Nikolai Aleksandrovich Sergeev (Sergeyev)
Shady Stream - Late 19th Century Bucolic Landscape
1890

About the Item

Gorgeous late 19th Century Russian landscape with stream in the shade by Nikolai Aleksandrovich Sergeev (Nikolai Alexandrovich Sergeyev ) (Mykola Oleksandrovyc Serhjejev ) (Russian Empire, 1855-1919), 1890. Signed and dated in Cyrillic on front and his studio monogram stamp on verso and an attestation statement Translation: "Sketch of academician N.A. Sergeev, dates back to the early nineties (1890s) . Authenticity is evidenced by the son of artist Sergeev and the Sergeev stamp. Unframed. Image size: 12"H x 18"W. There are various ways of spelling or translating his name from the Russian: Nikolay Aleksandrovich Sergeyev or Nikolai Sergeev. He studied painting with the famous master and professor of the Academy of Arts LF Lagorio . The best works: "The stalled river", "June", "Elegy", "The cloud came up", "The wind gets stronger", "Steppe", "The stars are burning down", "Dnepr Bay" . In 1889 he was awarded the Order of St. Stanislav 3rd degree in the promotion of activities in the artistic field. In 1910, N. A. Sergeev became an academician of landscape painting. References: • S. N. Kondakov. Anniversary reference book of the Imperial Academy of Arts. 1764-1914 . - SPb .: Partnership R. Golike and A. Vilborg, 1915. - T. 2 (Part biographical). - p. 179. - 459 p. Throughout his life Sergeev delighted in painting the wonderful landscapes of Ukraine, "Little Russia", which he had so loved since childhood: the shady forests and groves, the velvety green meadows, the quiet winding streams and the sun-drenched hills around Kharkov, Kiev, Poltava. His peers noted that "as a landscape painter, Sergeev did not confine himself to mere representation of the external forms of Nature, he perceived her with the soul of an artist and poet, sensitive to her life and many moods. His pictures are always poetic, they are full of light, the brilliance of the sun's rays; they have a distinctive general tone and coloring, which made a favorable impression on Nikolai Alexandrovich from the very first appearance of his works at exhibitions." Sergeev's brush captured images of Ukrainian huts, standing out so brightly in the meadow, the forest or by the river, homely village courtyards prettily shaded by a silver poplar, rowan or willow, and overgrown ponds. A generic motif is present in some of the artist's landscapes - peasants depicted against the background of a natural scene, working in the fields, gathering fruit or threshing. But the focus of interest in his best canvases was invariably the light, its effects and elusive changing states. It is no accident that many of the artist's paintings have such titles as Light and Shade, Rainbow, Light through the Clouds, Stars Dying Out, Ablaze, White Night, Mist, Rays,Fireflies, and so on. But the canvas Tsar-Svet presented here for auction, with its epic scope and pictorial perfection, stands out even in this series as an undoubtedly programmatic work of the artist. In his search for means to express the transparency and shades of light on canvas as fully as possible, Sergeev focused very much on texture and experimentation with painting techniques. For example, he would paint outlines in watercolors, sometimes leaving clean areas of the base layer showing through. Sergeev attached great importance to glazes and used them, even though they appear inconsistent with the character of his thickly textured painting on coarse canvas. Although Sergeev created a great number of meticulously precise nature studies, he often painted large works only from his impression, without preliminary studies, and subsequently regarded these paintings as his best works. By 1916 when he created Tsar-Svet, the artist had achieved the full flowering of his artistic gift and was widely known and highly esteemed by the intelligentsia of the capital. Thus, the author of an article in Khudozhestvennye Novosti wrote: "Sergeev is one of our most productive painters; in a comparatively short time, he has gained a reputation as a talented landscape painter and stands equal to the best of our painters of nature. In his manner, he partly resembles V. Orlowsky, but he develops slightly different themes: ... in his paintings we undoubtedly feel the scope of a true artist, pensive, poetically attuned and able without the slightest affectation to give emphasis to his own poetic feeling." Sergeev received his early education in Kharkov, where he graduated from the same school as Semiradsky and Vasilkovsky, the best in the city. This school was famous, especially for the drawing lessons taught by the artist D. Bezperchiy, a pupil of the great Karl Brullov. Sergeev's parents encouraged their son's passion for painting, but did not take it seriously - they were preparing the young man for a career as a road engineer. Giving their blessings to their son on completion of his course, in 1876 they sent him to the St Petersburg School of Military Engineering. But Sergeev had other plans, and when he failed his drawing exam for the Academy of Arts, the talented youth became a pupil in the private studio of Lev Lagorio. His lessons with the well-known painter of seascapes were successful, and in 1886 Sergeev was awarded a Large silver medal forworks presented at the Academy exhibition: Outskirts of a Cossack Town, On a Country Road, On the Flood-Meadow. F. Bulgakov, a well-known art critic who visited the exhibition, caught the essential spirit of this emerging landscape painter in his early work, that he effectively defined the artist's creative credo for the rest of his life: "Sergeev is one of those artists who depict the beauty of nature in Ukraine, and his new landscapes show many original features ... The picture On the Flood-Meadow is one of the best pieces in the exhibition, it brings to mind the characteristic features of Ukraine.

Creator:

Nikolai Aleksandrovich Sergeev (Sergeyev) (1855 - 1919)

Creation Year:

1890

Dimensions:

Height: 12 in (30.48 cm)Width: 18 in (45.72 cm)Depth: 0.2 in (5.08 mm)

Medium:

Linen,Oil,Cardboard

Movement & Style:

Impressionist

Period:

1890-1899