Lot 803
  • 803

Alexander Nikolaevich Benois

Estimate
20,000 - 30,000 GBP
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Description

  • Alexander Nikolaevich Benois
  • The Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre, St. Petersburg beneath the snow
  • signed and titled in Latin and dated 1945 l.r.; further signed, titled and inscribed on the reverse and numbered 103
  • watercolour on paper
  • 43 by 58 cm, 17 by 22 3/4 in.

Literature

For an illustration of a comparable work from 1885 please see the frontispiece of A.Benois, Reminiscences of the Russian Ballet, London: Putnam, 1945

Condition

The sheet has a couple of tears to the right hand edge and has been trimmed unevenly along the lower edge. There are pinholes to the top corner. The paper has discoloured a little on the reverse. The colours are fairly fresh. Held in a painted wood frame and under glass.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Catalogue Note

'It was especially in the dead months of winter that the people of Petersburg indulged in gaiety and laughter. The season was then at its peak - the theatres open, the ballrooms crowded, the main feasts celebrated; Christmas, Twelfth Night, Carnival week. Winter was awe-inspiring in Petersburg, but it was in Petersburg too that it was transformed into something pleasing and magnificent.'

The present depiction of the Bolshoi Kammeny Theatre at night is a rare and magnificent example of this sense of pageantry and the city transfigured. The theatre, originally constructed to Antonio Rinaldi's design in 1783, was rebuilt and modified after a fire in 1811 by Thomas de Thomon and Giacommo Quarenghi and remodelled in 1836 by Benois' maternal grandfather, Alberto Cavos. Only a few hundred yards from Benois' parent's house, the theatre was a vitally important element of Benois' upbringing - not simply a building, but 'the place of my initiation... the object of my cravings, my aspirations and my temple indeed'. The colonnaded entrance, which thronged with a constant stream of carriages, corresponded exactly to his idea of a temple, and from a young age he greatly admired its architecture, the 'magnificent portico, the great Ionic pillars under which carriages drove up, so that people could descend right to the door of the theatre. The rest of the building seemed to me to contain fabulous treasures.'