Isaac Benich Rabichev

Yefim Timofeyevich Volkov, Ukraine (acquired directly from the artist in 1922)
Private Collection

This painting has been recently lined, cleaned and retouched. The reason for the lining was the raised cracking to the pigment. The reason for the retouching was driven by three or four horizontal lines of cracking which indicates that this painting was rolled at some point. One of the vertical cracks runs through the right calf of the figure, another one in the lower part of the dress, another also in the lower part of the dress and another as it travels over the hips. Other small retouches are visible in the right forearm, above the arms in the dress and through the neck and chin of the woman herself. The remainder of the face is in beautiful state. The picture is very lively and beautifully preserved, and should be hung as is. 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."

Isaac Rabichev spent his early career in Kiev studying in the studios of visionary artists Alexander Murashko and Alexandra Exter. He promoted the creation of Jewish-centric art, and along with Issachar Ber Rybak, Abraham Manievich, Marc Chagall and Robert Falk, he served as a core member of the Artistic Division of the Jewish Cultural League that was formed in Kiev in 1918. The group sought to fuse traditional Jewish imagery with concurrent, avant-garde techniques. Rabichev moved to Moscow in 1922 with several other members of the group, and there he turned his focus to the theater, collaborating with the State Jewish Chamber Theater in the early 1920s.

The present portrait of Maria Volkova was commissioned in 1922 by her father, Yefim Timofeyevich Volkov, the largest brick manufacturer in Kiev. Rabichev conjures a sense of theatrical drama in this monumental composition; the sharp diagonals of the sitter's contorted pose represent a clear break from salon tradition, and the bold contours and fragmented planes underscore the Cubist influence found in the artist's oeuvre of the early 1920s.