Daniel Stepanov (1882-1937)

The son of an artist, Daniel Stepanov was born in St Petersburg in 1882 and received his initial artistic training in Italy. Upon his return to Petrograd, he worked as a medallist at the St Petersburg Mint. Together with Alexander Volkov (1886-1957) and Usto Mumin (1897-1957) he worked to preserve the cultural heritage of Uzbekistan and headed up the art section of the Samarkand Commission for the Preservation and Restoration of Monuments in 1920. Stepanov immigrated to France in the early 1920s and opened a studio in Paris before moving to Venice in 1925, where his works were included in 1926 Biennale. The artist travelled extensively in Central Asia, the influence of which is immediately discernable in the present work, while the vibrant palette and insouciance of the young boy is reminiscent of Paul Gauguin’s (1848-1903) Tahitian scenes.