Classic Sale
View catalogue
To be sold at Uppsala Auktionskammare’s Important Sale: Classic & Asian 15-18 June 2021
Lot 854 Aleksej Danilovich Kivshenko (Russia 1851‑1895). ”Two cavalry men at the Tatar …”. Signed in Cyrillic and dated 90. Oil on canvas, 42 x 68.5 cm.
Marked on the reverse: ”HII” in Cyrillic (NII under imperial crown for Nicholai II), ”N112” (meaning No. 112) and ”No 10027/28536”. On the label various inventory numbers of different organizations and the inscription: Artist Kivshenko, Russian school, Alexander Palace, (…unintelligible), Nikolai II ”Two cavalry men at the Tatar (…unintelligible)”. L.U.A. On the bottom of the frame, in pencil, the inventory number and AX (possibly the Academy of Arts).
300.000 – 500.000 SEK
€ 30.000 – 49.000
His Highness, heir Nicholas II, acquired at an Academy exhibition in 1890 (number 112 and the sign of Nicholas II indicates the number in the collection).
Frey Samsioe (1890‑1972), engineer working at Vattenbyggnadsbyrån (the Swedish Hydraulic Engineering Company) 1912‑1916 and 1919‑1955.
The Academy exhibition in 1890.
V. I. Yakovlev, Aleksandrovskii Dvorets-Muzei v Detskom Sele (The Alexander Palace-Museum in Detskoe Selo), 1927. Possibly this painting titled “Kirghiz” by Kivshenko is mentioned as part of the collection of the Alexander Palace.
The artist Aleksej Kivshenko is an illustrious representative of the Russian school of painting along with names as I. Kramskoy, V. Surikov, V. Vereshchagin and G. Myasoedov. He was a master of military and historical genre painting, a talented illustrator and the artist of many paintings with Russian history as a subject. He worked in both oil and watercolour techniques. His graduate work, the historical painting ”The Military Council in Fili in 1812”, was a huge success and is a well-known masterpiece by all lovers of Russian art.
The military theme and the theme of travel is widely represented in his oeuvre. He traveled a lot both in Europe and in the Eastern countries, capturing the typical landscapes of these places, depicting scenes from everyday life of the locals.
This auction’s painting ”Two cavalry men at the Tatar …” belongs to this genre of paintings. Against the background of the lush greenery of the hills, you can see the tent of nomads; in the center of the composition there is a group of people: two figures of cavalry men talking to a woman in a beautiful and bright costume. A curious child runs towards them, probably wanting to hear the news.
The painting was exhibited at The Academy Exhibition in 1890 and was sold to His Highness, the heir Nicholas II (number 112 and the mark of Nicholas II indicate the number in the collection).
On the label there are various inventory numbers of different organizations and the inscription: Artist Kivshenko, Russian school, Alexander Palace, Nikolai II monogram. “Two cavalrymen at the Tatar (… unintelligible)”. Л.У.А(in Cyrillic, failed to decipher the abbreviation). On the bottom of the frame is written in pencil the inventory number and AX (possibly the Academy of Arts).
In the book by Yakovlev, a painting named ”Kirghiz” by Kivshenko is also mentioned as part of the collection of the Alexander Palace.