Robert Rafaelovich Falk

Shabshai Collection
Donated by Maria Shabshai to the Uri and Rami Nechushtan Museum, Kibbutz Ashdot Yaacov Hameuhad, 1965
Acquired from the above by the present owner

Structural Condition The canvas is unlined on what would appear to be the original wooden fixed stretcher. As the stretcher is fixed rather than keyed it is slightly slack and loose and restretching would be beneficial. The canvas itself is, however, very secure and stable and lining would certainly not be required. Paint Surface The paint surface is very dry and there are small losses around the framing edges and one tiny fleck of paint loss in the central tree. There are very slight horizontal stretcher bar lines which are entirely stable and not visually distracting. The paint surface should respond well to cleaning and revarnishing. The paint surface fluoresces unevenly under ultra-violet light due to the nature of the artist's materials but there is no evidence of retouchings having been applied in the past. Summary The painting therefore appears to be in very good condition with the potential for considerable improvement should the painting be cleaned and revarnished.
"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."

Robert Falk is widely recognised as one of the most interesting artists of his generation. He studied at the private studios of Konstantin Yuon and Ilya Mashkov and then in 1905 entered the Moscow School of Painting, Art and Architecture, where he was strongly influenced by Valentin Serov and Konstantin Korovin. He was among the founding members of the Jack of Diamonds in the 1910s, a Moscow avant-garde group with Paul Cézanne as their inspiration, though as this painting demonstrates, he was equally affected by the Fauves and the Expressionists. As he wrote in his autobiography 'I liked bright, contrasting colours, unified pronounced shapes... by distortion of form I tried to accentuate emotional eloquence' (cited by A.E.Shchekin-Krotova, Moi Falk, HGS, Moscow, 2005, p.26).

The offered lot is typical of Falk's early oeuvre, not only in terms of energy and style, but also the subject: he painted several forest landscapes during this period and this is one of the most impressive variations on this theme. The layers of contrasting colour, composed of parallel brushstrokes and sharp impasto, convey tension and dynamism which is certainly beautiful - yet also alarming. The disturbing blaze glowing in the background is redolent of Russia's turbulent post-revolutionary era, indeed of the confusion and disillusionment felt throughout Europe, which Falk voices without resorting to narrative.

The artist Maria Shabshai (1890-1983) was a founder and director of the Museum of Jewish Art and History in Paris from 1948 to 1974. In the 1927 she emigrated to France with her husband, Alexander Kagan-Shabshai, the brother of the famous Moscow collector, Iakob Kagan-Shabshai, a twentieth century Pavel Tretyakov. Falk had known Maria and Alexander in Moscow and when he arrived in Paris in 1928 it was they who helped him to settle in. "I rely on the help of friends here" wrote Falk in a letter "especially the Shabshais" (R.Falk Besedy ob iskusstve. Pis'ma. Vospominaniya o khudozhnike, Moscow, 1981, p.79). Another of Falk's pictures from the Shabshai collection, 'Trees' (1917), was presented to the Israel Museum, Jerusalem in 1950.

We are grateful to Yulia Didenko, the author of Falk's catalogue raisonné, for providing additional cataloguing information, and to Lecia Voiskoun, curator of The Maria and Michael Zetlin Russian Art Museum, Ramat-Gan, Israel, for writing this note.