S/O Benois Collection

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Lot 802
  • 802

Alexander Nikolaevich Benois

Estimate
10,000 - 15,000 GBP
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Description

  • Alexander Nikolaevich Benois
  • The Palace Church at Peterhof
  • signed in Latin and dated 1918-1954 l.r. and dedicated to the artist's grandson, Pierre Braslavsky l.l.

  • watercolour and pencil on paper

  • 36.5 by 58 cm, 14 1/4 by 22 3/4 in.

Condition

The sheet is slightly yellowed and the colours have faded a bit. There are some light spots of foxing to the sky Held in a moulded plaster frame and under 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."

Catalogue Note

'It was at Peterhof that the novel of my life began'... At Peterhof there is something so magical, so dear and poetic, that almost everybody who gets to know it falls under its spell.'

Benois felt a strong connection with the palace of Peterhof. His father Nikolai Benois worked there as an architect for over ten years, and the palace itself harked back to a distant past which Benois and his fellow members of the World of Art group were trying to revive in the arts.

His first sketches of the palace architecture and grounds date from 1900 when Benois was preparing his history of eighteenth century art. He spent another summer there in 1907 and, fearing that Russia's cultural landmarks might be destroyed in a wave of post-Revolutionary vandalism, returned again in 1918 to record Peterhof in an extensive series of sketches and lithographs. Finally in 1942, Benois put together an album of views of Peterhof dedicated to his wife which drew together a number of his earlier studies as well as some new works based on his original sketches.