Lot 207: FEDOR FEDOROVICH FEDOROVSKY

FEDOR FEDOROVICH FEDOROVSKY 1883-1955 SET DESIGN oil on canvas 93 by 111cm, 36 1/2 by 43 3/4 in.

Alexander Zavolokin, Moscow

Fedor Fedorovsky made his official debut in 1910 with the designs for Sergei Zimin's opera, The Snow Maiden. He had already designed sets for Zimin from as early as 1907, following the completion of his studies at the Stroganov school.



In contrast to the artists of the Mir Iskusstva group, he preferred the rich spectacle and coarseness of ancient Rus' to the refinement of Versailles. In the words of one of his contemporaries, Fedorovsky 'loved working with the architecture of the stage in creating that which never existed, but could be brought to life (...) He needs the world of fairytales or legends, of great passions or heroic feats' (cited in N.Gilyarovskaya, M-L, 1945, F.F.Fedorovsky, p.43)



The offered lot is executed in the bright, festive colours typical of Fedorovsky's work from the 1910s and early 1920s. The viewer's eye is drawn upwards by the strong diagonals in the composition, an effect emphasised by the tonal gradation of dark to light, and which imbue the work with a palpable sense of space.



It is believed the offered design draws on the artist's designs for an unrealised production of Sadko from 1909. It was formerly in the collection of the well-known curator and cultural entrepreneur, Alexander Zavolokin(1951-2008).