Alexander Evgenievich Yakovlev

A gift from the artist's sister, Sandra Iacovleff, to the present owner

A. Iacovleff, Dessins et Peintures d'Asie. Croquis et Notes de Voyage. Paris: Lucien Vogel, 1934
G. Le Fèvre, La Croisière Jaune, Plon, 1933
G. Le Fèvre, "La rencontre au coeur de l'Asie", L'Illustration, N° 4647, Paris, 26 March 1932
M. Owen Williams, First Over the Roof of the World by Motor, The National Geographic Magazine, Washington D.C., March 1932
M. Owen Williams, From the Mediterranean to the Yellow Sea by Motor, The National Geographic Magazine, Washington D.C., November 1932
C. Haardt de La Baume, Alexandre Iacovleff, l'artiste voyageur, Paris: Flammarion, 2000

 

The canvas has been laid on board. There is a layer of light surface dirt and discoloured varnish and minor paint abrasions along the edges. UV light reveals retouching along the edges and to the corners. Held in a silver painted wood frame behind glass. Unexamined out of frame.
"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."

It makes no difference when the word 'Asia' was spoken for the first time! Was not everything that is unknown about this enigmatic continent an influence on our eager quest for mystery?

The artist cited in Dessins et Peintures d'Asie. Croquis et Notes de Voyage, Paris: Lucien Vogel, 1934.

Alexander Yakovlev painted the offered lot around 12 September 1931 in his capacity as official painter of La Croisière jaune or 'Yellow Cruise', and at a crucial stage in the expedition.

The team had crossed the Himalayas through the Burzil pass at an altitude of over 4200 metres, a feat that required superhuman and, at times, spectacular effort.  They had to contend with floods on the Jelhum river at Srinagar, fatal snow avalanches at Burzil; they were forced to disassemble their half-track vehicles and have them carried piece by piece by the coolies, and, in spite of these obstacles, the Pamir explorers, under the leadership of Georges-Marie Haardt, still succeeded in conquering the tallest mountain range on earth, a feat never before attempted with motorised vehicles.  Their urgent mission was to rescue Victor Point and his companions, who had been imprisoned by Field Marshal King in Sinkiang.

The explorers entered Central Asia by the traditional nomadic route of the Vakhdir Pass.  Following the mythical Silk Road, traced centuries earlier by the Chinese pilgrim Hiuen Tsang and the Venetian Marco Polo, they reached the impossibly beautiful region named "The Roof of the World".  Somewhere between heaven and earth, in the frosty solitude of a land where snow falls all year round, the men of the Croisière jaune advanced in silence, and discovered a half-worn inscription on a rock signposting the Vakhdir Pass, the natural frontier that separates the waters of Tarim and Amu-Daria, the Great Divide between China and Russia.

What were Yakovlev's thoughts upon reaching the highest crossroads on the planet, looking out over India, Afghanistan, Russia and China? At this "idyllic, grandiose and indeterminate frontier" as it was described by the Croisière Jaune historian, Georges Le Fèvre, the intersection of countries also marks the distribution of races; it is the gateway at which the Aryan world ends and is replaced by the land of Turks and Mongols, and the sedentary way of life gives way to the nomadic one.  The first people they encountered a few hundred metres from the roof of the world were the Kirghiz, whose freedom so fascinated Yakovlev that he made them the subject of several compositions.

In the offered lot, Yakovlev pays homage to these people by recreating a utopian, almost unreal landscape, where the viewer is lost in a sea of clouds, and intoxicated by the purity of the air. Emerging in the distance are the perennially snow-capped mountain peaks, dominating the grassy valley and Subashi steppe where the nomads have set up their yurts.  Yaks and horses graze peacefully; a solitary Kirghiz family has settled in the camp.  Clad in boots and hats and wrapped in sheepskin, men with high cheekbones and slanting eyebrows greet the explorers. 

For the first time since leaving Beirut in April 1931, the travellers saw Muslim women with their smiling faces uncovered.  As ancient Muslim tradition forbids the depiction of human features, portraits of women had thus far been out of the question.  Indeed it is rare to find female figures in the collection of works Yakovlev brought back from the Croisière Jaune, yet here, the Kirghiz women happily agreed to pose for the painter.

With their infants in their arms and accompanied by a little boy, they reveal a scene from their daily life, a scene both touching in its intimate portrayal of maternal instinct and awe-inspiring in its depiction of nature at its most grandiose.  Sporting astonishing head-dresses of immaculate white cotton, typical of the Subashi steppe people, their embroidered dresses are adorned with magnificent coral and silver jewels. Behind them is a heap of stones and tree branches laced with strands of horsehair and little shreds of fabric.  This is an obo, a tomb where nomads are laid to rest after a long life of travel, choosing for their final journey a place of breathtaking beauty.

Yakovlev adapted his painting technique to suit the weather conditions and the demands of life as a traveller. He chose to paint in tempera, learning to grind it himself. These quick-drying colours allowed him to work swiftly and immediately store and protect his finished pictures.  However, the cold was the artist's worst enemy, which numbed his hands and froze the paint.  But Yakovlev devised an ingenious solution to keep his colours in a liquid state and, with the help of one of the expedition mechanics, fashioned a palette of sheet metal positioned above a petrol stove.

To be included in the forthcoming Alexander Yakovlev Catalogue raisonné  being prepared by Caroline Haardt de La Baume.

We are grateful to Caroline Haardt de La Baume for providing the note for this lot.