Lot 269: Alexei Gavrilovich Venetsianov, 1780-1847 , First steps oil on canvas

signed in Cyrillic l.l., dated 1839 and inscribed S: Safonkovo oil on canvas

52 by 60.5cm., 20½ by 23¾in.

Paris, Exposition russe d'art ancein et moderne: peinture, sculpture, eddins des maitres anciens, emaux, tapisseries, meubles , 1921, Salle No. 2
Paris, Salle Pleyel, Exposition Pouchkine organisée par Serge Lifar , 1937

Ex.Cat. Exposition russe d'art ancein et moderne: peinture, sculpture, eddins des maitres anciens, emaux, tapisseries, meubles, Paris: Helikon, 1921, p. 26 (ill.)

The Duke of Leuchtenberg,1921
A.A. and V.E. Popov, Paris

"Portray things only as they appear in nature, and obey her alone", wrote Alexei Venetsianov, clearly signalling a break with the tradition of academic art. However, in 'obeying nature' Venetsianov did not merely reproduce it, but allowed the viewer to sense the poetry of realism. His images portray the harmony of everyday life, a concept so idealised by his generation. The world of Venetsianov is old fashioned and idyllic. There are no dramatic events or dynamic subjects. Instead, his compositions are characterised by a great stillness and his subjects are always at one with nature, engaged in their daily activities. It is this quality which makes Venetsianov's images particularly meaningful. The artist lovingly creates the simple scenes of peasant life and First Steps (Peasant Woman with Child) is naturally part of that cycle. This tender group portrait is simply a joyful perception of the world and mankind. The artist interlaces planes of darkness and light, masterfully conveying depth and space. Venetsianov makes use of the natural contrasts created by the sun's rays, but typically emphasises the fall of light through complex colour variations. It is very rare for any of Venetsianov's works to exist in variant forms. Artist's copies can be found in the State Russian Museum and State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow both of which have been dated to the 1930s by Alexei Savinov, who was also the first to note the presence of a third canvas. (A.Savinov, Aleksei Gavrilovich Venetsianov. Zhizn' i tvorchestvo. Moscow, 1955, p.217). The discovery of this lost work, offered here for the first time on the international market, is the only version to be signed and dated and constitutes a major discovery for the understanding of Venetsianov's artistic practice. Tatyana Alekseeva compares First Steps with Venetsianov's Mother playing with Child, which appears in an account of the Imperial Academy of Arts, printed in Severnaya pchela, 1833, no.25 (Alekseeva, T. V., Tvorchestvo Venetsianova na rubezhe 1820-1830-kh godov. Soobshcheniya Instituta istorii iskusstv - 8. Zhivopis', skulptura. Moscow, 1957, pp.36-53). On this basis, the curator of the Venetsianov anniversary exhibition in 1983 dated both variants to the beginning of the 1830s. (Aleksei Gavrilovich Venetsianov. 1780-1847. Vystavka proizvedeniy k 200-letiyu so dnya rozhdeniya. Katalog. Leningrad, 1983, p.46, images 130-131). The work from the Rostropovich -Vishnevskaya was formerly in the collection of Grand Duke Leuchtemberg and was shown at the 1921 Exhibition of Russian Art in Paris organised by Grigory Lukomsky. This exceptional work is distinguished by its delicate composition and expressive range of colour. The paint surface is smooth and even, a quality entirely in keeping with the artist's later period. The 1937 dating only serves to confirm this.