This is a very rare Original Sanguine on paper, by Alexander Evgenievich Yakovlev
Alexander Evgenievich Yakovlev, Russian (1887-1938) Original work - Sanguine on paper, "Seated Nude". Signed lower right, alongside artist's stamp. Good condition. Measures 19-1/4" H, 15-1/4" W (sight), frame measures 32" H, 26" W. Rare opportunity to acquire an original, signed and stamped work by this artist.
Alexander Evgenievich Yakovlev (Rus. 1887-1938)
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Occupation: Painter,
Draftsman, Etcher, Designer
Movement: Neoclassicism
Education: Academy
of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg
FAMOUS
ARTWORKS
“Pierrot
and Harlequin,” 1914
“Violinist,”
1915
“Beijing
Opera,” 1918
“Les
Autos Dans Le Desert,” 1924
“The
Kuli Kuta Dance, Niamey,” 1926
“View
of Anthéor,” 1927
“Lemons,”
1929
“Nudes
Bathing,” 1929
“Portrait
of Tien Po,” 1931
“Afghans,”
1932
“Palmyra,”
1933
“Conversation
in Capri,” 1936
Alexander
Yakovlev was a Russian Neoclassical painter who contributed deeply to the
expansion in style and imagery in Neoclassical painting in the early 20th
century. He travelled widely in the Middle and Far East, as well as in Central
Africa, participating in and advising three different expeditions in his
lifetime. By the time he died in 1938, Yakovlev had been much awarded, and was
one of the few émigré artists whose work was routinely exhibited in the USSR
during his lifetime.
Origins
and Student Life
Alexander
Evgenievich Yakovlev was born in June 1887 to wealthy and educated parents in
St. Petersburg, Russia. His father Yevgeny invented the Russian
internal-combustion engine and was the owner of the first oil and gas-engine
factory in Russia. His mother, Sofia Kuzmina, was the first woman to hold a
doctorate in Mathematical Sciences in Russia. In keeping with his parents,
Yakovlev attended the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg from 1905
to 1913, training under the famous illustrator and stage designer Dmitry
Kardovsky. He illustrated for a number of art magazines as a student, and in
1912, he joined the Mir Iskusstva art movement.
Miriskusniki
“Mir
Iskusstva” was a magazine and an art movement begun at the turn of century by
the famous art critic and stage designer Alexandre Benois, the painter Léon
Bakst, and the ballet producer Sergei Diaghilev. Followers of the movement, or
‘miriskusniki,’ sought to conserve and understand the art that came before
them, particularly traditional folk art, and rejected what they saw as the
utilitarian aesthetic of modern industrial society.
At
the time, Yakovlev was trying to aesthetically reconcile elements of
Renaissance and Rococo painting with popular Russian graphic art. It was a
modernist attempt to marry elements of high art and popular art. One of the
most important values of Mir Iskusstva, was to bring art into the lives of
everyday people: “Man With Monkey,” painted in 1915, is a good example of
Yakovlev’s efforts. His self-portrait with Vasiliy Shukhaev, “Pierrot and
Harlequin” painted in 1914, and “The Violinist” painted the following year are
iconic of this period. The neat lines, smooth shapes and meticulously precise
figures characterized his work to come.
Growing
Renown
In
1912, Yakovlev’s painting “On Academic Dacha” brought him to the attention of
critics and art lovers at the Baltic Exhibition in Sweden; even Alexander
Benois had praise for his work. In 1913, he graduated as an Artist from the
Imperial Academy, and his paintings “Bathing” and “In a Bathhouse” won him a
scholarship to study painting in Italy and Spain. He returned to St. Petersburg
in 1915 and entered a period of prolific activity. Even though his work was
critically well-received, it was rejected by the Academy of Fine Arts. Over the
next two years, he sketched a large number of drawings in chalk, lectured on
architect courses for women and frescoed a cabaret in St. Petersburg and a
manor in Moscow. He even started the St. Luke Guild of Painters movement,
traditionally honoring the patron saint of artists.
Travels
Far and Wide
In
1917, Yakovlev won a scholarship to study painting in the East. For the next
two years, Yakovlev traveled through the Mongolia, China and Japan, studying,
painting and documenting. During this time, the Russian Revolution made it
impossible for him to return to Russia, and he settled in Paris in 1919.
Through 1924-25, he traveled in the Sahara desert and through Equatorial Africa
with an expedition organized by the Citroen automobile company. And again, in
1931-32, Yakovlev traveled through the Middle East and Central Asia, visiting
Syria, Iran, Afghanistan, Mongolia and China with Citroen, serving also as an
adviser to the expedition.
The
significance of Yakovlev’s travels show in his work. His drawings, etchings and
paintings represent his experiences, but his romance with pure forms and for
folk cultures express an enduring vitality in his paintings. They allowed the
viewers of the time a window into the lives of people and cultures that
academia could not. His paintings of Africa, for example, made such an impact that
in 1926, he was awarded the Legion of Honor by the French. Despite having
emigrated, his relations with Russia remained strong. In 1928, the Academy of
Fine Arts in Moscow even organized a solo exhibition of Yakovlev’s work. His
reputation simply as an artist and traveler held him above the tumultuous world
of politics.
The
Later Years
In
1934, Yakovlev was invited to be the Director of Painting at the Museum of Fine
Arts in Boston. He spent the next three years in the United States before
returning to Paris. His work over the last few years of his life began to show
more Expressionistic attitudes. While still characteristically well-formed, his
figures show a blurring of particular objective details, making more room for
the artist’s inner reality to express itself.
He died in Paris from a failed surgical operation in the summer of 1938, at the age of 51.
MUSEUMS
/ COLLECTIONS
National
Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.
The
State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg
Philadelphia
Museum of Art, Philadelphia
BOOKS
/ PUBLICATIONS
“Le
Theatre Chinois (with paintings, sketches and crayon drawings by Alexandre
Jacovleff)” by Chu Chia-Chien and Alexandre Jacovleff