GORBATOV, KONSTANTIN (1876-1945) Still Life. Capri , signed and dated 1930, also further signed, titled twice and numbered "I" on the reverse. - photo 1
GORBATOV, KONSTANTIN (1876-1945) Still Life. Capri , signed and dated 1930, also further signed, titled twice and numbered "I" on the reverse. - photo 1

GORBATOV, KONSTANTIN (1876-1945) Still Life. Capri , signed and dated 1930, also further signed, titled twice and numbered "I" on the reverse.

Lot 39
29.11.2017 11:30UTC +00:00
Classic
Sold
£ 233 700
AuctioneerMacDougall Arts Ltd.
Event locationUnited Kingdom, London
Buyer Premium27 %
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 12103
Lot 39 | GORBATOV, KONSTANTIN (1876-1945) Still Life. Capri , signed and dated 1930, also further signed, titled twice and numbered "I" on the reverse.
Estimate value
£ 200 000
Oil on canvas, 110 by 90 cm.
Provenance: Collection of the artist’s family until c. 1955.
Important private collection, Europe.

Authenticity of the work has been confirmed by the expert V. Petrov.

The work Still Life. Capri (1938) by Konstantin Gorbatov, presented for auction, is truly unique, since this renowned landscape painter produced only a small number of still-life pictures in his lifetime. Furthermore, this work belongs to the most productive and successful period of the painter’s work, when, living by then in Berlin, he would constantly travel to his beloved island of Capri in search of inspiration. This still-life picture reflects the incredible creative upsurge that Gorbatov experienced every time he visited Capri. Arriving there for the first time in 1922, the artist discovered an “ideal aesthetic environment”, his painting style gradually changed, and his palette scheme became more intense and more vivid. These changes were largely encouraged by the particular artistic ambiance in which the painter found himself. A Russian artistic community had become established on Capri around Maxim Gorky between 1906 and 1913, and its life on the shores of the Bay of Naples had not lost any of its intensity in the 1920s and 1930s either. For Russian artists, writers and intellectuals, Capri was a sort of island of dreams, a utopian land of “Sun and happiness”, lying outside geographical and political boundaries.

Although working in what was to him the unfamiliar still life genre, Gorbatov does, nevertheless, display consummate skill in recreating the warmth of the Italian sunlight in this canvas, as well as a sense of succulence and freshness of the ripe, juicy fruit that seems to have just been picked. As one gazes at this exuberant painting and its vivacious colour, they are reminded of rural celebrations held to mark the harvest time – something that is in full accord with Gorbatov’s definition of art as a festival.

The expressive, lengthy shadows in Still Life. Capri show that the canvas was painted in the early evening. The shapes in the picture are enveloped in an intense, joyous, southern light. The sharp interplay of light and shade, the highlights on the smooth surface of the pumpkin, watermelon and other fruit, and the fanciful patterning created on the wall by the fragile stalks of geranium are all details that combine to give the viewer a tranquil sense of the close of a scorching Italian day. Through its rich, luminous array of colours, the work fully reflects Gorbatov’s belief that “painting is wonderful when it conveys life not as it is, but as it might be”.
Address of auction MacDougall Arts Ltd.
33 St James’s Square
SW1Y 4JS London
United Kingdom
Preview
29.11.2017 – 29.11.2017
Phone +44 20 7389 8160
Phone +7 495 799 4683
Fax +44 (0) 20 7389 8170
Email
4FQ.3FGKQHSRRSIHFPQS4@3SGAAHL@
Buyer Premium 27 %
Conditions of purchaseConditions of purchase
Business hoursBusiness hours
Mo 10:00 – 18:00   
Tu 10:00 – 18:00   
We 10:00 – 18:00   
Th 10:00 – 18:00   
Fr 10:00 – 18:00   
Sa closed
Su closed

Frequently asked questions

First of all, you should register to be able to purchase at auction. After confirming your email address, enter your personal information in your user profile, such as your first name, last name, and mail address. Choose a lot from the upcoming auction and the maximum amount you want to place on it. After confirmation of your choice, we will send your application by e-mail to the appropriate auction house. If the auction house accepts a request, it will participate in the auction. You can view the current status of a bid at any time in your personal account in the "Bids" section.
Auctions are performed by auction houses and each of the auction houses describes their terms of auction. You can see the texts in the section "Auction information".
The results of the auction are published within a few days after the end of the auction. In the top menu of the site, find the tab "Auctions". Click on it and you will be on the auction catalog page, where you can easily find the category "Results". After opening it, select the desired auction from the list, enter and view the current status of the interested lot.
The information about the auction winners is confidential. The auction winner will receive a direct notification from the auction house responsible with instructions for further action: an invoice for payment and the manner in which the goods will be received.
Each of the auction houses has its own payment policy for the won lots. All auction houses accept bank transfers, most of them accept credit card payments. In the near future you will find detailed information for each case in the section "Auction information" on the page of the auction catalog and the lot.
Shipment of the won lot depends on its size. Small items can be delivered by post. Larger lots are sent by courier. Employees of the auction houses will offer you a wide range to choose from.
No. The archive serves as a reference for the study of auction prices, photographs and descriptions of works of art.
?>