Boris Mikhailovich Kustodiev

Kustodiev kept this sketchbook in the 1910s and many of the pages bear dates from 1912 and 1916. It provides a fascinating insight into the artist's creative process during some of the most interesting years of his career and features details from some of his best-known paintings. Besides a portrait of Peter the Great and a series of nudes, there are studies of a lady's hand holding a teacup, recognisable from his depictions of Kupchikhi, and of fairground booths recognisable from his scenes of Shrovetide.