Marie Vassilieff, 1884-1957

Having abandoned her medical studies in St. Petersburg to concentrate on fine art, Marie Vassilieff emigrated to Paris in 1907 and became a pupil of Henri Matisse. Her work as a correspondent for several Russian Newspapers in Paris was instrumental in promoting Matisse’s work amongst Russian art collectors such as Schukhin. Indeed, it was as a result of her friendships with important Parisian art critics and collectors that her studio on 21, Avenue de Maine became a meeting place for some of Paris’ foremost artists including Picasso, Modigliani, Braque and Matisse himself.

Like many Russian émigré artists, Vassilieff did not completely abandon the culture of her homeland. Icons, lubki woodcuts and folklore served as a constant source of inspiration. The Celebration, with its primitivist simplicity, is a case in point. Vassilieff plays on the ambiguity of her imagery: the doves, the crown, the repetition of trinities to produce a composition which is at the same time both secular and spiritual, an effect heightened by the pallid overall tone of the work and its fresco-like texture.