- 187
Alexander Evgenievich Yakovlev, 1887-1938
Description
- Alexander Evgenievich Yakovlev
- a travel sketchbook containing 85 drawings including 12 self portraits on loose sheets
- some signed, one stamped with artist's Chinese cypher, others variously inscribed, the inside cover dated May 1919; the outer board numbered 71
pencil on paper, some heightened with watercolour
- 176 by 105mm., 7 by 4in.
Provenance
Sandra Yakovlev, the artist's sister
Acquired from the above by the present owners
Condition
"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
In December 1923, Yakovlev wrote to his mentor, the artist Dmitri Kardovsky,
"I organised an exhibition in Shanghai. Although only a few works sold, I received many portrait commissions; this allowed me to settle my debts and leave for Japan, where I spent a wonderful summer on the island of Oshima."
During this trip to Japan in 1919, Alexander Yakovlev took great pleasure in sketching scenes from daily life: priests with shaved heads; women bent double under the weight of their heavy bundles; sumo-wrestlers with powerful physiques; scenes from the theatre; men fishing for seaweed.
Travelling everywhere with his sketch-book and pencils he was acutely observant of his surroundings and created a marvellously human study of Japan at this time. Typically, he heightened his studies with watercolour and inscribes them with notes on the colour of his subject's clothes. This sketch-book provided Yakovlev with a wealth of precious preparatory material which would form the basis of important compositions such as Fishermen on the Island of Oshima, Kurumaya or the actors from Kabuki.
Images of Japanese society continued to provide Yakovlev with inspiration for many years following this trip. The book on the Japanese theatre which he begun in 1922 along with Serge Eliseff took over 10 years to complete before its publication in 1933.
The offered sketch-book also contains twelve loose self-portraits drawn in Paris and Port-Cros during the 1920s.
We are grateful to Caroline Haardt de la Baume for providing this note