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拍品專文
Portraiture is one of the most prominent genres in the oeuvre of Boris Dmitrievich Grigoriev (1886-1939). From the mid-1910s he was a prolific portraitist and, as was characteristic of the works of Russian painters at the beginning of the twentieth century, often painted children.
Children as a theme first emerged in Grigoriev’s drawings at the beginning of the 1900s. In 1913, the artist made numerous sketches of children in Parisian parks, focussing on their characteristic features rather than superfluous detail.
The birth of his son Cyril (1915-2001) spurred Grigoriev on to pursue child portraiture further. Cyril became his father’s favourite model from birth. These family portraits are probably Grigoriev’s most heartfelt. Cyril and his mother, Grigoriev’s wife Elizaveta (1883-1968), came to symbolise a happy childhood and harmonious family life. This is evident in well-known paintings such as Mother (1915, The State Russian Museum, St Petersburg) and Childhood (1916, The State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow). Another example, Sketch of a Sleeping Boy (1917, Private Collection) was a study for the children depicted in The Peasant Land (1917, The State Russian Museum, St Petersburg) and for the tailpiece to the book Visages de Russie (1923, Paris). From informal, intimate images, Grigoriev created symbolic portraits. In the same way, paintings featuring Cyril such as Child of the World (1920, Private Collection, Russia) and Portrait of the Artist’s Son (1921, Worcester Art Museum, USA), which were exhibited in Europe and America, took on a symbolic character.
Another series of portraits by Grigoriev is that depicting peasant children for his famous cycle Rasseja in 1917-1918. Here the children are in essence nameless, generalised forms, drawn with Grigoriev’s exaggerated and expressive line. By this time, Grigoriev was widely known as a portraitist in Russia. He drew his subjects from life, using real children as models. He depicted boys with high cheekbones and narrowed eyes, girls with wild hair and thin braids. He had a surprisingly effective technique of using lead pencil and lying it flat on the paper, producing a flexible and fuzzy line. Most of these sketches were later used as preparatory drawings for larger paintings or portraits such as Peasant Land and Girl with a Jug (1918, The State Russian Museum, St Petersburg).
In the early 1930s when Portrait d’un jeune garçon was painted, Cyril was already an adult. However, the intimate Portrait of Cyril Grigoriev (circa 1930,
formerly in the collection of K. B. Grigorieva) and the true-to-life depiction My Son (circa 1932, location unknown) share similarities with Portrait d’un jeune garçon. In particular, My Son relates to the present portrait; the full height of a half-naked young man is depicted as if he were an ancient Greek hero. In Portrait d’un jeune garçon, the young boy occupies the chair like a throne, displaying the self-confidence and poise of a mature man. The open expression and wide-eyed gaze of the boy is engaging, yet the overarching impression is that it is the sitter who is engaged with the viewer. All three works are united by the empowered and powerful model, but also by the general stylistics: the classical accuracy, sharpness of form, simplicity of composition and colour palette.
In the 1920-30s Grigoriev was regularly commissioned by his patrons, collectors and sponsors to paint their children. Examples include A Boy in a sailor suit (circa 1923, John Goldsmith) and Les Enfants (1922-1923, Private Collection). While Grigoriev, who had a keen eye for detail, could capture the inner workings of the human soul in its grotesque reality, when it came to drawing children, he became soft and lyrical, completely immersing himself in the psychology of his child-subjects.
We are grateful to Dr Tamara Galeeva, Senior Lecturer at the Ural State University, Ekaterinburg, for providing this catalogue note.
Children as a theme first emerged in Grigoriev’s drawings at the beginning of the 1900s. In 1913, the artist made numerous sketches of children in Parisian parks, focussing on their characteristic features rather than superfluous detail.
The birth of his son Cyril (1915-2001) spurred Grigoriev on to pursue child portraiture further. Cyril became his father’s favourite model from birth. These family portraits are probably Grigoriev’s most heartfelt. Cyril and his mother, Grigoriev’s wife Elizaveta (1883-1968), came to symbolise a happy childhood and harmonious family life. This is evident in well-known paintings such as Mother (1915, The State Russian Museum, St Petersburg) and Childhood (1916, The State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow). Another example, Sketch of a Sleeping Boy (1917, Private Collection) was a study for the children depicted in The Peasant Land (1917, The State Russian Museum, St Petersburg) and for the tailpiece to the book Visages de Russie (1923, Paris). From informal, intimate images, Grigoriev created symbolic portraits. In the same way, paintings featuring Cyril such as Child of the World (1920, Private Collection, Russia) and Portrait of the Artist’s Son (1921, Worcester Art Museum, USA), which were exhibited in Europe and America, took on a symbolic character.
Another series of portraits by Grigoriev is that depicting peasant children for his famous cycle Rasseja in 1917-1918. Here the children are in essence nameless, generalised forms, drawn with Grigoriev’s exaggerated and expressive line. By this time, Grigoriev was widely known as a portraitist in Russia. He drew his subjects from life, using real children as models. He depicted boys with high cheekbones and narrowed eyes, girls with wild hair and thin braids. He had a surprisingly effective technique of using lead pencil and lying it flat on the paper, producing a flexible and fuzzy line. Most of these sketches were later used as preparatory drawings for larger paintings or portraits such as Peasant Land and Girl with a Jug (1918, The State Russian Museum, St Petersburg).
In the early 1930s when Portrait d’un jeune garçon was painted, Cyril was already an adult. However, the intimate Portrait of Cyril Grigoriev (circa 1930,
formerly in the collection of K. B. Grigorieva) and the true-to-life depiction My Son (circa 1932, location unknown) share similarities with Portrait d’un jeune garçon. In particular, My Son relates to the present portrait; the full height of a half-naked young man is depicted as if he were an ancient Greek hero. In Portrait d’un jeune garçon, the young boy occupies the chair like a throne, displaying the self-confidence and poise of a mature man. The open expression and wide-eyed gaze of the boy is engaging, yet the overarching impression is that it is the sitter who is engaged with the viewer. All three works are united by the empowered and powerful model, but also by the general stylistics: the classical accuracy, sharpness of form, simplicity of composition and colour palette.
In the 1920-30s Grigoriev was regularly commissioned by his patrons, collectors and sponsors to paint their children. Examples include A Boy in a sailor suit (circa 1923, John Goldsmith) and Les Enfants (1922-1923, Private Collection). While Grigoriev, who had a keen eye for detail, could capture the inner workings of the human soul in its grotesque reality, when it came to drawing children, he became soft and lyrical, completely immersing himself in the psychology of his child-subjects.
We are grateful to Dr Tamara Galeeva, Senior Lecturer at the Ural State University, Ekaterinburg, for providing this catalogue note.