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Lot Essay
Arturo Lopez and his second wife Anna Ross were important figures in the Parisian world between the two wars. Close to the Russian colony and its artists, they became acquainted with the painter Alexandre Iacovleff at their Castle of Vosves and their house in Neuilly sur Seine.
Already a well-known artist in St. Petersburg, linked to the Russian Ballets and to the world of theater and music, the young Russian artist Iacovleff arrived in Paris in 1920 after spending two years in China, Mongolia and Japan. The exhibition of his works executed in the Far East at the Gallery Barbazanges was a great success which was comfirmed by the publication of his Dessins et Peintures d'Extreme-Orient with the publisher Lucien Vogel. Having become the official painter of the 'Croisiere Noire' in 1924 and 1925 (the Citroen Expedition), Iacovleff crossed Africa from north to south and in 1926 he exhibited hundreds of his drawings and canvases at the Marsan du Louvre pavillion and at the gallery Charpentier.
Before immortalising 'the Croisiere Jaune' in 1931, with his drawings and paintings describing Asia, Alexander Iacovleff settled in Paris and got involved with the Parisian artisan life, becoming a portraitist and a reputable decorator.
Close to his patrons Arturo and Anna Lopez, he executed portraits of the entire family: in 1923, the large oil composition depicting the young Arturito Lopez in front of the Castel of Vosves; in 1927, the charcoal and pastel portrait of Anna, followed by her oil portrait where the artist underlined the dignity of this beautiful woman. But it was Anita, the young daughter, who got his attention. He painted her on many occasions, as a scout chief, as a well behaved young girl, and in this present painting, admiring his drawings and paintings of the Far East. In 1926, the critic Robert Rey, delighted by the African compositions of the artst at the gallery Charpentier, wrote: 'Relative of the Davodiens and of the Ingristes, Mr. Iacovleff draws in the most amazing way from nature; he is skillful beyond imagination,' see Robert Ray, L'Exposition Iacovleff, revue L'Europe Nouvelle, 22 May 1926. As a matter of fact, the exectution of the flowers and the face of the sitter can remind us of certain portraits of female sitters painted by Jean-August Ingres. We also need to notice the elegance of the hands and the deep look of the sitter to understand the serenity emanating from this composition and the beauty of this portrait.
We are most grateful to Caroline Maardt de la Baume for writing the above entry. She is currently preparing a catalogue raissoné of Alexander Iacovleff and in 2000 she published Alexandre Iacovleff, l'artiste Voyageur.
Already a well-known artist in St. Petersburg, linked to the Russian Ballets and to the world of theater and music, the young Russian artist Iacovleff arrived in Paris in 1920 after spending two years in China, Mongolia and Japan. The exhibition of his works executed in the Far East at the Gallery Barbazanges was a great success which was comfirmed by the publication of his Dessins et Peintures d'Extreme-Orient with the publisher Lucien Vogel. Having become the official painter of the 'Croisiere Noire' in 1924 and 1925 (the Citroen Expedition), Iacovleff crossed Africa from north to south and in 1926 he exhibited hundreds of his drawings and canvases at the Marsan du Louvre pavillion and at the gallery Charpentier.
Before immortalising 'the Croisiere Jaune' in 1931, with his drawings and paintings describing Asia, Alexander Iacovleff settled in Paris and got involved with the Parisian artisan life, becoming a portraitist and a reputable decorator.
Close to his patrons Arturo and Anna Lopez, he executed portraits of the entire family: in 1923, the large oil composition depicting the young Arturito Lopez in front of the Castel of Vosves; in 1927, the charcoal and pastel portrait of Anna, followed by her oil portrait where the artist underlined the dignity of this beautiful woman. But it was Anita, the young daughter, who got his attention. He painted her on many occasions, as a scout chief, as a well behaved young girl, and in this present painting, admiring his drawings and paintings of the Far East. In 1926, the critic Robert Rey, delighted by the African compositions of the artst at the gallery Charpentier, wrote: 'Relative of the Davodiens and of the Ingristes, Mr. Iacovleff draws in the most amazing way from nature; he is skillful beyond imagination,' see Robert Ray, L'Exposition Iacovleff, revue L'Europe Nouvelle, 22 May 1926. As a matter of fact, the exectution of the flowers and the face of the sitter can remind us of certain portraits of female sitters painted by Jean-August Ingres. We also need to notice the elegance of the hands and the deep look of the sitter to understand the serenity emanating from this composition and the beauty of this portrait.
We are most grateful to Caroline Maardt de la Baume for writing the above entry. She is currently preparing a catalogue raissoné of Alexander Iacovleff and in 2000 she published Alexandre Iacovleff, l'artiste Voyageur.