Leopold Survage

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com , an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This painting is still stretched on its original stretcher. There is one old patch in the lower left which may not correspond to any actual paint loss or damage to the surface. The remainder of the piece seems to be completely unrestored. There is some vertical cracking through the centerwhich is slightly visible and the picture is quite dirty. Although it could be hung as it is, this picture will respond well to cleaning and also some effort to diminish the cracking in the middle.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

Leopold Survage studied at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. By 1906 he was closely tied to Zolotoie Runo (Golden Fleece), an innovative magazine dedicated to Russian Symbolism and the avant-garde while emphasizing international, particularly French, influence on Russian Art. The magazine's heightened focus on the international art scene induced Survage to travel to Western Europe and in 1909 he settled in Paris, working as a piano tuner while attending Henri Mattisse's school.

Survage exhibited with the Jack of Diamonds avant-garde group in Moscow in 1910 and in Paris at the Salon d'Automne in 1911.  Elements of Cubism and Surrealism are abundant in works from this period, including the present painting, Nice, dated 1926. Intersecting and juxtaposed lines create a picture within a picture, revealing an almost hidden reality beneath the static background landscape. The structural depiction and repetition of each element—tree, house, sky, leaf—create a simultaneous disconnect and cohesion in each element's relationship with the other, suggesting a distracted unity of sorts.