- 264
Natalia Sergeevna Goncharova
Estimate
60,000 - 80,000 GBP
bidding is closed
Description
- Natalia Sergeevna Goncharova
- La Princesse Cygne, Study for a Panel in the Koussevitzky Villa
- signed in Latin l.l.; further numbered MLF094 on the reverse
- charcoal on paper
- image size: 82 by 64cm, 33 by 25 1/4 in.
- Executed circa 1922
Provenance
Lefebvre-Foinet Collection
Condition
The edges are slightly uneven and the sheet is undulating slightly. Light foxing is visible in places. There is a light covering of surface dirt. Held in a simple wooden frame behind plexiglass. Unexamined out of frame.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
Catalogue Note
The present lot is a study for the largest panel from the Koussevitzky villa which decorated the top of the stairs. Very suitably for the house of a Russian composer, it represents a conflation of the characters of the Swan Princess from the opera The Tale of Tsar Saltan, based on a tale by Pushkin, and Odette from the ballet Swan Lake. Goncharova draws inspiration from Mikhail Vrubel's 1900 symbolist masterpiece Swan Princess (State Tretyakov Gallery) in which he depicts his opera-singer wife in the character, at the very moment where she emerges from the sea. The composition of the finished panel is almost identical to that of the present lot suggesting that this was the final study and the very drawing Goncharova used to transfer her ideas in charcoal on to canvas.
In this work we can see the coming together of several strands of Goncharova’s creativity. There are references to her work on past and future projects both in the fields of book illustration and theatre design and we can see the genesis of the seeds of new ideas. Although stylistically very different from the lubok-influenced designs, the overall treatment of the subject closely relates to Goncharova's Swan Princess illustration for The Tale of Tsar Saltan, published in 1921 by La Sirène in Paris.
In the background on the left is visible the magical island city of Ledenets which the Swan Princess raises from the waters in gratitude to Prince Gvidon for killing the kite which attacked her when she was disguised as a swan. With its cluster of spindly towers and onion domes, the city is instantly recognisable as prefiguring the famous curtain design for the 1926 production of the Firebird in London. The finished panel shows that Goncharova rejected this initial idea instead changing the architecture into a mediaeval city of a Western fairy tale.
We are grateful to Evgenia Ilyukhina for providing additional catalogue information.
In this work we can see the coming together of several strands of Goncharova’s creativity. There are references to her work on past and future projects both in the fields of book illustration and theatre design and we can see the genesis of the seeds of new ideas. Although stylistically very different from the lubok-influenced designs, the overall treatment of the subject closely relates to Goncharova's Swan Princess illustration for The Tale of Tsar Saltan, published in 1921 by La Sirène in Paris.
In the background on the left is visible the magical island city of Ledenets which the Swan Princess raises from the waters in gratitude to Prince Gvidon for killing the kite which attacked her when she was disguised as a swan. With its cluster of spindly towers and onion domes, the city is instantly recognisable as prefiguring the famous curtain design for the 1926 production of the Firebird in London. The finished panel shows that Goncharova rejected this initial idea instead changing the architecture into a mediaeval city of a Western fairy tale.
We are grateful to Evgenia Ilyukhina for providing additional catalogue information.