Lot 47: KONENKOV, SERGEI Years: 1874-1971 Female

KONENKOV, SERGEI Years: 1874-1971 Female Nudecarved with signature Carved wood, height 110 cm.
Authenticity letter from Ms. Marie Turbow Lampard.

Related literature: Marie Turow Lampard, John E. Bowlt, Wendy R. Salmond, The Uncommon Vision of Sergei Konenkov, 1874-1971: A Russian Sculptor and His Times, Rutgers University Press, 2001.

For similar works see Sergei Kolenkov, Khudojnik RSFSR, Leningrad, 1978, cover.

Sergei Konenkov, the genius of Russian wood sculpture, wasone of those responsible for the revival in the use of woodin twentieth century art. His light touch brought a fresh andunexpected modernity to this living, organic material as asculptural medium. His work created a fashion for woodsculpture in Russia, which was enthusiastically supported byall the outstanding masters of the period - Anna Golubkina,Stephen Erzia, Vera Mukhina and Vasiliy Vatatin, who happilyset about fashioning flesh out of timber. Konenkov'sguiding principle was not to compromise the material,which he believed to be sufficient in its own right and requiredno embellishment. In fact, Konenkov transformed woodinto one of the central materials in Russian sculpture. TheSoviet authorities had little use for art of this type, as woodencompositions were deemed unsuitable for their favouredmonumental propaganda. This allowed wooden sculpturesto develop into a more harmonious genre, free from falsepathos and official monumentalism.