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Lot Essay
The illustrious Provatoroff name has long been associated with superlative Russian Art. In 1997 Christie’s was privileged to offer the collection of Victor Provatoroff (1908-1997), a well-known Russian Art connoisseur who later bequeathed an important work by Aleksei Venetsianov (1780-1847), In the Hayfield, to The State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow. Twenty years later, Christie’s is delighted to be offering works from the collection of his brother, Peter Provatoroff (1898-1963), a merchant, furrier and racehorse dealer, who left significant works by Konstantin Somov (1869-1939), Ilya Repin (1844-1930), Konstantin Yuon (1875-1958) and Alexandre Benois (1870-1960) to the Tate in 1964.
Like so many Russian families that emigrated following the 1917 revolution, the Provatoroffs lived in Berlin and Paris before settling in London circa 1925. Joining a burgeoning Russian community, it is highly likely that Peter and his first wife, Marie Fedorovna, were acquainted with Mikhail Braikevich (1874-1940), the art collector and leading patron of Konstantin Somov, whose bequest is the foundation of the rich Russian Art collection kept at The Ashmolean, Oxford.
Archival sources and Somov’s annotated copy of the exhibition catalogue for his 1930 show at the Prince Vladimir Galitzine Gallery, London, reveal that the Provatoroffs rivalled Braikevich in their admiration for Somov and insatiable desire to possess his work. According to Somov’s diary (Private Collection, Moscow), Rainbow (lot 1) was painted on 2-4 and 6 February 1930, a variant of the ‘work, that is in Helsingfors’. Here, Somov refers to one of the earliest incarnations of the composition, an identically-titled work from 1897 which was acquired directly from the artist by Sergei Diaghilev (1872-1929) following its inclusion in his 1898 ‘Exhibition of Russian and Finnish Artists’ that took place in St Petersburg, and subsequently given to the Ateneum Art Museum in Helsinki.
It was not unusual for Somov to return to popular motifs, reworking compositions at the behest of patrons or purely as an improvisational artistic endeavour. However, Somov never slavishly copied earlier work and he, remarkably, maintained the quality of his draftsmanship throughout his career. Lot 1, Rainbow, is an exquisite version of the pictorial trope in miniature, demonstrating Somov’s skill at rendering detail, while maintaining the subtle variances of his tonal palette – in this example the magical gradations of light and air that precipitate a rainbow. Purchased by Marie Provatoroff in April 1931, Rainbow also closely relates to the technicolour oil, The Rainbow, painted in 1927, that was sold by Christie’s for £3,716,000 in June 2007, establishing the world record for the artist.
On 1 September 1932, Marie Provatoroff acquired The dressing-table (lot 2). Somov recorded the work in his diary: ‘watercolour, dressing-table, with a young woman sleeping on the bed reflected in the mirror’ (K. A. Somov’s diary. 1924-1939, Private Collection, Moscow). Somov frequently used mirrors in his compositions, toying with voyeurism and narcissism, and using mundane, yet personal items to create a sense of intimacy. Immediate comparisons can be made with Matin d'été (sold Christie’s London, 5 June 2017, lot 1, £281,000), executed in the same year, yet arguably the brazen sexuality of that work is in opposition to the more innocent sensuality of The dressing-table. In this composition, greater emphasis is placed on the accoutrements that enhance the sleeping beauty’s allure and invent her persona; jewellery, perfume, a diaphanous veil and elegant gloves. Imagination is a powerful tool: Somov teases the viewer with a mere glimpse of the model, introducing a sense of fantasy and an erotic charge to the sugar-coated scene.
Pénible aveu (lot 3) illustrates another aspect of Somov’s artistic oeuvre – his penchant for drama. A lovers’ quarrel, a stolen kiss, a first embrace, Somov’s theatrical tableaux often capture the height of an emotion. Pénible aveu is no different; a story featuring a repentant love and her betrayed suitor can swiftly be read between Somov’s deft brushstrokes. The action is set against Somov’s trademark backdrop of an idealised nature, with birch trees that also serve to frame the composition.
All three exceptional works appear at auction for the first time in history; perhaps the most significant group to appear on the market since The Somov Collection, the sensational sale that took place at Christie’s London in 2007.
We are grateful to Elena Yakovleva, Doctor of Art History, Senior Researcher of the Russian Institute of Art History, St Petersburg for her assistance with cataloguing this lot.
Like so many Russian families that emigrated following the 1917 revolution, the Provatoroffs lived in Berlin and Paris before settling in London circa 1925. Joining a burgeoning Russian community, it is highly likely that Peter and his first wife, Marie Fedorovna, were acquainted with Mikhail Braikevich (1874-1940), the art collector and leading patron of Konstantin Somov, whose bequest is the foundation of the rich Russian Art collection kept at The Ashmolean, Oxford.
Archival sources and Somov’s annotated copy of the exhibition catalogue for his 1930 show at the Prince Vladimir Galitzine Gallery, London, reveal that the Provatoroffs rivalled Braikevich in their admiration for Somov and insatiable desire to possess his work. According to Somov’s diary (Private Collection, Moscow), Rainbow (lot 1) was painted on 2-4 and 6 February 1930, a variant of the ‘work, that is in Helsingfors’. Here, Somov refers to one of the earliest incarnations of the composition, an identically-titled work from 1897 which was acquired directly from the artist by Sergei Diaghilev (1872-1929) following its inclusion in his 1898 ‘Exhibition of Russian and Finnish Artists’ that took place in St Petersburg, and subsequently given to the Ateneum Art Museum in Helsinki.
It was not unusual for Somov to return to popular motifs, reworking compositions at the behest of patrons or purely as an improvisational artistic endeavour. However, Somov never slavishly copied earlier work and he, remarkably, maintained the quality of his draftsmanship throughout his career. Lot 1, Rainbow, is an exquisite version of the pictorial trope in miniature, demonstrating Somov’s skill at rendering detail, while maintaining the subtle variances of his tonal palette – in this example the magical gradations of light and air that precipitate a rainbow. Purchased by Marie Provatoroff in April 1931, Rainbow also closely relates to the technicolour oil, The Rainbow, painted in 1927, that was sold by Christie’s for £3,716,000 in June 2007, establishing the world record for the artist.
On 1 September 1932, Marie Provatoroff acquired The dressing-table (lot 2). Somov recorded the work in his diary: ‘watercolour, dressing-table, with a young woman sleeping on the bed reflected in the mirror’ (K. A. Somov’s diary. 1924-1939, Private Collection, Moscow). Somov frequently used mirrors in his compositions, toying with voyeurism and narcissism, and using mundane, yet personal items to create a sense of intimacy. Immediate comparisons can be made with Matin d'été (sold Christie’s London, 5 June 2017, lot 1, £281,000), executed in the same year, yet arguably the brazen sexuality of that work is in opposition to the more innocent sensuality of The dressing-table. In this composition, greater emphasis is placed on the accoutrements that enhance the sleeping beauty’s allure and invent her persona; jewellery, perfume, a diaphanous veil and elegant gloves. Imagination is a powerful tool: Somov teases the viewer with a mere glimpse of the model, introducing a sense of fantasy and an erotic charge to the sugar-coated scene.
Pénible aveu (lot 3) illustrates another aspect of Somov’s artistic oeuvre – his penchant for drama. A lovers’ quarrel, a stolen kiss, a first embrace, Somov’s theatrical tableaux often capture the height of an emotion. Pénible aveu is no different; a story featuring a repentant love and her betrayed suitor can swiftly be read between Somov’s deft brushstrokes. The action is set against Somov’s trademark backdrop of an idealised nature, with birch trees that also serve to frame the composition.
All three exceptional works appear at auction for the first time in history; perhaps the most significant group to appear on the market since The Somov Collection, the sensational sale that took place at Christie’s London in 2007.
We are grateful to Elena Yakovleva, Doctor of Art History, Senior Researcher of the Russian Institute of Art History, St Petersburg for her assistance with cataloguing this lot.