Lot 75: Nikolai Alexandrovich Ionin, 1890-1948 , View onto Nevsky Prospect from the Fontanka

signed in Cyrillic l.l. oil on canvas

65 by 50cm., 25½ by 19¾in.

Executed in a typically restricted palette of red, sky blue and yellow ochre, this wonderful cityscape displays the stylistic influences of Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin, whose studio Ionin joined in 1921. The sense of heightened reality conveyed by the strong lines and bright tones combines with the distanced perspective to create an elegant feel in this composition.

On the left of the picture above Annichkov bridge is the hosue of literary critic Belinsky. To the right, the bright pink facade of the Beloselsky-Belozersky palace is visible.