Lot 624: LEOPOLD BERNSHTAM, 1859-1939

LEOPOLD BERNSHTAM, 1859-1939 ALEXEY SERGEEVICH SUVORIN signed: L. Bernshtam , Paris, dated 1891 bronze, dark brown patina height: 36.5cm, 14¾in

Leopold Bernshtam is one of Russia's most famous sculptors whose work produced at the turn of the twentieth century was as highly regarded in Russia as it was in France. He studied at the Russian Imperial Academy of Art in 1877 and worked under Mercé in Paris in 1885. From 1890-1900 the sculptor produced busts of the Imperial Family including Tsars Alexander II, Alexander III, Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodrovna. However he is best known for his busts of famous French and Russian literary figures including Pushkin, Dostoevsky, Zola and Thomas.
Suvorin as journalist, publisher, theatre critic and dramatist moved in the same artistic circles as the authors mentioned, and helped to develop Bernshtam's reputation by publishing one of the first articles on the creative works of the artist in his newspaper New Era. This bust was created in the period when Bernshtam was considered to be in his prime.