.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
From March 1931 to April 1932 Alexandre Iacovleff (1887-1938), the notable Russo-French artist, travelled to Central Asia as part of an expedition known as la croisière jaune. It took more than a year to make the long and arduous journey through Syria, Iraq, Persia, Afghanistan, Kashmir, the Himalayas, Pamir, Xinjiang, Gansu, Mongolia and Indochina by train, which had been equipped by the company, Citroën. In that time the artist created an immense number of landscape studies, drawings, and landscapes. Upon his return to Paris, the artist worked on canvases in preparation for a large-scale exhibition: in essence, his artistic report on the expedition. Iacovleff had already given thought to these canvases while still in Asia. In his travel notes, he remarked that “upon my arrival to Paris I intend to paint a set of large decorative panels, among which, of course, the panel with the Persian nomadic Kurds should occupy a spot” (A. Iacovleff, Putevye zapiski o puteshestvii po Azii v ekspeditsii avtomobil’nogo obshchesvta “Citroen” [Travel notes of my journey through Asia as part of the Citroen expedition]).
The exhibition took place in Paris at the Galerie J. Charpentier Gallery from 16 May to 4 June 1933. The number of works exhibited is striking: judging by the catalogue, the exhibition included 136 paintings and 240 drawings, all of which had been created over the course of two years, and that was far from the end of the artist’s creative period known as the la croisière jaune. Portraits, landscapes and genre compositions dominated the exhibition. Often the artist united multiple genres in one work, as evidenced by Nomades Kurdes dans les défilés du Zagros, which, in the artist’s own words, depicted “the most beautiful part of Persia” (ibid.): the Zagros mountain range, which is located in the south-western part of the Iranian highlands, with its deep canyons and steep slopes.
The artist’s desire to cover as much of the panorama of the mountain landscape, with its glorious, green valleys, inspired Iacovleff to choose the specific format of the panel. In his travel notes, Iacovleff wrote that the elongated panel would best convey the “impression of space”, and subsequently, the “large landscape panel will best characterise our journey” (ibid.). The combination of the panoramic, mountainous forest with the silhouettes of the nomadic Kurds returning from their Mesopotamian pastures is referred to in the composition’s title. The figures, wandering from place to place with their livestock, organically coexist alongside the landscape, and within this composition the artist succeeds in sharing his delight with the viewer at witnessing this beatific vision.
We are grateful to Elena Yakovleva, Doctor of Art History, Senior Researcher of the Russian Institute of Art History, St Petersburg for providing this catalogue note.
The exhibition took place in Paris at the Galerie J. Charpentier Gallery from 16 May to 4 June 1933. The number of works exhibited is striking: judging by the catalogue, the exhibition included 136 paintings and 240 drawings, all of which had been created over the course of two years, and that was far from the end of the artist’s creative period known as the la croisière jaune. Portraits, landscapes and genre compositions dominated the exhibition. Often the artist united multiple genres in one work, as evidenced by Nomades Kurdes dans les défilés du Zagros, which, in the artist’s own words, depicted “the most beautiful part of Persia” (ibid.): the Zagros mountain range, which is located in the south-western part of the Iranian highlands, with its deep canyons and steep slopes.
The artist’s desire to cover as much of the panorama of the mountain landscape, with its glorious, green valleys, inspired Iacovleff to choose the specific format of the panel. In his travel notes, Iacovleff wrote that the elongated panel would best convey the “impression of space”, and subsequently, the “large landscape panel will best characterise our journey” (ibid.). The combination of the panoramic, mountainous forest with the silhouettes of the nomadic Kurds returning from their Mesopotamian pastures is referred to in the composition’s title. The figures, wandering from place to place with their livestock, organically coexist alongside the landscape, and within this composition the artist succeeds in sharing his delight with the viewer at witnessing this beatific vision.
We are grateful to Elena Yakovleva, Doctor of Art History, Senior Researcher of the Russian Institute of Art History, St Petersburg for providing this catalogue note.