Ivan Pavlovich Pokhitonov

Collection of Boris Wulffert Pokhitonov, France
Collection of Igor Markevitch
Thence by descent

 

Moscow, The State Tretyakov Gallery, Ivan Pavlovitch Pokhitonov 1850-1923, 1963

Exhibition catalogue, Ivan Pavlovich Pokhitonov 1850-1923, The State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, 1963, p.26
Ivan Pokhitonov. The Artist Sorcerer, The Tretyakov Gallery Magazine, August 2012 (special edition), illustrated p.41 (detail)

There are pinholes to the corners. There are signs of abrasion and rubbings to the lower corners. There is a thin strip of retouching 0.5cm in width running lengthwise along the right edge. UV light reveals aforementioned retouching to the right edge of the panel; further minor area of retouching to the bottom left corner, several spots the lower part of the tree trunks, and infilling about 1cm in length to upper middle of the sky. There is a layer of uneven varnish. Some pigments fluoresce under UV. Held in a bronze coloured frame with velvet.
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Pokhitonov frequently painted using photographs as inspiration, not just of locations or people, but also of his own compositions which he considered successful and had perhaps been sold. There are thus within Pokhitonov's oeuvre numerous repeated compositions of great technical quality, executed even thirty years after his departure from a particular location.

This particular composition depicting two local washerwomen at work by a pond on Pokhitonov's property, is known to exist in only two versions. The Cyrillic inscriptions on the reverse of the second version indicate that it was executed in Russia, and can be dated to the period between 1902 and 1906 when Pokhitonov was staying at his property Zhabovshchina, near Minsk, with his family. On completion he offered it to his companion Evgenia Wulffert.

In 1963 the artist's son Boris dated the present works to the early 1900s, though it is probable the present lot was executed later, either after a photograph or directly after the earlier composition - which, since it had been given to his partner, may well have remained in their home. It seems that Pokhitonov wanted to replicate his composition, even down to the inscription below his signature. The exceptional quality and the attractive subject is self-evident, and Pokhitonov's desire to return to it is unsurprising. The two washerwomen Nastia and Avelina are depicted washing clothes in the spring sunshine. Nature, simple yet majestic, is closely linked to these humble workers, on whom the painter has bestowed dignity and beauty.

We are grateful to Olivier Bertrand, author of the forthcoming catalogue raisonné on Ivan Pokhitonov, for providing this note.