Historical-scenes painter, Landscape painter, Portrait painter, Etcher, Genre Painter, b. 1844 - d. 1927
Vasily Dmitrievich Polenov (1 June 1844 – 18 July 1927) was a Russian landscape painter associated with the Peredvizhniki movement of realist artists. His contemporaries would call him the “Knight of Beauty” as he embodied both European and Russian traditions of painting. His vision of life was summarized as following: “Art should promote happiness and joy”. As a painter and a humanist, he would truly believe in the civilizing mission of Art, Culture and Education.
Vasily Polenov, an oil on canvas backed on board autumn landscape painting depicting a view of the Oka River. Signed "V. Polenov" and dated 1911 lower left. Housed in a gilded wooden frame. Has a metal plaque inscribed "A gift from the collection of Martin Steinberg". The verso has a stamp: "FROM THE COLLECTION OF MARY C. LIBERATORE". A paper label is attached to the verso: "Clayton & Liberatore Art Gallery, Bridgehampton, LI, NY 11932".The Clayton-Liberatore Gallery operated in Bridgehampton, Long Island, New York. The gallery's owner, Leonard Clayton, was the founder of the Leonard Clayton Gallery in New York City. Clayton took over the Marie Sterner Gallery and later ran the gallery with his niece, Mary C. Liberatore, under the name Clayton-Liberatore Gallery. Footnote: Vasily Dmitrievich Polenov (1844-1927) was a Russian landscape artist associated with the Peredvizhniki art movement. He studied at the Imperial Academy of Arts, and was elected a member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts in 1893. For many years, he coached young painters in the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. His pupils included Abram Arkhipov, Isaac Levitan, Konstantin Korovin, and Alexandre Golovine. Please make all inquiries before bidding. All lots are sold "as-is", refer to our T&C. Helios Auctions does not ship in-house. A list of recommended shippers will be provided.
Attributed To: Vassili Dmitrievich Polenov, Russian (1844 - 1927) Oil on Canvas "Landscape Scene with Old Church" Signed Lower Right. Measures 24" x 36". Frame measures 34-1/4" x 45-3/8" x 3". A work listed as "attributed to:" the respective artist has not been authenticated by a recognized expert on the artist in question. We offer such a work without warranty as to authenticity. Condition: Good condition Estimate: $500.00 - $1000.00 Domestic Shipping: Third party
Vasilii Dmitrievich Polenov (Russian, 1844-1927) 'And she went and told them that she had been with Him as they mourned and wept' signed in cyrillic (lower right) oil on canvas 106.7 x 177.2 (42 x 69 3/4in).
Oil on board painting by Vasily Polenov, 1844 to 1927, a Russian landscape painter associated with the Peredvizhniki movement of realist artists. The artwork is a sketch of an autumn forest view. Signed by the artist in the lower right. Wooden frame. Collectible Russian Fine Art.
signed in Cyrillic 'V. Polenov' (lower right) watercolour, pencil on paper 11.2 x 22 cmsigné en cyrillique ‘V. Polenov’ (en bas à droite) aquarelle, crayon sur papier 11,2 x 22 cm
Vassili Dmitrievich Polenov, Russian, 1844 to 1927, oil painting on board, depicting a Russian rural landscape. Signed lower left. Probably inscribed on the backside. Framed. Vassili Polenov is known for Realist land and seascape, portrait, and figure painting en plein air. Vasily Dmitrievich Polenov was a Russian landscape painter associated with the Peredvizhniki movement of realist artists. A native of St.Petersburg, Polenov studied under Pavel Chistyakov and at the Imperial Academy of Arts from 1863 to 1871. He was one of the first Russian artists who achieved a plein air freshness of color combined with the artistic finish of composition The principles developed by Polenov had a great impact on the further development of Russian and especially Soviet landscape painting. One of a kind of artwork.
VASILY POLENOV (RUSSIAN 1844-1927) Summer Water circa 1880s watercolor on paper 11 x 16 cm (4 3/8 x 6 1/4 in.) [sight], framed dimensions: 30.5 x 35 cm (12 x 13 3/4 in.) initialed lower right PROVENANCE Private Collector, Washington DC Acquired from above by the current owner CONDITION Observed in frame under glass, the watercolor is in good condition, some minuscule specs of surface grime along the upper edge. No other visible issues to report. N.B. All lots are sold in as-is condition at the time of sale. Please note that any condition statement regarding works of art is given as a courtesy to our clients in order to assist them in assessing the condition. The report is a genuine opinion held by Shapiro Auctions and should not be treated as a statement of fact. The absence of a condition report or a photograph does not preclude the absence of defects or restoration, nor does a reference to particular defects imply the absence of any others. Shapiro Auctions, LLC., including its consultants and agents, shall have no responsibility for any error or omission.
ATTRIBUTED VASILY POLENOV (RUSSIAN 1844-1927) Staircase in the Cathedral of Basil the Blessed, Moscow oil on canvas 56 x 42 cm (22 x 16 1/2 in.), framed dimensions: 67 x 51 cm (26 3/8 x 20 1/8 in.) signed in Cyrillic lower left PROVENANCE Christie's, South Kensington, 17 December 1999, lot 37 (sold as "Polenov") CONDITION Observed in frame, the painting is in good condition, some surface grime, no other visible issues to report. UV light inspection showed very small scattered spots of retouching, some minor in-painting along the lower edge, signs of restoration. Heavy varnish. N.B. All lots are sold in as-is condition at the time of sale. Please note that any condition statement regarding works of art is given as a courtesy to our clients in order to assist them in assessing the condition. The report is a genuine opinion held by Shapiro Auctions and should not be treated as a statement of fact. The absence of a condition report or a photograph does not preclude the absence of defects or restoration, nor does a reference to particular defects imply the absence of any others. Shapiro Auctions, LLC., including its consultants and agents, shall have no responsibility for any error or omission.
Vassili Dmitrievich Polenov, Russian, 1844 to 1927, oil painting on board, Russian Village. Signed lower left. Titled on the backside. Framed. Vassili Polenov is known for Realist land and seascape, portrait, and figure painting en plein air. Vasily Dmitrievich Polenov was a Russian landscape painter associated with the Peredvizhniki movement of realist artists. A native of St.Petersburg, Polenov studied under Pavel Chistyakov and at the Imperial Academy of Arts from 1863 to 1871. He was one of the first Russian artists who achieved a plein air freshness of color combined with the artistic finish of composition The principles developed by Polenov had a great impact on the further development of Russian and especially Soviet landscape painting. Provenance: Shapiro Auctions New York, Important Fine Art, and Antiques Auction, March 18th, 2017, Lot 65, sold for $5000. One of a kind of artwork.
Vasilii Dmitrievich Polenov (Russian, 1844-1927) 'There were also women looking from afar off', 1908 signed in Cyrillic 'Polenov' (lower right); verso applied with label inscribed in Cyrillic by M.V. Polenova, the artist's daughter 'Vasily Polenov', further label on stretcher: 'Russian art exhibition / Grand Central Palace / New York' (verso), with two Cyrillic monograms on stretcher 'VP' oil on canvas 105 x 167cm (41 1/2 x 66in).
Vassili Dmitrievich Polenov, Russian, 1844 to 1927, oil painting on canvas mounted on cardboard, Old Bridges. Signed, titled and inscribed on the backside. Framed. Vassili Polenov is known for Realist land and seascape, portrait and figure painting en plein aire. Vasily Dmitrievich Polenov was a Russian landscape painter associated with the Peredvizhniki movement of realist artists. A native of St.Petersburg, Polenov studied under Pavel Chistyakov and in the Imperial Academy of Arts from 1863 to 1871. He was one of the first Russian artists who achieved a plein air freshness of color combined with artistic finish of composition The principles developed by Polenov had a great impact on further development of Russian and especially Soviet landscape painting. One of a kind artwork.
Vassili Dmitrievich Polenov, Russian, 1844 to 1927, oil painting on board, Russian Village. Signed lower left. Titled on the backside. Framed. Vassili Polenov is known for Realist land and seascape, portrait, and figure painting en plein air. Vasily Dmitrievich Polenov was a Russian landscape painter associated with the Peredvizhniki movement of realist artists. A native of St.Petersburg, Polenov studied under Pavel Chistyakov and at the Imperial Academy of Arts from 1863 to 1871. He was one of the first Russian artists who achieved a plein air freshness of color combined with the artistic finish of composition The principles developed by Polenov had a great impact on the further development of Russian and especially Soviet landscape painting. Provenance: Shapiro Auctions New York, Important Fine Art, and Antiques Auction, March 18th, 2017, Lot 65, sold for $5000. One of a kind of artwork.
Oil on board painting by Vassili Dmitrievich Polenov, 1844 to 1927, was a Russian landscape painter associated with the Peredvizhniki movement of realist artists. The artwork is a sketch of a village view. Provenance: Trinity International Auctions. Antique Russian Fine Art For Collectors.
Attributed To: Vassili Dmitrievich Polenov, Russian (1844 - 1927) Oil on Canvas "Landscape Scene with Old Church" Signed Lower Right. Measures 24" x 36". Frame measures 34-1/4" x 45-3/8" x 3". A work listed as "attributed to:" the respective artist has not been authenticated by a recognized expert on the artist in question. We offer such a work without warranty as to authenticity. Condition: Good condition Estimate: $600.00 - $1200.00 Domestic Shipping: Third party
signed ‘V Orlovsky’ (lower left) and inscribed ‘70’(lower right) oil on canvas 32.5 x 63 cm Provenance: Private Collection SGL Enchères, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France, 2008 ВЛАДИМИР ДОНАТОВИЧ ОРЛОВСКИЙ (1842 - 1914) Рыболовные сети на побережье в Крыму подпись ‘W Orlovsky’ (слева внизу) надпись ‘70’ (справа внизу) холст, масло 32.5 x 63 cm Провенанс: Частная коллекция SGL Enchères, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France, 2008
Attributed To: Vassili Dmitrievich Polenov, Russian (1844 - 1927) Oil on Canvas "Landscape Scene with Old Church" Signed Lower Right. Measures 24" x 36". Frame measures 34-1/4" x 45-3/8" x 3". A work listed as "attributed to:" the respective artist has not been authenticated by a recognized expert on the artist in question. We offer such a work without warranty as to authenticity. Condition: Good condition. Estimate: $1200.00 - $2400.00 Domestic Shipping: Third party
Vasily Polenov (1844-1927)-attributed, Portrait of an oriental Jew, oil on wooden board, monogrammed bottom right and dated 1884, described on the reverse, framed.
Vasily Dmitrievich Polenov (1844-1927) Portrait of the Russian folk singer Vasily Shchegolenok (1817-1894). signed and dated 'V. D. Polenov 79' Oil on canvas 44 x 38 cm painted in 1979 Provenance: Private collection Translation Василий Дмитриевич Поленов (1844-1927) портрет исполнителя русских народных песен Василия Щеголенка (1817-1894) Подпись и дата 'В. Д. Поленов 79' (справа внизу) холст, масло 44 х 38 см 1979 год Провенанс: Частная коллекция
Vasily Polenov (1844-1927) A house in the birch forest Signed in Cyrillic (lower right) Oil on canvas laid board. 33 x 61 cm Provenance: Private Collection Translation ВАСИЛИЙ ДМИТРИЕВИЧ ПОЛЕНОВ (1844-1927) Дом в березовом лесу Подпись "В. Поленов" (спроава книзу) холст на картоне, масло 33 х 61 см
Attributed Vasili Dimitrevich POLENOV (1844-1927) Portrait of a Bearded Elderly Man. Monogrammed and dated '89 lower right. Oil on Canvas. 12 x 9 in. Canvas has overall scattered crazing. Framed. Overall Measures 20.50 x 18.25 in.
Attributed to. Portrait of a Bearded Elderly Man. Monogrammed and dated '89 lower right. Oil on Canvas. 12 x 9 in. Canvas has overall scattered crazing. Framed. Overall Measures 20.50 x 18.25 in.
VASILY POLENOV (RUSSIAN 1844-1927) The Herzegovian on Lookout, 1876 oil on canvas 127 x 90.8 cm (50 x 35 3/4 in). signed and dated lower right PROVENANCE Collection of Leo Maskovskii, Munich Christie's, London, anonymous sale, October 5, 1989, lot 259 Private collection Christie's, London, Russian Art, October 9, 2009, lot 27 Private collection, England Sotheby's, London, Important Russian Art, May 28, 2012, lot 6 Acquired at the above by the present owner EXHIBITED St. Petersburg Academy of Arts, St. Petersburg, Autumn 1876 LITERATURE Pchela (St. Petersburg, 1877), no. 5, p. 77 (illustrated as an engraving titled Gertsegovinka v zasade s kartiny V.D. Polenova) Igor Grabar, Repin. Khudozhestvennoe Nasledstvo, (Moscow: Akademiya Nauk SSSR, 1948), vol. 1, p. 390 Ekaterina Sakharova and Aleksey Leonov, Vasily Dmitrievich Polenov. Pis'ma, dnevniki, vospominania, (Moscow-Leningrad: Iskusstvo, 1950), pp. 140, 475, listed as Gertsegovinka Wenceslaus Fiala, Polenov (Bratislava, 1956), p. 39 Ekaterina Sakharova and Aleksey Leonov, Vasily Dmitrievich Polenov, Elena Dmitrieva Polenova, Khronika sem'i khudozhnikov (Moscow-Leningrad: Iskusstvo, 1964), pp. 210, 234, 732, listed as Gertsegovinka Mark Kopshitser, Polenov (Moscow: Molodaya Gvardiya, 2010), p.152
Portrait of the Russian byliny singer Vasiliy Petrovich Schegolenok from Onezhye (1817-1894). Signed and dated Va. D. Polenov 79 (in Cyrillic). Oil on canvas. 44 x 38 cm.
POLENOV, VASILY Barge on the River Oka signed and dated 1897, further numbered "N 476" on the reverse . Oil on canvas 40.5 by 65.5 cm . Provenance: The Yasher-Sheftell collection, from the 1940s. Thence by descent. Russian Art Evening , Sotheby’s London, 8 June 2009, lot 2. Acquired at the above sale by the present owner. Private collection, UK. Authenticity of the work has been confirmed by the expert V. Petrov. Exhibited: XXVI vystavka Tovarishchestva peredvizhnykh khudozhestvennykh vystavok, St Petersburg, Moscow, Penza, Kharkov, Ekaterinoslav, Elizavetgrad, Poltava, Kiev, Smolensk, Kaluga, 22 February 1898-21 February 1899. Literature: Exhibition catalogue, Katalog XXVI peredvizhnoi vystavki kartin Tovarishchestva peredvizhnykh khudozhestvennykh vystavok, Moscow, 1898, p. 8, No. 97, listed. G. Romanov, Tovarishchestvo peredvizhnykh khudozhestvennykh vystavok. 1871-1923 gg. Entsiklopediia, St Petersburg, Sankt-Peterburg Orkestr, 2003, p. 203, No. 3-136, listed. Vasily Polenov’s artistic pursuits of the late 1890s are inseparably linked to his life at the Borok estate on the banks of the Oka. It was here that he painted most of his famous river landscapes ( Valley of the Oka and Golden Autumn, for example), including the splendid canvas painted from nature and offered here at auction — Barge on the River Oka. Polenov had acquired his country estate near Tarusa, high on the river bank, and spent the summer of 1897 there, relishing his work en plein air. The artist was especially drawn to the festively decorated unzhak salt barges, which were drawn by horses every year up the Oka to deliver salt from Nizhny Novgorod to Tarusa and Kaluga. The barges had become ubiquitous throughout the upper and central Volga regions as early as the 18th century and had preserved their traditional look for many years, with their ornamental carving and woodwork brightly painted in three colours. Polenov, who delighted in the revival of popular crafts and indigenous industries, could not resist the old-fashioned beauty of the unzhak barges. At the heart of the composition Barge on the River Oka the artist places the distinctive image of an unzhak barge quietly at her moorings, at a shoal in the river. The lively ripples of the water, sparkling highlights of colour, the lightness of the shining sky and the barely defined vegetation on the shoreline are all witness to the rapidity with which Polenov worked from nature, striving to convey the special atmosphere and radiance of the scene — and to capture the moment when the sun begins to sink and the light fades. At the same time, even a swift glance reveals Polenov’s skill in configuring the main and secondary features, the round side of the barge and the curve of the river. In addition, the extended horizontal format of the picture and the low eye level of vision, which seems to “carve out” the mast and rigging, endow this seemingly intimate work with the qualities of an epic landscape. Even in such a lyrical landscape, it is extremely important to the artist that the details should be authentic. The letters “I” and “Ts” can be read on the edges of the ornamentation, being the initials of the merchant Ivan Tsipulin, to whom the jetty and shipping company in Kaluga belonged and who owned the lion’s share of passenger and freight transport on the Oka waterway. On the back of the canvas is the number 476, which according to a list of the artist’s work relates to a picture called Barge and allows this painting to be spoken of not only as indisputably by Polenov, but also as a brilliant example of the artist’s Oka work, painted with a romanticised air of national historicism.
POLENOV, VASILY The Vault under Al-Aqsa Mosque. Temple Mount, Jerusalem, signed. Oil on canvas, 69.5 by 92 cm. Provenance: Collection of Nicolai Ghiaurov (1929-2004), a Bulgarian opera singer, from the 1970s. Thence by descent. Private collection, Europe. Authenticity of the work has been confirmed by the expert V. Petrov. The picture now presented for auction, The Vault under Al-Aqsa Mosque. Temple Mount, Jerusalem, was painted by Vasily Polenov in 1899-1900s, following his second great journey to the Middle East, where he went in 1899 to gather material for the grandiose Gospel series From the Life of Christ. His route lay through Constantinople, Athens, Smyrna, Cairo and Port Said, and then onwards to Jerusalem and Beirut. The culminating point of the journey for the artist was his stay in the Holy Land, since his desire to go on the trip had been prompted by the need to see once again, at first hand, the location of the events recounted by the Bible, studied during his first visit to the Palestine in 1881-1882. He again returns to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, which had been called Solomon's Temple since the time of the Crusaders. The present composition is linked to a visit that Polenov paid to the square on the site of the destroyed Temple of Solomon. In his letters home, he enthusiastically wrote home about that square: "How many interesting and beautiful things there are; but the best of all is the square of Solomon's Temple... I have not seen anything grander except, perhaps, for the Eski Saray Hill in Istanbul." The interior in the composition is the underground level of the Al-Aqsa Mosque (the so-called "Solomon's Stables"), a vaulted structure that, according to legend, survived when Solomon's Temple had been destroyed by the Romans in the first century A.D. On a small, first version of this composition, executed in 1881, there is even an inscription in Polenov's handwriting: "the so-called Solomon's Basement". It comes as no surprise then, that Polenov, who was interested in the "biblical" layer of Jerusalem's architectural monuments, was drawn to this very ancient part of the vast mosque complex. The view of the stately ancient vault opens up through a dim archway - a technique pioneered by Polenov in his depictions of the interiors of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and its lower level, the Chapel of Saint Helena. The ray of sunlight that illuminates the carved capital of the arch abutment directs the gaze, towards the back of the composition, where there is a dark stairway and an enticing small spot of bright light from the hanging lamp. The space of the church is visually expanded through the sweeping curves of the arches, positioned sideways and backwards, yet its outlines are concealed in the dimness in the corners and passages. Compared to its study, which is suffused with light but is far more general and less detailed, the present composition seems to be far more complete and "picturesque". Polenov deliberately emphasises the subterranean character of the interior and dramatises its architectural space. This interpretation is reinforced by the fact that the Muslim quarter, in which the Temple Mount and the Al-Aqsa Mosque were located, was not so easily accessible to Christian travellers in the 19th century. Opportunities to officially visit - and subsequently to depict - the interior of the mosque came about rarely and were highly valued. This is why it is so hard to find in European and Russian painting other examples of the images of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The appearance at auction of such a significant work from Polenov's celebrated series of images of the Holy Land sights is a rare, outstanding event.
Vasili POLENOV (1844-1927) ; Praying Rabbi ; end of the 19th century ; oil on canvas / framed ; dimensions 37 x 24,5 cm (14 1/2 x 9 2/3 in.) ; frame size 61 x 49 cm (24 x 19 1/3 in.) ; signed lower left corner ; Shipping to USA - DHL $250 , National post with tracking service $120 / Shipping to EU, Russia, Middle Assia - DHL $150 , National post with tracking service $65
VASILII DMITRIEVICH POLENOV (RUSSIAN, 1844-1927) The Herzegovian on lookout signed in Cyrillic and dated ‘1876’ (lower right) oil on canvas 127 x 90.8cm (50 x 35 3/4in).
POLENOV, VASILY (1844-1927) Jesus Christ with Mary Magdalene, signed. Oil on canvas, 141.5 by 89 cm. Provenance: Private collection, Europe. Authenticity of the work has been confirmed by the expert V. Petrov. Related literature: For another version of the present lot, see V. Polenov, Iz zhizni Khrista, Moscow, 1909, illustrated. V. Polenov, Iz zhizni Khrista, Moscow, 1912, illustrated. Iz zhizni Khrista. Evangelskii tsikl V. D. Polenova [digital edition], Moscow, the State Tretyakov Gallery, 1996, illustrated and with the artist’s annotations. Jesus Christ with Mary Magdalene, like another canvas which is being offered at auction by MacDougall’s, He Resolutely Set Out for Jerusalem, belongs to the renowned cycle of paintings by the Russian artist Vasily Polenov, From the Life of Christ. This monumental series of works, devoted to the Saviour’s earthly life, took up 40 years of Polenov’s own life and is the core of his artistic legacy. Jesus Christ with Mary Magdalene is known in several different versions, none of which have previously appeared on the art market or are represented in Russian museum collections, so the inclusion of this canvas in the MacDougall’s auction is an unprecedented event. Polenov painted the first work of his evangelical cycle, Christ and the Woman Taken in Adultery, in 1888. However, the idea of the cycle dates from his student years, when the artist’s diploma work at the Imperial Academy of Arts was the painting The Raising of Jairus’ Daughter (1871), for which he was awarded the Academy’s gold medal. Polenov returned continually, throughout his life, to the story of the Messiah’s life on earth, and the relationship of the Saviour with the female personages of the New Testament is one of the cornerstones of his work. Although Mary Magdalene appears only occasionally in the Gospel narrative, she is one of the most important female characters of Polenov’s cycle From the Life of Christ. She is the main protagonist of at least three canvases: Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene, Mary Was Standing Outside the Tomb (1889–1909) and Announced the Joy to the Crying (1899–1909). She is also a staffage figure in Magdala and is most probably among those depicted from the rear, watching the scene of the crucifixion, in the composition Golgotha. Stood Far Away (1909). The importance lent by Polenov to the image of Mary Magdalene is all the more remarkable when we remember that she appears extremely rarely in traditional Orthodox iconography. Her image is only to be found in late Greek icons, in which the influence of Western European models can be observed. Her only role in Russian secular painting of the 19th century is in the scene of Christ’s appearance to Mary Magdalene after His resurrection, as in the painting by Alexander Ivanov The Appearance of Christ to Mary Magdalene after the Resurrection (1835). Polenov, on the contrary, prefers other, less canonical subjects, the first of which is the healing of Mary by Christ, referred to briefly in St. Luke’s Gospel: “Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out” (Luke 8: 2). The scene of the healing of the possessed woman is preceded in Polenov’s cycle by a landscape composition, Magdala, which portrays the Saviour’s journey towards Mary in the town in Galilee from which she took her name. Here, determined to seek out the historical truth in the image of Christ, the painter shifts his focus from the events of sacred history to their perpetual witness – the world of nature. Polenov travelled twice to Palestine (when working on Christ and the Woman Taken in Adultery and then again before starting on the Gospel cycle), where he followed in the footsteps of Christ on earth, learnt the realities of life in the Middle East, drew sketches, took photographs, collected costumes, and studied architecture, everyday life and the natural world. Polenov’s representation of the meeting between Christ and Magdalene is undoubtedly based on his actual observations during his travels in Palestine. The picture Magdala shows the young woman in the distance, on the threshold of her home, and the figure of Christ approaching her along a winding desert path. However, the work is first and foremost a landscape. Its main features are the sun, the scorched earth, the mountains in the distance, olive and palm trees, and, of course, a Middle Eastern dwelling, a replica of its actual physical prototype, unchanged, according to the artist himself, since the dawn of Christianity. In Jesus Christ with Mary Magdalene, the next picture in the cycle, the painter zooms in, almost cinematically, to show us the event in close-up. The format of the canvas changes from panoramic horizontal to vertical, and the action unfolds before the spectator on the doorstep of Magdalene’s home. Polenov described the scene as follows: “Mary sits at the entrance to her dwelling, Christ approaches her with His staff and lays a hand on her head. She fixes her eyes on Him” (Polenov Archive, Manuscript Section of the State Tretyakov Gallery, file 54). There are significant differences between the several known versions of this scene. In the version published in the Prague Album of 1912 mountains and sky are visible in the distance above the roof of Mary’s house. This image has been reworked in the canvas, which is offered at auction. The scene is brought even closer to the viewer. Hardly any space is left for mountains and sky, and all attention is focused on the miracle of healing. What were merely staffage figures in the 1912 version are now protagonists: instead of a woman in black robes we see Mary, and the expression on her face and the figure of Christ are brought out more precisely and distinctly. A blue headscarf falls from Christ’s head in delicate folds. While in the first version different colours are used to represent different substances (the sand on the road, heated by the sun and the mud walls, the mountain ridge and the sky bleached by the dazzling light), in the present work matter and people merge in a single colour spectrum. It is important that, in Polenov’s interpretation, Christ appears without a halo, and there are no witnesses of the miracle, except for surrounding nature. Polenov’s heroes are free from the romantic and orientalist clich s, which influenced the depiction of biblical characters in the academic painting of his time. As Yakov Minchenkov, a fellow artist and contemporary of Polenov, wrote: “His Christ ... is wise and beautiful in His simplicity – a poet, a dreamer, intent on building the Kingdom of God, the kingdom of the human spirit and justice on earth. For him [Polenov] this living image leads a human life alongside other people, rejoices, mourns, feels anger and dejection, and finally goes to Golgotha, without relinquishing the tiniest part of his convictions. He has stripped Christ of the divine and the ecclesiastical, making him a carpenter, a friend of fishermen and a zealous preacher” (Yakov Minchenkov, Vospominaniia o peredvizhnikakh, Leningrad, 1980). Healed by the Saviour, Mary becomes one of the first women to follow him and the main female protagonist of subsequent paintings in the cycle From the Life of Christ. The picture Jesus Christ with Mary Magdalene is one of the pivotal works in the series, and is among the most interesting paintings of Polenov’s latest period.
POLENOV, VASILY (1844-1927) He Resolutely Set Out for Jerusalem, signed. Oil on canvas, 139.5 by 139.5 cm. Provenance: Acquired directly from the artist by the grandfather of the present owner in 1923–1924. Thence by descent. Private collection, Europe The painting has been included by Vasily Polenov in his list of works as No. 90, Reshil idti v Ierusalim, under the oeuvre from 1903–1914. Authenticity of the work has been confirmed by the expert V. Petrov. The title of the present lot is a quote from the Gospel of Luke, chapter 9, verse 51. Exhibited: Vystavka kartin V.D. Polenova “Iz zhizni Khrista”, St Petersburg, February–March 1909; Moscow, Tver, May 1909. Vystavka kartin akademika V.D. Polenova “Iz zhizni Khrista”. Na pomoshch ranenym voinam, Moscow, 1914; Petrograd, 1915. Literature: Exhibition catalogue, Vystavka kartin V.D. Polenova, St Petersburg, 1909, No. 41, listed. Exhibition catalogue, Vystavka kartin akademika V.D. Polenova “Iz zhizni Khrista”. Na pomoshch ranenym voinam, Moscow, 1914, No. 44, listed. This monumental painting by Vasily Polenov, He Resolutely Set Out for Jerusalem belongs to Polenov’s cycle of paintings, From the Life of Christ. The artist wrote that this was “the work to which I devoted almost all my life”. The present work encapsulates its essence and is one of the most significant of the Gospel episodes, portrayed by the artist. The appearance of this picture on the art market is a unique event, since the greater part of the 72 known works from the cycle have long adorned the collections of Russia’s largest museums. Only a few remain in private collections, many of them via the famous Exhibition of Russian Art, held in New York in 1924. Several canvases, including Guilty of Death (1906) and Who Among You Is Without Sin (1908), were acquired at that time by the renowned American industrialist and diplomat, Charles R. Crane. Work on the Gospel cycle extended over many decades of Polenov’s cre- ative career. Inviting Sofia Tolstaya, the wife of Leo Tolstoy, to visit his studio in Moscow in 1908, the artist wrote, “I will be most glad to show you my pictures from the life of Christ, my ‘Gospel cycle’ as I call them,” and Polenov added, without exaggeration: “I have been working on them for about forty years [...] I will ask you [...] to take a look at the work, to which I have devoted nearly all of my life.” This vast creative labour was finally accomplished in 1909. The completed cycle of works was shown to the public first in St. Petersburg (February– March 1909, 58 paintings), then in Moscow and Tver (May 1909, 64 paintings). The picture He Resolutely Set Out for Jerusalem is Number 41 in the catalogue of the Moscow exhibition in 1909. The picture was also shown at exhibitions in 1914 (Moscow) and 1915 (Petersburg). In the handwritten, complete register of Polenov’s works, prepared by the artist himself, the picture now presented for auction is Number 90. Another smaller and earlier version of the composition is now known. It is held by the Samara Regional Art Museum and entitled They Resolutely Set Out for Jerusalem. In this version the Saviour is not alone, but is accompanied by one of his disciples. He makes us view the events at a remove – from afar, – then draws our attention to the poses and gestures of the figures which can be distinguished in the picture, and then, finally, confronts the viewer face to face with their deep, inner feelings. The artist often shows the same theme in several treatments, achieving a maximum of efficiency and expression. Some later versions, painted when the whole series was ready, are much more profound and successful than their initial versions. He Resolutely Set Out for Jerusalem is not only on a larger scale, but is also more compositionally expressive than the picture in the Samara Museum. It is remarkable for the brevity of its composition, the unusual purity and freshness of its semi-transparent, luminous colours, and the artistic thought, which Polenov has devoted to the depiction of Christ. The painter’s decision to discard the second figure accompanying Jesus allows him to concentrate completely on the image of the latter and lends to the composition a power of symbolic generalisation. We can gain insight into the artist’s intention from the words of the French philosopher and writer, Ernest Renan, whom Polenov valued and respected: “Those mountains, that sea, that azure sky, those high plains in the horizon, were for him not the melancholy vision of a soul which interrogates Nature upon its fate, but the certain symbol, the transparent shadow, of an invisible world, and of a new heaven.” (Ernest Renan, The Life of Jesus, 1863). Polenov’s gospel narrative covers the full extent of Christ’s earthly life from birth to ascension. The artist divides the works into six main sections: Childhood and Youth, By the Jordan, In Galilee, Beyond Galilee, In Jerusalem and The Last Days. In accordance with the logic of the gospel narrative, the picture He Resolutely Set Out for Jerusalem is the fifth episode in Beyond Galilee and depicts the decisive moment in Christ’s earthly life. He decides to go to Jerusalem, where death awaits Him. In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus knows His destiny and accepts it from God. It is not recorded from which city or village he set out. The evangelists only tell us that the route passed through Samaria by the shore of the Sea of Galilee. It is here on the shore of the Sea (also called the Lake of Gennesaret or Lake Tiberias) that Polenov shows us the Saviour. The portrayal of Christ matches the other pictures of the cycle. He is a man of wiry build, with pronounced eastern features, meek and wise. But He is not shown here communing with people – Christ is alone with himself, with his grave thoughts and with nature. He advances with measured steps along the lakeside path, looking inward, knowing in advance the end of his journey. His figure seems unaware of its own movement, as if motionless – Christ does not seem to notice that he is walking, so deep is his state of self-absorption. The world of nature around him, with its silence and detachment from earthly troubles, corresponds so remarkably to the internal structure of Christ’s image that one cannot but feel how nature subjugates man, how it evokes consciousness of the beauty and harmony of existence, banishing purely human doubts and thoughts to leave an overwhelming sense of oneness with and dissolution in the world. Polenov shows us a natural world that is deserted and majestic. The distance is taken up by a stretch of high country: the horizon is marked by a chain of low mountains; their soft, smooth outlines silhouetted against the sky. The sun has withdrawn its merciless, scorching heat from the earth, and the distances sink into the soft, gentle pink of an early evening haze. We see an ideal landscape with the sandy, lakeside path, ageless boulders and the play of turquoise water in the middle and far distance, against a backdrop of majestic ancient architecture. Revealing the pristine beauty of the world, the artist at the same time seeks to convey the material texture of the earth in all its variety of qualities. The canvas uses a free, slightly coarse painting style, the brushstrokes create relief. Advancing along a narrow path, the figure of Christ, in its physicality and ethnographical detail, fits naturally and organically into these material surroundings. There is no trace here of the otherworldliness of Alexander Ivanov. On the contrary, Polenov’s Christ is earthly: he dwells on the earth and steps on the earth, and so is not free of its physical influence: his face and hands are heavily tanned, he shows the fatigue of a man who has walked far under the hot sun. Because the plastic movement of the picture is governed by strict adherence to the truth of life, pride of place is given to what is authentic, actually observed and realistic: Christ holds a staff, such as helps the traveller on a long journey by foot, or as used by shepherds – a detail unknown in the gospel text. The picture sounds a tragic note, despite its plein-air content, as if real life was correcting the dream of a universal religion of love and forgiveness, cherished by Polenov himself. The artist renounces both the heroic pathos of academic painting and the distinctive psychological tension of the Peredvizhniki. The influence of modernism and even of symbolism is palpable in the work. When in 1908 work on the Gospel series, which Polenov considered the main work of his life, was complete, he sent a hand-painted album of reproductions of the works to Leo Tolstoy. Tolstoy wrote back that the “beauty of the pictures” and the attitude of the artist to his subject (close to the writer’s own) had made a great impression on him. The importance of the cycle for the instruction of children should be emphasised, Tolstoy thought, because “it is impossible to find a better means than your pictures for imparting the story of Christ to children” (cited in: in Natalia Budur, The Bible and Russian Painting, 2003, p. 21). Although conceived in the context of other works of the cycle, the painting He Resolutely Set Out for Jerusalem undoubtedly has great artistic value in its own right, because it fully conveys the exalted mood, which possessed the artist during his work on the project. What it shows is perhaps best expressed by the notes made by Leonid Pasternak (artist and father of the writer) during his own expedition to Palestine: “The huge breadth and power of the Lake of Gennesaret stretched out before me; the town of Tiberias respired in the shimmering white heat of its mosques and houses, gently, as if tracing the outline of the coastal surf. The purple-pink chain of mountains lay before me with the towering shape of Mount Hermon just visible. And such silence all about, such inexpressible and solemn tranquility! ‘My God!’ I exclaimed involuntarily, ‘But this is all – Polenov!!! … All this harmony of colours, which so moves me, everything around me – it is Polenov’s artistic palette!”
Vasili Dimitrevich POLENOV (1844 St.Petersburg - 1927 Borka, Russia) ; Crimea view ; early 20th century ; canvas on cardboard, oil / framed ; dimensions 9 x 16 cm (3 1/2 x 6 1/3 in.) ; signed lower right corner ; provenance - ARSANI Auction (April 26, 2014) Kharkov, Ukraine. Lot #21, est. $ 10000 - 12000 ; Shipping to USA - DHL $160 , National post with tracking service $80 / Shipping to Europe, Russia, Middle Assia - DHL $100 , National post with tracking service $40
Vasili Dimitrevich POLENOV (1844 St.Petersburg - 1927 Borka, Russia) ; Crimea view ; early 20th century ; canvas on cardboard, oil / framed ; dimensions 9 x 16 cm (3 1/2 x 6 1/3 in.) ; signed lower right corner ; provenance - ARSANI Auction (April 26, 2014) Kharkov, Ukraine. Lot #21, est. $ 10000 - 12000 ; Shipping to USA - DHL $160 , National post with tracking service $80 / Shipping to Europe, Russia, Middle Assia - DHL $100 , National post with tracking service $40
"Vasili Dimitrevich POLENOV (1844 St.Petersburg - 1927 Borka, Russia) ; Crimea view ; early 20th century ; canvas on cardboard, oil / framed ; dimensions 9 x 16 cm (3 1/2 x 6 1/3 in.) ; signed lower right corner ; provenance - ARSANI Auction (April 26, 2014) Kharkov, Ukraine. Lot #21, est. $ 10000 - 12000 ; Shipping to USA - DHL $160 , National post with tracking service $80 / Shipping to Europe, Russia, Middle Assia - DHL $100 , National post with tracking service $40"
"Vasili Dimitrevich POLENOV (1844 St.Petersburg - 1927 Borka, Russia) ; Crimea view ; early 20th century ; canvas on cardboard, oil / framed ; dimensions 9 x 16 cm (3 1/2 x 6 1/3 in.) ; signed lower right corner ; provenance - ARSANI Auction (April 26, 2014) Kharkov, Ukraine. Lot #21, est. $ 10000 - 12000 ; Shipping to USA - DHL $160 , National post with tracking service $80 / Shipping to Europe, Russia, Middle Assia - DHL $100 , National post with tracking service $40"
VASILIY DMITRIYEVICH POLENOV (RUSSIAN 1844-1927) Path through the Snow, oil on paper laid on board 10.5 x 15.2 cm (4 1/8 x 6 in.) monogrammed lower right
POLENOV, VASILY (1844-1927) Study of Christ, signed and dated 1886. Oil on canvas, laid on cardboard, 38.5 by 31 cm. Provenance: Collection of A. Koshelev, c. 1950. Private collection, USA. Private collection, UK. Authenticity of the work has been confirmed by the expert V. Petrov. Authenticity has also been confirmed by the expert E. Paston. Exhibited: V. D. Polenov, Exhibition Hall of the Union of Artists of the USSR, Moscow, 1950 (label on the reverse). Russkaya zhivopis vtoroi poloviny XIX veka i nachala XX veka, Central House of Workers of the Arts of the USSR, Moscow, 1951–1952 (label on the reverse). Literature: Exhibition catalogue, V. D. Polenov, Moscow, 1950, p. 37. The present lot is a study for the painting Christ and the Sinner, 1888, now in the collection of the State Russian Museum, St Petersburg. Vasily Polenov’s Biblical series constitutes not only an exceptional part of the artist’s oeuvre, but equally of the 19th century Russian realist school as a whole. This shoulder-length study of Christ in a head-dress is part of the artist’s preparatory work for one of the greatest canvasses of that series. The idea for the painting originated in the artist’s mind as early as 1868 while he still was a student at the Imperial Academy of Arts. He worked on it for more than a decade, finishing the canvas in 1888. Altogether, Polenov created over 150 studies, drawings and versions of the work. Executed in a broad, impressionistic manner, Study of Christ is a vivid illustration of Polenov’s skill as a colourist. The writer Vikenty Veresaev wrote of Christ and the Sinner which he saw at one of the Peredvizhniki exhibition: “The painting gives us Christ in the only possible way in which we can now envision him – not as God, but as a man with an incredibly large soul.” This felicitous appraisal can be applied in full to the expressive and vivacious study offered here which is a depiction of the protagonist of this iconic painting.
*POLENOV, VASILY (1844-1927) The Forge, signed and indistinctly dated "(?)5". Oil on canvas, laid on cardboard, 33 by 61.5 cm (cardboard size). Provenance: Sotheby’s London, May 1980 (label on the reverse). Cornette de Saint Cyr Paris, March 1985 (label on the reverse). Acquired at the above sale by a previous owner. Collection of Lode van Rijn, a Director of the Khepri Gallery, Amsterdam (label on the reverse). Private collection, The Netherlands. Authenticity of the work has been confirmed by the expert V. Petrov. Authenticity has also been confirmed by the expert G. Churak.
"Vasili Dimitrevich POLENOV (1844 St.Petersburg - 1927 Borka, Russia) ; Crimea view ; early 20th century ; canvas on cardboard, oil / framed ; dimensions 9 x 16 cm (3 1/2 x 6 1/3 in.) ; signed lower right corner ; provenance - ARSANI Auction (April 26, 2014) Kharkov, Ukraine. Lot #21, est. $ 10000 - 12000 ; Shipping to USA - DHL $160 , National post with tracking service $80 / Shipping to Europe, Russia, Middle Assia - DHL $100 , National post with tracking service $40"
VASILIY DMITRIYEVICH POLENOV (RUSSIAN 1844-1927) A Lakeview, 1901 oil on canvas laid on board 30 x 23 cm (11 3/4 x 9 in.) [sight] signed with monogram and dated lower left
"Vasili Dimitrevich POLENOV (1844 St.Petersburg - 1927 Borka, Russia) ; Crimea view ; early 20th century ; canvas on cardboard, oil / framed ; dimensions 9 x 16 cm (3 1/2 x 6 1/3 in.) ; signed lower right corner ; provenance - ARSANI Auction (April 26, 2014) Kharkov, Ukraine. Lot #21, est. $ 10000 - 12000 ; Shipping to USA - DHL $160 , National post with tracking service $80 / Shipping to Europe, Russia, Middle Assia - DHL $100 , National post with tracking service $40"
