilya Repin is carried into the vortex, like the Baron of La Vie Parisienne, the great theater success on the boulevard.
Painstakingly, after long watching of his fellow poets, artists and actresses, he painted this "Café du Boulevard" which was exhibited at the Salon in 1875, and raised the wrath of his Russian teachers.
Taking on a cosmopolitan mix as a theme is a betrayal by a young man who was trained to illustrate the beauty of traditions. Still worse, it is a café, that place of subversion housing since the French Révolution the most passionate political discussions.
This large oil on canvas 120 x 192 cm was sold for £ 4.5M from a lower estimate of £ 3M by Christie's on June 6, 2011.
Repin admired Manet but did not follow the path of the Impressionnistes. He will become a respected classical artist, author of realistic portraits and historical, social and religious scenes.
The café scene is a daring feat of his early career, when he was still tempted at rebelling against the official schools. But it also paved the way for similar themes, the following year, by Renoir and Manet.
Young Russian artist who came to Paris in 1873 to complete his training, Ilya Repin is carried into the vortex, like the Baron of La Vie Parisienne, the great theater success on the boulevard.
Painstakingly, after long watching of his fellow poets, artists and actresses, he painted this "Café du Boulevard" which was exhibited at the Salon in 1875, and raised the wrath of his Russian teachers.
Taking on a cosmopolitan mix as a theme is a betrayal by a young man who was trained to illustrate the beauty of traditions. Still worse, it is a café, that place of subversion housing since the French Révolution the most passionate political discussions.
This large oil on canvas 120 x 192 cm was sold for £ 4.5M from a lower estimate of £ 3M by Christie's on June 6, 2011.
Repin admired Manet but did not follow the path of the Impressionnistes. He will become a respected classical artist, author of realistic portraits and historical, social and religious scenes.
The café scene is a daring feat of his early career, when he was still tempted at rebelling against the official schools. But it also paved the way for similar themes, the following year, by Renoir and Manet.
VERESHCHAGIN
1
masterpiece
1871 The Apotheosis of War
Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow
Vasili Vasilievich Vereshchagin was the most famous Russian painter of his time. His work was exhibited in London, St. Petersburg, and throughout Europe. He was best known for his military scenes, but his humanistic rendering of the brutality of war displeased the Russian authority and hampered his official career. The image of The Apotheosis of War is shared by Wikimedia.
He was also a tireless traveler. He died of his dual passion for war and travel during the siege of Port Arthur.
He had been in 1864 a pupil of Gérôme in Paris at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, and his travel paintings belong to the Orientalist trend with an attention to detail, light and color. His themes are educative in a desire of provoking thought. He managed to open his solo exhibitions to broad audiences.
He was also a tireless traveler. He died of his dual passion for war and travel during the siege of Port Arthur.
He had been in 1864 a pupil of Gérôme in Paris at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, and his travel paintings belong to the Orientalist trend with an attention to detail, light and color. His themes are educative in a desire of provoking thought. He managed to open his solo exhibitions to broad audiences.
2
1879 Pearl Mosque at Delhi
2011 SOLD for $ 3.1M by Sotheby's
The stay of Vereshchagin in India lasted two years, from 1874 to 1876, sketching in oil the monuments, passages and streams. The English suspected him of being a spy in a reconnaissance for a Russian military invasion.
On June 6, 2011, Sotheby's sold for £ 2.3M an oil on canvas 47 x 61 cm showing the Taj Mahal at sunset, lot 6.
Inspired by the same trip but completed in 1879 after a break for his volunteering in the Russo-Turkish war, a view painted in Paris displays the front side of the Pearl Mosque at Delhi, sunny and animated by a few worshippers. As commented by the artist, the dazzling white of the marble walls and floors are evoking a presence of God without displaying a figure of the Deity. The artist was skilled to paint a monumental piece in a single shade.
This monumental oil on canvas 3.95 x 5 m was brought in New York for exhibition by Vereshchagin in 1888 and auctioned in 1891. It was sold for $ 3.1M by Sotheby's on November 1, 2011, lot 12, after de-accession from the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
On June 6, 2011, Sotheby's sold for £ 2.3M an oil on canvas 47 x 61 cm showing the Taj Mahal at sunset, lot 6.
Inspired by the same trip but completed in 1879 after a break for his volunteering in the Russo-Turkish war, a view painted in Paris displays the front side of the Pearl Mosque at Delhi, sunny and animated by a few worshippers. As commented by the artist, the dazzling white of the marble walls and floors are evoking a presence of God without displaying a figure of the Deity. The artist was skilled to paint a monumental piece in a single shade.
This monumental oil on canvas 3.95 x 5 m was brought in New York for exhibition by Vereshchagin in 1888 and auctioned in 1891. It was sold for $ 3.1M by Sotheby's on November 1, 2011, lot 12, after de-accession from the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
3
Pearl Mosque at Agra
2014 SOLD for £ 3.7M by Christie's
The view of the Pearl Mosque at Agra was painted by Vereshchagin after he came back to his studio in Paris, providing a terminus post quem in 1876, more probably after his return from the Russian-Turkish war in 1879.
The white interior of the mosque is viewed in soft light. Two rows of standing worshipers and a single character behind them bow their head, possibly mediating about the former wealth of the Mughal rulers who had built the Taj Mahal in the vicinity.
This oil on canvas 150 x 200 cm was sold for £ 3.7M from a lower estimate of £ 1M by Christie's on June 2, 2014, lot 30. It was one of the major works brought by Vereshchagin to New York in 1888.
The white interior of the mosque is viewed in soft light. Two rows of standing worshipers and a single character behind them bow their head, possibly mediating about the former wealth of the Mughal rulers who had built the Taj Mahal in the vicinity.
This oil on canvas 150 x 200 cm was sold for £ 3.7M from a lower estimate of £ 1M by Christie's on June 2, 2014, lot 30. It was one of the major works brought by Vereshchagin to New York in 1888.
4
1884-1885 Solomon's Wall in Jerusalem
2007 SOLD for $ 3.6M by Christie's
Once again un-welcomed in his home country after the accession of Tsar Alexander III in 1881, Vereshchagin left for a journey in Palestine in 1883 where he visited the remains of the Biblical monuments.
His rationalism in the depiction of the life of Jesus led his set of paintings into oblivion after a controversial touring exhibition. Financial difficulties followed, leading the artist to export 110 artworks to New York in 1888 for a two month exhibition followed by a tour of the USA and the 1891 auction of the collection.
A view of Solomon's Wall in Jerusalem with its signature wailing believers depicts the popular fervor, in opposition with the more sacred pictures of the same location by Gérôme or Bauernfeind.
This oil on canvas 200 x 152 cm painted by Vereshchagin in Paris in 1884-1885 was brought by him to New York. It was sold for $ 3.6M by Christie's on April 18, 2007, lot 76. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
His rationalism in the depiction of the life of Jesus led his set of paintings into oblivion after a controversial touring exhibition. Financial difficulties followed, leading the artist to export 110 artworks to New York in 1888 for a two month exhibition followed by a tour of the USA and the 1891 auction of the collection.
A view of Solomon's Wall in Jerusalem with its signature wailing believers depicts the popular fervor, in opposition with the more sacred pictures of the same location by Gérôme or Bauernfeind.
This oil on canvas 200 x 152 cm painted by Vereshchagin in Paris in 1884-1885 was brought by him to New York. It was sold for $ 3.6M by Christie's on April 18, 2007, lot 76. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
1896 Forest Clearing by Shishkin
2008 SOLD for $ 3.2M by Christie's
Ivan Shishkin is the painter of the Russian forest. With almost photographic details, he shows the harmonious beauty of the woods illuminated by the sun. He was recognized as one of the best Russian artists and led a landscape painting class in St. Petersburg.
He retired from teaching in 1896 and decided to devote more time to outdoor painting. He shares this activity between two residential sites, Vyra where he owns a dacha and Siverskaya which he had visited all along his career.
Gradually, his interest is shifting from realism to impression. The forest is now seen as a whole and not just as a juxtaposition of majestic trees.
An example comes from Vyra. A clearing in an oak forest, oil on canvas 119 x 171 cm, was sold for $ 3.2M from a lower estimate of $ 1M by Christie's on 18 April 2008, lot 16.
Also painted by Shishkin in 1896, a twilight in the pine forest of Siverskaya, oil on canvas, 162 x 121 cm, was sold for £ 2.15M on June 5, 2013 by MacDougall's. Shishkin expresses the purity of the evening light after a storm. He is not a poet like Aivazovsky. His art and colors are totally realistic, but he now attaches the utmost attention to extreme lights of the day.
Unfortunately this highly creative period was too short. Shishkin died at work two years later.
He retired from teaching in 1896 and decided to devote more time to outdoor painting. He shares this activity between two residential sites, Vyra where he owns a dacha and Siverskaya which he had visited all along his career.
Gradually, his interest is shifting from realism to impression. The forest is now seen as a whole and not just as a juxtaposition of majestic trees.
An example comes from Vyra. A clearing in an oak forest, oil on canvas 119 x 171 cm, was sold for $ 3.2M from a lower estimate of $ 1M by Christie's on 18 April 2008, lot 16.
Also painted by Shishkin in 1896, a twilight in the pine forest of Siverskaya, oil on canvas, 162 x 121 cm, was sold for £ 2.15M on June 5, 2013 by MacDougall's. Shishkin expresses the purity of the evening light after a storm. He is not a poet like Aivazovsky. His art and colors are totally realistic, but he now attaches the utmost attention to extreme lights of the day.
Unfortunately this highly creative period was too short. Shishkin died at work two years later.
