Next Sunday, auction house Lots Road is hosting a sale of Russian goods, specifically Russian works of art.
Though there are many works up for grabs, predominantly 20th century, there are a special few that have caught our interest.
This warm, sunny painting from 1960, A Singing Lesson by Boris Sholokhov (1919-2003), depicts a young girl exercising her vocal chords as she sings along to her instructor’s piano tune.
The painting features red, yellow and orange hues and is executed in a realist manner. Though some characteristics are blurred (the piano and hands), others are highlighted to show their significance (the faces and upper bodies).
Sholokhov was a Russian artist born in Borisoglebsk in the Voronezh Oblast, and is known for his portrait, landscape and nude works. He was a student of his uncle, the renowned artist of the 1930s Pyotr Ivanovich Sholokhov, and he studied at the the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts and at the Moscow State Academic Art Institute of V. I. Surikov.
Many of Sholokhov’s artworks are stored in the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow, in the Moscow Art Institute of Surikov, in the museum of children's camp ‘Artek’ in Crimea, and in the art museums of Penza and Voronezh.
Another Russian painting depicting two women, this work, by Valeri Masyukov (b. 1947), predominantly highlights cold blues and crisp white and cream colours. The figures are anonymous, the artist choosing to focus on the modelled and geometric shapes of the apartment rather than the identity of the figures. The women are busy at work, one cleaning and the other focusing on a new work, her back to the viewer.
Though another 20th century work, this one is a still life with flowers, vases and apples, as opposed to figures.
The artist, Anatoli Shapovalov (b. 1949) has used a somewhat impressionist style to convey the soft warmth that comes with fresh flowers and fruit: the leaves and petals are dappled, the patterns on the vases mottled, and the drapery soft and delicate.
This work by Soviet artist Gennadi Myznikov is another favourite, featuring a portrait of a woman against a royal blue background.
Myznikov was born in 1933 in a small suburb city in a working class family. It was then, in his childhood, that he developed an appreciation for the distinctive, bright beauty of Russian provincial life.
Having only highlighted a quick glimpse at the Russian works on display, we recommend you take a look at the entire catalogue. The auction will take place at Lots Road on 14 October