SHVARTSMAN, MIKHAIL. Lotus - photo 1
SHVARTSMAN, MIKHAIL. Lotus - photo 2
SHVARTSMAN, MIKHAIL. Lotus - photo 3
SHVARTSMAN, MIKHAIL. Lotus - photo 4
SHVARTSMAN, MIKHAIL. Lotus - photo 1

Lotus

Starting price
£ 55 000
Auction dateClassic
15.10.2020 14:00UTC +01:00
Auctioneer
MacDougall Arts Ltd.
Event location
United Kingdom, London
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 412627
Lot 210* | Lotus
Oil on canvas, laid on wood, 100 by 75 cm.Provenance: Important private collection, USA.

Exhibited: Forbidden Art: The Postwar Russian Avant-Garde, itinerant: Pasadena (Art Center College of Design, Alyce de Roulet Williamson Gallery), Oxford OH (University Art Museum), St. Petersburg (The State Russian Museum), Moscow (The State Tretiakov Gallery), Chestnut Hill (McMullen Museum of Art. Boston College), Greenwich CT (Bruce Museum of Art and Science), Gainesvill FL (Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art), Lamarie WY (Art Museum, University of Wyoming), St. Peter MN (Hillstrom Museum of Art. Gustavus Adolphus college), 1998–2008.

Literature: Exhibition catalogue, Forbidden Art. The Postwar Russian Avant-Garde Artists, Distributed Art Publishers, New York, 1998, p. 28, illustrated.
I. Shvartsman, D. Gorokhov, E. Barabanov, N. Fedorova (eds), Mikhail Shvartsman, St Petersburg, Palace Editions, 2005, p. 119, illustrated; p. 377, No. 115, illustrated and listed.

Mikhail Shvartsman painted the composition Lotus in 1977, when his diaries first show entries about the concept of Shambhala, thus echoing both classical Buddhism and the esoteric teachings of Yelena Blavatskaya (Helena Blavatsky). The artist was the grand-nephew of the eminent Russian religious philosopher Lev Shestov, and he thought of his works as sign-images, as representations of the constant divine presence, calling them “hieratures” (from the ancient Greek hieros – “sacred” or “symbolic”).

The concept of “hieratic art” began to take shape. Shvartsman regarded messianism as the purpose of his art and saw his creations as embodiments of the sacred principle. He structured his hieratures as a layering of numerous organomorphic and mechanistically abstract forms and figures, all interacting with each other. The painter took the view that, as they developed into a complex colour and plastic structure, these compositions were imbued with intellectual and spiritual semantic contexts by alluding, primarily, to icon painting, both by their names in conjunction with the levkas and tempera technique, and by their expression of images and symbols of the other world that were sacred to the artist.

Shvartsman called this fusion and growth of some forms into others a change of metamorphosis, a succession that is as inevitable as that of the generations. And since he was the “hierat”, he saw it as his destiny to explore and glorify the Divine creation through his art.



The present lot as illustrated in the Exhibition catalogue
The present lot as illustrated in the Catalogue raisonné
Verso of the present lot
Address of auction MacDougall Arts Ltd.
33 St James’s Square
SW1Y 4JS London
United Kingdom
Preview
15.10.2020 – 15.10.2020
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

More from Creator

Krepost Glavy
Krepost Glavy
£70 000

Related terms

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.