Vasili Dmitrievich Polenov

Private Collection (acquired circa 1930s)
Thence by descent

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com , an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This painting is unlined. The frame is slightly warped and it may need some attention addressing this. The paint layer has most likely never been cleaned and seems to be a little dirty, the sky particularly. There are some tiny losses which have occurred in the reflections in the water on the right side, in a spot center of the painting and perhaps in the upper right corner. In general, this picture should most likely be lined to eliminate the vertical stretcher mark in the center. However, if it were to be cleaned and varnished, although some retouches would be required, the painting would respond very well.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

Vasily Dmitrievich Polenov was a hugely influential figure in late 19th century Russian art. He bridges the gap between masters such as Alexander Ivanov and Karl Brullov and the more recent artists of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including Isaac Levitan and Konstantin Korovin. The latter two studied under Polenov at the Moscow College of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. Of his importance, Levitan commented in a letter to Polenov in 1896: I am convinced that the tradition of painting in Moscow would not have been the same without you (E.V. Paston, Vasily Dmitrievich Polenov, St. Petersburg, 1991, p. 6).

Polenov trained at the Imperial Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg during the 1860s, a revolutionary period for artistic practice. In 1864 a group of the most talented artists had walked out of the Academy in protest against the school's conservative curriculum. In 1871, the year Polenov graduated, the progressive Peredvizhniki society was formed to offer artists a new platform for exhibiting and selling paintings with relative freedom. Polenov did not associate with this group until 1878 when he began to exhibit in their travelling shows. By this time he had travelled much in Western Europe and absorbed new influences in Germany, Italy and France. It was in France that he first decided he was most suited to landscape painting; he became convinced of the expressive potential of plein air painting, a method which became central to his art. By the end of the 1870s he established himself as the foremost exponent of this genre with three masterpieces which have since become classics of late 19th century Russian art: Moskovski Dvorik, Babushkin Sad and Zaros'shi Prud.

Polenov was broadly talented and intellectually curious: he studied law alongside fine arts at the Academy; he was a musician, stating once that he preferred music over art; and he produced plays and designed sets and costumes. His love of architecture and eye for detail may have been inherited from his father, a historian and archaeologist who participated in many excavations of ancient Russian sites. His friendship with the 19th century industrialist Savva Mamontov brought him to Abramtsevo and into the hub of some of the most forward-looking, creative thinkers, artists and musicians of the day. Among the contacts he made there was linguist Mstislav Prakhov, a follower of Schelling and the idealists of the 1840s who believed that art should be beautiful and have a beneficial, positive effect on the viewer. This was central to Polenov's approach throughout his career—as late as 1888, he wrote to Vasnetsov: I believe that art has to promote happiness and joy, otherwise it is not worth anything (ibid p. 6).

The present lot is one of Polenov's best known images. He created various depictions of The River Oyat, and another variation is included in the collection of the F.A. Kovalenko Krasnodarskii Kraevoi Khudozhestvennyi Muzei.