Lot 315: ALEXANDER ALEXANDROVICH KISELEV

ALEXANDER ALEXANDROVICH KISELEV RUSSIAN 1837-1911 A DROWSY MORNING signed in Cyrillic (lower left) oil on canvas 20 1/2 by 28 in. 52 by 71 cm

Private Collection, Russia (acquired directly from the artist)
Thence by descent

Though Kiselev was best known as a landscape artist, he also painted a number of first-rate portraits and genre scenes. Perhaps inspired by his time at Abramtsevo, he executed a charming series of peasant children images, and these scenes exude a warmth and familiarity common in his oeuvre. In A Drowsy Morning, sunlight pours through windows into a traditional peasant home, gently waking a family of children from their sleep. The artist renders the children in endearingly realistic poses and thereby captures this commonplace scene in an extraordinary way.