A Russian art show of some of the best-known Russian artists from the 19th and 20th centuries began at Sotheby's on Friday, led by an important still life by Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 26th November, 2021) A Russian art show of some of the best-known Russian artists from the 19th and 20th centuries began at Sotheby's on Friday, led by an important still life by Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin.
"'Still Life with Apples' anticipates all of Petrov-Vodkin's major artistic achievements and is of considerable art historical importance," the auction house said in a pre-sale statement.
The still from 1912 was painted at the same time as his celebrated masterpiece "Bathing of a Red Horse." A sketch of a horse head visible in the still's background is a direct reference to what is now one of the most recognizable images in Russian art.
The auction will be held on Tuesday. "Still Life with Apples" is expected to fetch between 2.5 million and 3.5 million Pounds ($3.3 million-$4.7 million).
Other Russian pictures up for grabs are a pair of southern Italian views by Ivan Aivazovsky and two historical masterpieces: Ilya Repin's "The Solar Eclipse of 1887, Mendeleev in his Hot-Air Balloon" and Petr Sokolov's "The Borki Train Disaster."
The 1887 hot-air balloon scene captures the moment when Dmitri Mendeleev, a Russian scientist best known for formulating the periodic table, ascended in a hot-air balloon in an attempt to observe a solar eclipse.
The train wreck scene from 1888 details the direct aftermath of a deadly crash of an Imperial train carrying Alexander III and his family near Kharkov. The derailment claimed more than 20 lives but the royal family survived.
