Footnotes

Provenance
Acquired from a private collection, 2011

The present lot is offered with an official expertise from the Independent Research Expertise Studio at the State Tretyakov Gallery, dated May 15, 2014.


During the authentication analyst of present work by Mikhail Vrubel, one of the most mysterious artist in the Russian art of 20th century, the question of the subject matter and the identity of the sitter remained center stage of the discussion. While technical and stylistic analysis confirmed the hand of the artist, the mystery of the subject matter remained and required additional research and careful comparison with artist's known works.
The self- absorbed, intense and rather rigid pose, puzzling laurel wreath and apparent likeness of the sitter and the artist were exciting and perplexing. When compared with Vrubel's Self-Portrait painted in 1883 (The State Russian Museum) during artist's work Hamlet and Ophelia (watercolour, 1883, Kiev Museum of Russian Art; the oil painting, 1884, is in the State Russian Museum and the eponymous painting, which continues this theme in 1888 is in the State Tretyakov Gallery) this indenyable likeness of the depicted sitter and Mikhail Vrubel became even more obvious. In these works dating to 1883-1888, artist choose to depict himself as a model for Shakespeare's Hamlet symbolically aligning himself with the eternal symbol of intellectual complexity, spiritual discord, suffering and loneliness to that of the Danish Prince.
Stylistic comparisons of the present painting with well-known works from the Tretyakov gallery, for example with the Portrait of Anastasia (1894) and with sketches from his Mediterranean travels, Porto Fino, Propylaea.
Athens (1894), reveal similarities in painting style and palette. As a result it became possible to date the present lot to the first half of the 1890s.
In September 1889, on the way from Kazan to Kiev, Vrubel made a stop in Moscow, where he met his old friends Konstantin Korovin and Valentin Serov. The artists introduced him to Savva Mamontov, a man of spirited personally and bondless energy, a passionate philanthropist art and music connoisseur who established the Abramtsevo artist's colony near Moscow which later became a center for fostering the revival of Russian folk art and traditional crafts. The estate and the colony of artists around Abramtsevo became one of the most influential centres of art and music in Moscow famous for its distinctive creative and intellectual milieu.
The stimulating atmosphere of Mamontov's residence exemplified
the idea of a synthesis of various art forms and its national manifestation: works were created in a neo-Russian style, the fusion of European modernism and Russian romanticism. The owners of Abramtsevo supported the popular tradition of domestic music and theatre performances and by 1885 Abramtsevo had its own opera theatre where Savva Mamontov often directed productions and wrote often wrote plays. Many artists in residence and guests were encouraged to take part in plays and productions or make contributions as stage and costume designers, or musicians. In addition to the more professional opera performances at the the Private Opera, plays in the residence continued on regular basis. Mamontov asked Vrubel to create stage design for his the tragedy Saul. The artist worked on sketches together with Valentin Serov and the premiere, which took place in 1890, was a great success.
Two years later during the 15th anniversary of the Mamontov's Theatrical enterprise Vrubel was offered a chance to demonstrate his remarkable acting talent. During the anniversary evening, he staged a tableau vivant based on Othello by William Shakespeare. In addition, Vrubel and A. Vasnetsov staged another tableau vivant, Dante and Virgil, directed by Serov. A description of this performance can be found in an album A chronicle of our artistic circle published by the artists in Moscow in 1894. The most important characteristic of the tableaux vivants art form in the second half of the XIX century was the recognizable similarity of the presented scene and the known painting or sculptural composition, and the ability of the audience to connect both art forms. In this case, the painting staged was apparently Dante and Virgil or The Barque of Dante by Delacroix (1822, Louvre, Paris). It is very likely that Vrubel persuaded Serov to choose this presentation because the artist had been fascinated by Dante's Divine Comedy since he was a young boy. In September 1892, when the premiere of the performance was just a few months away, Vrubel wrote to his sister concerning his intention to work on three large paintings, one of which was: Dante walking in a grove of stone pines at Ravenna. Curiously, the artist depicted himself as a Virgil instead. The figure of the Latin poet and
Dante's guide on his journey through Hell and Purgatory, might have been even more attractive to Vrubel. Another famous artist, Sergei Sudeikin, wrote after meeting Vrubel for the first time: 'Never in my entire life have I a met more charming person... He recited the Iliad and the Odyssey in Greek, Virgil in Latin, Faust in German, Hamlet in English, and Dante in Italian. All this was combined with magnificent comments delivered in French.'
The spell bounding effect of the tableaux vivants was achieved through a
combination of the utmost authenticity of the original source and the and staged models, immobile and carefully positioned. The moment
a figure on stage came to life'was the moment when the illusion would
be destroyed. The actor had to be as motionless as a statue in these
performances and this accounts for the deliberate stillness in the offered work.
In spite of the enormous popularity of tableaux vivants at theatrical
evenings, there is very little information concerning this type of
performance. There are virtually no reproductions or descriptions which
remain. As such, the offered picture is a rare discovery. It was most
likely painted during preparation for the tableau vivant of Dante and
Virgil, or possibly, following the performance.
Two months after the performance of Dante and Virgil, in March 1894,
Vrubel accompanied Mamontov's son to Naples. The journey was to last
six to eight weeks and in a letter to his sister Anna the artist wrote: 'I'll take with me numerous artistic tools to capture this stay and create sketches'. The colour palette of these sketches is very similar to the offered lot, The artist in the role of Virgil... and therefore Vrubel probably used the same medium and color pallete in both. Accordingly, the painting can be dated to 1893.

We are grateful to Dr Eleonora Paston for providing this note.