Mstislav Valerianovich Dobuzhinsky

Arthur F. Hamann, Riga and Germany

E.Gollerbakh, The Drawings of M.Dobuzhinsky, Moscow, St Petersburg: Gosudarstvennoe Izdatel'stvo, 1923, p.100 listed under works for 1922

The sheet appears sound. There is evidence of some water damage and adhesive to the lower part of the sheet on the reverse, which is not visible from the front. There is a pinhole to the top right corner and to the right hand edge with very minor associated staining. There is a small repaired tear to the left edge of the sheet and to the bottom right hand corner. There is a minor tear to the left vertical edge and upper horizontal edge of the sheet. The sheet has slightly discoloured. There is some surface dirt and minor surface scratches. Held in a simple frame behind glass. Unexamined out of frame.
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The period between 1918-1923 is acknowledged as Dobuzhinsky's most productive in terms of illustration and other graphic art, but 'perhaps the most fruitful year of his entire life in terms of his drawing was 1922' (S.Makovsky, Grafika M.V.Dobuzhinskogo, Petropolis, 1924, p.53). In that year he produced a famous series of cityscapes of St Petersburg, Vitebsk and Pskov. Chugunov lists six watercolours of Pskov under 1922. (G.Chugunov, Mstislav Valerianovich Dobuzhinsky, Leningrad: Khudozhnik RSFSR, 1984, p.253).

The Vitesbk and Pskov series were extremely important, notes Chugunov, 'but worth special mention is Pskov, The Fish Market. The combination of the horizontal planes of sprawling stalls angled towards the ground, together with the massive but light cathedral towering above, appealed to the artist greatly'. He produced a superb lithograph of the composition (see G.Chugunov, M.V.Dobuzhinsky, Leningrad: Khudozhnik RSFSR, 1988, p.62) and a larger oil painting, also listed in Gollerbakh under his 1922 works. It is possible that the present lot was exhibited in Riga in 1930 at his large personal exhibition as no.42 Pleskava / Pskov  as part of his Russian Provinces cycle.

Uneven planes, rooftops and human disarray are recurring elements in Dobuzhinsky's graphic work. He was the first Russian artist to discover the theme of the city and was able to create an acute and expressive language to convey it. His famous St Isaac's in a Snowstorm (1922) finds parallels in the present view of Pskov - the majesty of the cathedral in the snow versus the trappings of the everyday elements of city life in the foreground. Colour is used sparingly, but to great effect: the deep inky reds and greens a counterpoint to the muted tones elsewhere and of the sheet itself.

Dobuzhinsky emigrated to Lithuania in 1924, where he obtained citizenship, and lived and work in the Baltic countries for many years. He exhibited throughout Europe until his death in 1957, but it is entirely possible that Hamann acquired the present work in Riga itself where Dobuzhinsky exhibited several times during the 1920s: in December 1924 – January 1925 at the Riga City Museum, twice in 1925 and twice again in 1930.