MASTERPIECES

YAKOVLEV Vladimir Igorevich (1934–1998) Nude. 1971. Paper, gouache. 83 × 59

A rare story. Knowledgeable. Particularly valuable. Yakovlev had a theme of portraits of imaginary brides. But it was not erotic, but rather dramatic. It was a theme running through a traumatic personal experience. Unfortunate Yakovlev had his heart broken more than once. Whoever is interested, you can read more about it in Mikhail Grobman's diaries, in his book “Leviathan”. The imaginary brides in Yakovlev's drawings are always psychological portraits: distorted, often reproachful, with some kind of imperfection. And there's almost none of that here. If there is, it is minimal. However, connoisseurs, who have already seen this gouache before the auction, noticed that this woman's hand wave was not accidental. A thing with nerve and philosophy.

We have a whole article and a separate youtube video devoted to the peculiarities of the Yakovlev market. This is the astounding story of how the retoucher of the publishing house began to draw under the impression of the exhibitions of foreign artists as part of the 1957 Youth Festival. And quickly revealed himself as a phenomenal intuitive painter. In the 1970s, his gouaches became symbols of unofficial art. They were bought by representatives of the Soviet creative and scientific intelligentsia. Against the background of the dominance of propaganda art, the purchase of Yakovlev's works was certainly a form of intellectual resistance. The gouache was seen and confirmed by expert Valery Silaev.

SHULZHENKO Vasily Vladimirovich (1949) Gulliver. 2006. Oil on canvas. 146 × 120

71-year-old Vasily Shulzhenko today can be safely called one of the main troublemakers on the toothless Moscow art scene. The artist will outstrip a lot of young ones. Critical provocative plots, bold metaphors, crazy characters, grotesque scenes — he has no equal here. His programmatic “Latrine” became a landmark work of the decade, almost unattainable in terms of the power of expression.

Today we have “Gulliver” in front of us. We associate this character with a children's fairy tale, with the land of the Lilliputians. The plot is fun for children. The mountain-man performs feats, amuses the little people, easily wins naval battles, steals a toy-sized enemy fleet, and all that. But in fact, Swift was writing an adult caustic satirical novel, mocking the ills of society and, let's say carefully, the imperfections of the political systems of different countries. And, obviously, all the authorities had enough stupidity at all times. Whether in George I's England or in other eras and jurisdictions. Well-dressed people have always waged intrigues, engaged in senseless wars, fought dissent, while drowning in luxury and reveling in permissiveness. Gulliver miraculously escaped the evil Lilliputians. He learned that they were going to poison him by drenching his clothes with poison, and then decided to simply blind him. Morals have not changed much in hundreds of years. It is no coincidence that Shulzhenkov's Gulliver of the 21st century looks at our world reproachfully — staring with a heavy hangover at the bustle of the city's midgets.

1960s UNOFFICIAL ART

NEMUKHIN Vladimir Nikolaevich (1925–2016) Composition “Pass”. 2011. Canvas, acrylic, collage. 60 × 60

Another philosophical work by Vladimir Nemukhin. Last time we had “Game Over”, and this time we have “Pass”. The French word in card games means to refuse further play or to miss a move. It is usually uttered when there is no suitable card in hand. With Nemukhin it is a metaphor for “enough”, “no move”. The last card is thrown on the table, and so be it.

What should you pay attention to? The work is laconic and very decorative. Green, the color of the card table, is common in Nemukhin's work. But such a pouring, background one is still a rarity. Superior work, spectacular, with ready-made expertise — this can be safely recommended for inclusion in the investment collection. Vladimir Nemukhin is an artist of the Lianozovo group, a participant of the Bulldozer exhibition, and a key figure in Russian unofficial postwar art.

BELENOK Petr Ivanovich (1938–1991) Anomaly over the field. 1981. Paper, ink, collage. 74 × 55

Certainly investment grade work. Very distinctive, comfortably sized and initially fairly priced. It has a verbal confirmation of Valery Silaev, which, after the purchase, we recommend to issue in the form of a written expert opinion.

Petr Belenok was a sixties artist, an innovator, a developer of the concept of panic realism. Usually the plot of his paintings is built on the conflict of an aggressive substance and a helpless fleeing figure. He drew little men in his works by hand only in the early period. Later he began to cut them out of sports magazines and use them as collage elements. Belenok was a favorite artist of Eduard Limonov. Kostaki took many of his works to Greece and sold them through his gallery. During his lifetime, the artist was not commercially successful, he lived in poverty. And in the 2000s, his works were already breaking records at Sotheby's and Christie’s. And they have repeatedly conquered the bar of $ 100,000.

ZVEREV Anatoly Timofeevich (1931–1986) A man's portrait on a blue background. 1984. Oil on canvas. 66 × 44

Portrait by Anatoly Zverev, the most famous and most popular artist of our sixties. It is a canvas, with careful, painstaking and fine work, which was a rarity in the last years of the artist's life. The piece is unusual in color, very decorative, and will become not just a notable work, but a point of attraction in the new collection.

KROPIVNITSKY Lev Evgenievich (1922–1994) Composition. 1960. Gouache on cardboard. 31 × 22

Such a Kropivnitsky-son, one can hardly find. Gouache refers to the unique early non-figurative works of L. E. Kropivnitski. In contrast to the well-known expressive works, in the studied work, the author solves rather compositional and decorative problems, which makes this piece absolutely unique! It has a museum value. These are all quotes from the expert opinion.

ARTISTS OF RUSSIAN ABROAD

BURLIUK David Davidovich (1882–1967) Two bouquets. 1950. Watercolor on paper. 40.4 × 38.5

Watercolor from 1950. American period. Burliuk by this time had already been living in the United States for 28 years. The expert notes that the artist worked on this piece with obvious pleasure, at ease and freely. The result of Burliuk's impulse is highly appreciated in the examination: “A monument of fine art, created by the father of Russian futurism”.

ISSAIEV Nikolay Alexandrovich (1891–1977) Portrait of a Girl / Landscape with a Horse. Oil on canvas, cardboard. 55 × 38

Please note that this is a two-way job. And both sides are good. But the main one is the portrait of a girl.

Nikolay Issaiev is an artist of the School of Paris, and has exhibited with Soutine and Chagall. But unlike his colleagues in the shop, he is relatively inexpensive. This is a good choice for collectors with a budget of around 100,000 rubles. His recognizable style (symbiosis of expressionism, cubism and abstraction) is aptly called “stained glass”. It was formed after 1938, when the artist worked in the workshop of Roger Bissière. Before us is a classic example of high-quality “stained glass” painting by one of the prominent representatives of the art of Russian abroad.