Lot 237: SPIRIN, GENNADY

Original gouache signed (in silver ink), illustrating a scene in E. T. A. Hoffman's "The Nutcracker," (9 3/4 x 5 1/2 in.; 248 x 140 mm), n.p., c. 1996. Matted, framed and glazed (not examined out of frame).

NOTE

This very fine, detailed image of a Christmas tree and children's gifts was done for Spirin's illustrated edition of "The Nutcracker," published in 1996. In 1997 and 1998, Saks Fifth Avenue used Spirin's images of the Hoffman tale in their holiday promotions in both New York and Chicago. In 1998, the London Times wrote, "The microscopic precision of his super-realism recalls Flemish great Jan Van Eyck, while Spirin's unbelievable graphic facility is like that of German Renaissance artist Albrecht Dürer ...."