An original hand colored 1927 lithograph measuring print field 11 x 15 in. entitled "Tuba, Chief Matchuga (Niangara High Ouelle)" by Russian artist Alexandre Evgenevich Yakovlev (1887-1938) from Cartoons and Paintings of Africa Executed During the Citroen Center Afrique Expedition Second Harrdt Audouin Dubreuil Mission. executed during the 1924-25 "Crosiere Noire" - the largest and most comprehensive French expedition to ever cross the African continent from North to South - very rare and in fine condition with professional and sympathetic framing and matting and ready to hang

A rare and very brilliant lithographic portrait of an African chief published in 1927 and handsomely framed and matted to great effect.

The Crosiere Noire (The Black Cruise) was an incredible expedition in the mid 1920s from the North Coast of Africa to the tip of South Africa. For a great summary of said expedition please click on the following link below:

Click here for CROISERE NOIRE info

Ostensibly to prove the durability of the French auto manufacturer Citroen - it became in short one of the greatest expeditions by the French through the African continent - attracting film makers, a Russian artist, and scores of academicians. The result was world-wide publicity for Citroen and the making of many a career and resulting French Legion of Honor awards (the artist Yakovlev receiving his in 1926).

Artist Yakovlev captured brilliantly portraits and studies of African tribesmen and woman throughout the course of the expedition which were grouped into a monumental publication and issued in Paris, 1927 - from which the present plate originates.

Please note that we are offering one other lithograph by the same artist from the same expedition - please see seller's other auctions at the present time.

Some background on Artist Yakovlev (various spellings including Jakovleff):

In the summer of 1917, Jacovleff received a scholarship to study in the Far East. He traveled to Mongolia, China and Japan (1917-1919). At the end of the First World War he celebrated at the Italian Legation in Beijing together with the Italian charge d'affaires. Subsequently he settled in Paris and obtained French Citizenship. His work was part of the painting event in the art competition at the 1924 Summer Olympics.

Between 1924 and 1925 he took part in an expedition to the Sahara desert and Equatorial Africa organized by Citroen (Croisiere Noire). His African paintings were a big success and as a result Jacovleff was awarded the Legion of Honor by the French government in 1926. In 1928, Jacovleff organized a large personal exhibition in Moscow.

Between 1931 and 1932, he was the Artistic Adviser of another Citro�n expedition, this time across Asia: the Yellow Expedition. He travelled through Syria, Iran, Afghanistan, Mongolia and China, and created a number of orientalist paintings.

From 1934 to 1937, Jacovleff was the Director of the Painting Department of the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. He spent the last months of his life in Paris and Capri. He died in Paris in 1938, after an unsuccessful surgery. A brilliant artist he died at the age of 51.