Lot 138: ALEXEI PETROVICH BOGOLIUBOV

PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE COLLECTION, FRANCE 1824-1896 PORT IN NORMANDY signed in Latin l.l. oil on canvas 31 by 61cm, 12 1/4 by 24in.

Bogoliubov settled in France in the 1870s and often visited the coast of Normandy, attracted by its picturesque villages and the boundless sea. The harbour town of Le Tréport features often in his work from this period, and there are a number of parallels between the present work and Tréport Harbour during a Storm and Returning to the Tréport Harbour at High Tide (both 1876, The Saratov State Art Museum), for example the contrast of white clouds behind dark sails, the textured brushwork on the white water and the small figures toward the edge of the composition, which convey a sense of perspective and drama.