- 354
Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin
Estimate
60,000 - 80,000 USD
bidding is closed
Description
- Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin
- Waiting, 1904
- inscribed in Cyrillic (lower right); signed and titled in Cyrillic, dated 1904 and inscribed 24 x 32.5 (on the reverse)
watercolor and ink on paper
- 9 5/8 by 13 1/8 in.
- 24.4 by 33.3 cm
Provenance
Collection of the Artist's widow, Leningrad
Acquired directly from the above by the present owner in the 1950s
Acquired directly from the above by the present owner in the 1950s
Catalogue Note
Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin was one of the major Russian painters of the beginning of the twentieth century, creating a highly distinctive and original style that fused elements of traditional Russian icon painting with late-nineteenth/early-twentieth-century Symbolism. Petrov-Vodkin's first exposure to art came from a local icon painter whom he used to watch as a child. In 1895 Petrov-Vodkin was enrolled in the Baron Stieglitz School for Technical Drawing in St. Petersburg, and beginning in the summer of 1897 he continued his art studies at the School of Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture in Moscow. From 1901 to 1907 he traveled a great deal in Europe, and was especially impressed by Italian Early Renaissance painting. Petrov-Vodkin studied privately at the Azbè School in Munich (1901), and in various art studios in Paris (1905-08). At the end of 1908, Petrov-Vodkin returned to Russia, and permanently settled in St. Petersburg. From 1910 to 1924, he was a member of the World of Art group and also belonged to the Four Arts Society. He taught at the E. N. Zvantseva School in St. Petersburg (1910-17), and was a professor at the Academy of Fine Arts between 1918 and 1933.
Petrov-Vodkin's artistic career underwent several stylistic developments. One of its earliest phases was Symbolism, exemplified by the watercolor Ozhidanie (Waiting). It was in Paris that Petrov-Vodkin became a Symbolist painter, incorporating various formal tendencies practiced by French Symbolist artists such as Pierre Puvis de Chavannes and the members of the Nabis group. Petrov-Vodkin made thousands of drawings in Paris, writing: "I do not think that there remains a position of the human body which would not have been sketched in my albums."
Each of Petrov-Vodkin's works was preceded by many studies. In late 1907, he began to work on two Symbolist paintings, one of which is Shore. Although Waiting was not created as a study for Shore, the two works are close in style. Depicting a solitary, pensive, androgynous figure in nature, Waiting is characterized by an abbreviated, abstracted rendering of space and a decorative juxtaposition of linear arabesque and pattern. A muted color scheme, an almost unearthly landscape, and the light movement of the figure all contribute to the work's contemplative mood and mysterious atmosphere. The idyllic image was constructed without any reference to real time or space, transforming the work into a timeless representation infused with a sense of perfect harmony. Waiting's formless quality was the result of the artist's attempt to capture a spiritual rather than concrete reality.
Petrov-Vodkin's artistic career underwent several stylistic developments. One of its earliest phases was Symbolism, exemplified by the watercolor Ozhidanie (Waiting). It was in Paris that Petrov-Vodkin became a Symbolist painter, incorporating various formal tendencies practiced by French Symbolist artists such as Pierre Puvis de Chavannes and the members of the Nabis group. Petrov-Vodkin made thousands of drawings in Paris, writing: "I do not think that there remains a position of the human body which would not have been sketched in my albums."
Each of Petrov-Vodkin's works was preceded by many studies. In late 1907, he began to work on two Symbolist paintings, one of which is Shore. Although Waiting was not created as a study for Shore, the two works are close in style. Depicting a solitary, pensive, androgynous figure in nature, Waiting is characterized by an abbreviated, abstracted rendering of space and a decorative juxtaposition of linear arabesque and pattern. A muted color scheme, an almost unearthly landscape, and the light movement of the figure all contribute to the work's contemplative mood and mysterious atmosphere. The idyllic image was constructed without any reference to real time or space, transforming the work into a timeless representation infused with a sense of perfect harmony. Waiting's formless quality was the result of the artist's attempt to capture a spiritual rather than concrete reality.