Russian Pictures
Russian Pictures
Property from a Private Collection, United States
Ivan Pavlovich Pokhitonov
The Hunters
Lot Closed
June 8, 01:22 PM GMT
Estimate
180,000 - 250,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
Property from a Private Collection, United States
Ivan Pavlovich Pokhitonov
1850 - 1923
The Hunters
signed in Latin and dated 1887 l.r.; further bearing a loan label from the Minneapolis Institute of Arts on the frame
oil on panel
Panel: 16 by 35.5cm, 6 ½ by 14 in.
Framed: 26.5 by 46.5cm, 10 ½ by 18 ¼ in.
Boussod, Valadon & Cie (previously Goupil & Cie), Paris, acquired from the above on 26 May 1887 for 1800 francs
William S. Schaus, New York, acquired from the above on 20 June 1887 for 3500 dollars
Henry Graves, Orange, New Jersey
American Art Association, New York, Notable Art Treasures Collected by the Late Henry Graves, Orange, New Jersey, 25-27 February 1909, lot 2 The Sportsmen
S.A. Datman, United States
Solow Galleries
Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York, 3 June 1960, lot 24
Virginia Lange, acquired at the above sale
Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York, Barbizon and Other XIX and XX Century Paintings, 13 December 1967, lot 22
Sloan & Roman, Madison Avenue, New York, acquired at the above sale
Acquired from the above by the family of the present owner in 1969
In the same family collection since 1969, the present hunting scene, a genre that Pokhitonov loved and excelled at, is one of the most accomplished to appear at auction in recent memory. Two hunters, accompanied by a young boy, search their surrounding terrain. Both men look inquisitively to where the boy points with his right arm. They both have their hunting guns at the ready.
The colour palette is marked by pale grays, greens, blues, and light terracottas, and the work is permeated with light and warmth. Here, Pokhitonov demonstrates his love for nature, meticulously rendering each detail. It brings together elements of the influences which formed his style, namely that of French nineteenth-century landscape artists and Russian landscape and genre painting. It draws heavily from the Barbizon school principles, which Pokhitonov became accustomed to upon befriending Barbizon artists Jules Dupré and Henri Harpignies.
In 1887, when this painting was executed, Pokhitonov was living in Biarritz in south-western France. Throughout the next few decades, until his death in 1923, he travelled around Europe and Russia, living and working predominately in France and Belgium.