Dmitri Semenovich Stelletsky

Acquired directly from the artist by the family of the present owner

Venice, XIIa Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte della città di Venezia, 1920, Russian Section, no.59
Paris, Galerie La Boétie, Exposition des artistes russes, 1921, no.239
Paris, Salon d'Automne, November-December 1921, no.237
Brussels, Palais des Beaux-Arts, Exposition d'art russe ancien et moderne, 1928, no.910

Exhibition catalogue XIIa Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte della città di Venezia, Rome-Milan-Venice: Bestetti e Tumminelli, 1920, p.140, no.59 listed
Exhibition catalogue Exposition de l'art russe, Paris, 1921, no.237 listed
Exhibition catalogue Exposition des oeuvres des artistes russes, Paris: M. de Brunoff, 1921, no.239 listed
Exhibition catalogue Exposition d'art russe ancient et moderne, 1928, p.81, no.910 listed as La Lune et le soleil 

Original canvas on its original stretcher. The central cross bar of the stretcher is missing. There is craquleure throughout but it is most noticeable in the white and green background. Horizontal stretcher bar marks are visible along the top and bottom edges and through the centre of the composition. There are minor frame abrasions at the edges. On the reverse there are three very small canvas repair patches, two in the lower right by the stretcher bar and one near the centre. Examination under UV light reveals the second signature in the upper right, it also reveals minor retouching at the edges and a couple of other scattered areas. A more conclusive analysis is prevented by the varnish layer. Held in its original wooden frame. Unexamined out of frame.
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In this allegorical painting the two central figures represent the goddesses of dawn and dusk, or Zori, who according to ancient Slavic mythology are the daughters of the sun. Each morning the Utrenyaya Zorya, armed with a bow and arrow, opens the gates of the Sun’s Eastern palace so that he may ride across the sky in his chariot and in the evening her sister Vechernyaya Zorya closes them behind him.

As one of Stelletsky's most important paintings, its history is incredibly well-documented. It was first exhibited at the Russian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 1920 where it was shown as a thematic group with Stelletsky’s paintings of the four seasons. It was exhibited twice in 1921, first at the exhibition of the World of Art artists and later in the Russian section of the Salon d’Automne where it is visible in a photograph, still in its thematic group with the four seasons. This painting later formed part of the artist’s collection at his studio Le Toit at La Napoule where it remained until his death before passing into the collection of the family of the present owner.