Petr Petrovich Vereshchagin

Private Collection, Russia
Mikhail Kogan Gallery, Finland
Acquired directly from the above by the present owner, circa 1978

This canvas is un-lined and stretched on its original stretcher. The paint layer appears to be slightly dirty and the canvas is relaxed, causing some gentle waves to the surface particularly on the left side. The fine details in the cityscape are all beautifully preserved and there has been no damage from any previous cleanings or the passage of time. There is one restoration in the upper right sky but other than this there appears to be no retouches. The painting is signed twice in the lower right in black and in red on top of one another, and there is another inscription in the lower left. The inscriptions in the lower right are period there is no reason to doubt the inscription in the lower left, but it may be by a later hand nonetheless. 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 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."

By the early 1800s, the St. Petersburg Academy was a world-renowned institution with an increasingly impressive roster of students, graduates and professors including some of the most accomplished masters of their fields, and the majestic skyline and bustling streets of the metropolis became a favorite subject for them all. Petr Petrovich Vereshchagin, an Academy graduate and Academician, traveled widely throughout Russia in the mid-1800s, developing a portfolio of images of the country's oldest cities and towns; most of these works were exhibited at the Academy in the late 1800s. Vereshchagin was particularly compelled by the Russian capital, which he rendered from numerous perspectives and in every condition, and a substantial number of these variations now hang in the collection of the State Russian Museum. The present, panoramic and dazzling View of St. Petersburg is one of the artist's most accomplished canvases of the period; it showcases his ability to capture painstaking detail and render atmospheric depth through perspective, following in the venerable tradition of veduta painting.

View of St. Petersburg comes to auction directly from the collection of Mikhail Baryshnikov.