Lot 227: Sergei Vasilievich Ivanov, 1864-1910 , The Boyar's serfs oil on board

signed in Cyrillic and titled later l.r. oil on board

58 by 86.5cm., 22¾ by 34in.

Sotheby's London, Russian Icons, Pictures and Works of Art, 17 June 1993, Lot 363

Sergei Ivanov's democratic convictions are scarcely concealed in his paintings which often portray the struggle of the lower classes against despotism. Much of his early work depicts discontented peasants who were angry at impoverishment and oppression and, fired by utopian dreams of a land of plenty, migrated to the outer regions of Russia. This phenomenon was chronicled by Tolstoy among others, and it set Ivanov on a path of painting highly emotive canvases in which the beauty of the landscape only serves to intensify the human tragedy of the subject matter. Rebellion was a common theme in his later work which features both historical rebels, such as Pugachev and Stepan Razin, and after the 1905 uprising, contemporary ones too. Some of his most pointedly critical works were deemed unacceptable in his lifetime and they were often omitted from exhibitions. In The Boyar's Serfs, a freezing peasant behind the sleigh rubs his ears to keep warm. The implicit comment on social inequality is alleviated by the comic poses of the two serfs riding on the back of the sleigh: one is poised to jump off, the other has tied himself to the sleigh and gnaws at a piece of lamb.