Nikolai Petrovich Bogdanov-Belsky, 1868-1945

The collection of August Baumanis, Riga 1925;
Thence by descent to previous owner

Nikolai Bogdanov-Belsky studied in the Academies of Arts of both Moscow and St. Petersburg under Vassily Polenov, Vladimir Makovsky and Ilya Repin and from 1890 until 1918 regularly exhibited with the Wanderers. He was honoured with the title of Academician in 1903 and his depictions of children, important society figures and still lifes executed in their unique style have become some of the most iconic images of early Russian impressionism.

This striking work was executed in the 1920s and is a fine example of Bogdanov-Belsky's still life painting at its very best. Painted a few years after Reading in the Garden, the artist returns to the subject of Chrysanthemums, which seem to rival the sitter as the subject of his earlier vibrant composition (Fig. 1) The over-sized oval format allows the artist to show off his skill as a colourist and revel in the delicate chromatic variations of the enormous flowers cascading from the cobalt-blue vase. Bogdanov-Belsky uses the light to emphasise the various textures within the composition, from the reflections on the smooth porcelain to the density of petals in the flower heads.  The slight displacement of the vase to the right adds a great sense of space and contrasting tone of the dark interior serves to heighten the luminous quality of the bouquet.

The offered lot comes to auction from the collection of August Baumanis, a successful engineer and yacht club owner, who purchased this painting at the 1925 exhibition of Bogdanov-Belsky’s work in Riga. He was great friends with the artist and later commissioned Bogdanov-Belsky to paint a portrait of his wife.