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Lot Essay
Ivan Bilibin (1876-1942) studied at the St. Petersburg Academy of Fine Arts under Il'ia Repin. A member of Mir iskusstva (World of Art), Bilibin's main interests lay in Russian folktale illustration and stage design. He left Russia in 1920 and pursued an artistic career in Egypt and France, returning to the Soviet Union in 1936 where he continued to illustrate Russian fairytales.
The present watercolour is an illustration for a Russian folktale entitled 'Go over there - I don't know where, bring something - I don't know what' (Podi tuda - ne znaiu kuda, prinesi to - ne znaiu chto). It was not uncommon for Bilibin to repeat popular compositions; an earlier version of 'The Archer's Wife before the Tsar and his Retinue'
dated 1919-25 was sold by Christie's, London, 21 April 1988, lot 127. For another comparative, dated in the same manner as the present lot, see S. V. Golynets, Ivan Bilibin, Leningrad, 1988, pl. 167.
The present watercolour is an illustration for a Russian folktale entitled 'Go over there - I don't know where, bring something - I don't know what' (Podi tuda - ne znaiu kuda, prinesi to - ne znaiu chto). It was not uncommon for Bilibin to repeat popular compositions; an earlier version of 'The Archer's Wife before the Tsar and his Retinue'
dated 1919-25 was sold by Christie's, London, 21 April 1988, lot 127. For another comparative, dated in the same manner as the present lot, see S. V. Golynets, Ivan Bilibin, Leningrad, 1988, pl. 167.