MOROZOV, ALEXANDER - photo 1
MOROZOV, ALEXANDER - photo 1

MOROZOV, ALEXANDER

Lot 16
30.05.2020 10:30UTC +00:00
Classic
Starting price
£ 8 000
AuctioneerMacDougall Arts Ltd.
Event locationUnited Kingdom, London
Buyer Premium27 %
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 326899
Lot 16 | MOROZOV, ALEXANDER
Estimate value
£ 8 000 – 12 000
MOROZOV, ALEXANDER
Before the Wedding

Provenance: Important private collection, Europe.

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

Alexander Morozov’s Before the Wedding offered here at auction perfectly reveals his talent as a genre artist. He did not leave many works as his legacy and they are a great rarity on the art market because they are largely held by the major museums of Russia.

It is known that the artist’s pictures, as soon as they first appeared, were warmly received by critics and public alike. He became the one to carry on the tradition left by Pavel Fedotov, the founding father of genre painting in Russia. By contrast with Fedotov, however, didacticism and caricature are absent in Morozov’s works. Neither did he join the Peredvizhniki, avoiding in his art an exposure of the ills of society.

The subjects for Morozov’s work were prompted by life itself. Thus, the painting Before the Wedding depicts a touching moment in a conversation between father and daughter. The artist depicts the lifestyle of a merchant’s home in detail, dwelling on objects in the room, particularly the icons in the “icon corner”, the lamp and the open book on the table, which emphasise the idea of worldly wisdom being passed down from one generation to another. The father holds his daughter firmly by the hand, giving her guidance on the threshold of matrimony. The young woman concentrates as she takes in his words, with eyes lowered, as though in obedience to him and fate as it is preordained, and at the same time thinks about her own. The ritual is observed, the guidance is given and accepted, but what the reality will be is not known. The mother, carrying a tray, has halted by the door and her pose expresses impatience: the time has come to go to the guests and the bridegroom.

The figure of the bride is made to stand out using colour and light, yet the characters are portrayed interacting closely together and the roles they play in developing the narrative are of equal value, as in another well-known picture by Morozov, Coming out of a church in Pskov (1864). The action is imbued with optimism — in the small dark room where it unfolds the door is wide open and the bright sunlight breaking in seems to symbolise a bright future, awaiting the young woman.
Auction house category:Russian art
Address of auction MacDougall Arts Ltd.
33 St James’s Square
SW1Y 4JS London
United Kingdom
Preview
30.05.2020 – 30.07.2020
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

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.