Live Auction 1161Important Russian Art
Alexandre Benois (1870-1960)
Lot 57

Alexandre Benois (1870-1960)

Two illustrations for The Bronze Horseman: St Petersburg flooded; and By the monument in the moonlight

Closed25 November 2013

Price Realised

GBP 11,875

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Alexandre Benois (1870-1960)
Two illustrations for The Bronze Horseman: St Petersburg flooded; and By the monument in the moonlight
the first signed in pencil and dated in ink 'A Benois 1928.' (lower right); the second signed and dated 'Alexandre Benois 1916' (lower left); further signed in Cyrillic and inscribed in Russian 'Aleksandr Benua/Dedicated to D. S. Merezhkovskii/Kapsel' (lower edge, in the plate); with inscription from Alexandre Djanchieff 'voir le Chevalier d'Airain de Pouchkine/Dessin reproduit' (on the reverse)
the first pencil, ink and watercolour on paper; the second a lithograph
the first 9 x 13¾ in. (22.9 x 34.9 cm.); the second 9¼ x 9¾ in. (23.7 x 24.6 cm.)

Acquired directly from Anne Benois-Tcherkessoff (1895-1984), daughter of the artist, by Alexandre Djanchieff in Paris in the 1960s.
By descent to the present owner.

Specialist note

St Petersburg flooded relates to the larger watercolour by the same name, which was executed in 1929 and subsequently held in the collection of Serge Lifar. Both the present watercolour and lithograph relate to Benois' 1916 illustrations accompanying Pushkin's Mednyi Vsadnik [The Bronze Horseman] published in 1923 (see pp. 27 & 46 respectively).