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Lot Essay
A leading portraitist, genre scene artist and illustrator, Leonid Pasternak was a widely respected and profoundly influential artist of his generation. Born in Odessa, educated in Moscow and Munich, he taught at the prestigious Moscow School of Paintings, Sculpture and Architecture. He travelled extensively through Europe until finally making his home in England. Often called a 'Russian Impressionist' for his affinity for the impressionistic treatment of the figures and environment and ability to capture the most fleeting signs of movement, Pasternak is best known for his numerous portraits of his contemporaries, which he painted with remarkable observation and a sense of humour, sincerity and truthfulness. The present work was painted by the artist in 1912-1916, at the time when Pasternak was an active figure in the artistic and social circles of Moscow.
The scene depicts an intimate party of friends, featuring from the right Konstantin Korovin (1861-1939), Fedor Chaliapin (1873-1938), Appolinarii Vasnetsov (1856-1933), Abram Arkhipov (1862-1930), Pavel Tuchkov (1862-1918) and Prince Sergei Shcherbatov (1875-1962). Korovin, Vasnetsov and Arkhipov were Pasternak's colleagues from the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, and amateur artist Shcherbatov had been Pasternak's student. Leonid Pasternak left a vivid written description of these traditional gathering at his friend's apartment; 'On the evening of his birthday, which was in December, the artist K. A. Korovin would always have a sort of bachelors' party for his friends (in fact practically all of them were married). There was always much wining, dining and merrymaking with gypsy songs. These evenings went on until three of four o'clock in the morning after which it was expected that everyone apart from those abstemious stay-at-homes like myself would go off t????ink more in the apartment of a famous rich barrister. There they would enjoy themselves till ten in the morning, after which they dispersed homewards.' (The Memoirs of Leonid Pasternak, Quartet Books, London, 1982, p. 116-117). Pasternak writes that the chief performer was usually Chaliapin, accompanied by Tuchkov who was an accomplished amateur guitar player and passionate lover of gypsy music. "Chaliapin was aware of this and on these occasions would play tricks on Tuchkov. At the point where Tuchkov had become quite ecstatic in his passionate accompaniment, Chaliapin would quite deliberately sing a note slightly off-key. Tuchkov would immediately snap out of his reverie and become fierce with anger, cursing and swearing until the assembled company was reduced to helpless laughter and the episode ended in noise and uproar." (ibid, p. 116) In the painting Chaliapin appears to be listening with mock-serious attention to Tuchkov's animated musical performance.
The group portrait was dated on the base of the existing pastel of the same subject dated 1912 (R. Salys, Leonid Pasternak, The Russian Years, 1875-1921: a Critical Study and Catalogue, Oxford, 1999, II, p. 105, fig. 311) and sketches of the roses appeared in Pasternak's albums dated 1914-1916. In comparison with the 1912 pastel it becomes clear that Pasternak reworked the original composition bringing attention to Chaliapin and Tuchkov. The rear wall decorated in this version with a single painting recedes into a background allowing the viewer to concentrate on the central characters. Two large vases with roses on either side of the table and a large plate with pastries placed in the foreground of the painting create an illusion that the spectator may be sitting on the opposite side of the table, giving the portrait a more intimate atmosphere.
Apparently, the artist painted a copy of this painting shortly after his arrival in Germany. In that later version Pasternak included himself in the composition in place of A. Vasnetsov (R. Salys, op. cit, I, p. 46).
The scene depicts an intimate party of friends, featuring from the right Konstantin Korovin (1861-1939), Fedor Chaliapin (1873-1938), Appolinarii Vasnetsov (1856-1933), Abram Arkhipov (1862-1930), Pavel Tuchkov (1862-1918) and Prince Sergei Shcherbatov (1875-1962). Korovin, Vasnetsov and Arkhipov were Pasternak's colleagues from the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, and amateur artist Shcherbatov had been Pasternak's student. Leonid Pasternak left a vivid written description of these traditional gathering at his friend's apartment; 'On the evening of his birthday, which was in December, the artist K. A. Korovin would always have a sort of bachelors' party for his friends (in fact practically all of them were married). There was always much wining, dining and merrymaking with gypsy songs. These evenings went on until three of four o'clock in the morning after which it was expected that everyone apart from those abstemious stay-at-homes like myself would go off t????ink more in the apartment of a famous rich barrister. There they would enjoy themselves till ten in the morning, after which they dispersed homewards.' (The Memoirs of Leonid Pasternak, Quartet Books, London, 1982, p. 116-117). Pasternak writes that the chief performer was usually Chaliapin, accompanied by Tuchkov who was an accomplished amateur guitar player and passionate lover of gypsy music. "Chaliapin was aware of this and on these occasions would play tricks on Tuchkov. At the point where Tuchkov had become quite ecstatic in his passionate accompaniment, Chaliapin would quite deliberately sing a note slightly off-key. Tuchkov would immediately snap out of his reverie and become fierce with anger, cursing and swearing until the assembled company was reduced to helpless laughter and the episode ended in noise and uproar." (ibid, p. 116) In the painting Chaliapin appears to be listening with mock-serious attention to Tuchkov's animated musical performance.
The group portrait was dated on the base of the existing pastel of the same subject dated 1912 (R. Salys, Leonid Pasternak, The Russian Years, 1875-1921: a Critical Study and Catalogue, Oxford, 1999, II, p. 105, fig. 311) and sketches of the roses appeared in Pasternak's albums dated 1914-1916. In comparison with the 1912 pastel it becomes clear that Pasternak reworked the original composition bringing attention to Chaliapin and Tuchkov. The rear wall decorated in this version with a single painting recedes into a background allowing the viewer to concentrate on the central characters. Two large vases with roses on either side of the table and a large plate with pastries placed in the foreground of the painting create an illusion that the spectator may be sitting on the opposite side of the table, giving the portrait a more intimate atmosphere.
Apparently, the artist painted a copy of this painting shortly after his arrival in Germany. In that later version Pasternak included himself in the composition in place of A. Vasnetsov (R. Salys, op. cit, I, p. 46).