- 9
Valentin Alexandrovich Serov
Estimate
200,000 - 300,000 GBP
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Description
- Valentin Alexandrovich Serov
- Portrait of a Lady said to be Maria Vasilievna Yakunchikova
- signed in Cyrillic and dated 92 t.l.; further authenticated by the artist's wife in Cyrillic on the reverse
- oil on canvas
- 65 by 46cm, 25 1/2 by 18in.
Provenance
Acquired by the father of the present owners circa 1950
Condition
Structural condition: The canvas is unlined and is securely attached to a keyed wooden stretcher. This is providing an even and stable structural support. There is an inscription on the reverse towards the lower horizontal edge. Paint surface: The paint surface has an even and slightly discoloured varnish layer. Inspection under ultra-violet light does not appear to show evidence of any retouching. Summary: The painting would therefore appear to be in very good and stable condition and no further work is required.
"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."
"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."
Catalogue Note
The present portrait is thought to depict Maria Vasilievna Yakunchikova (1870-1902), a close friend of the Abramtsevo group and an artist in her own right. The rounded features, hair and eyes of the sitter are very similar to contemporary photographs of Yakunchikova. She was the subject of a number of works by her contemporaries including At Tea by Konstantin Korovin, and Serov is known to have painted her sister in 1887. Maria Vasilievna would often spend the summers in Russia staying with her parents near Zvenigorod, but since she suffered from tuberculosis she was based principally in France from the late 1880s until moving to Switzerland in 1900 where she died two years later. The present work is thought to have been in her private collection and was already in the West and therefore not known to Grabar when he put together his incomplete monograph on the artist.
Olga Serova outlived her husband, and passed away in 1927 in Kuokkala, Finland. The inscription on the reverse is thought to date from the late 1920s.
We are grateful to Dr Galina Churak of The State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, for providing additional cataloguing information.