Vasily Sitnikov

(Russian, 1915-1987)

'Monastère'/ 'Monastery'

Footnotes

Provenance
Acquired directly from the artist by Franco Miele
Private European collector
Thence by descent

Exhibited
Venice, Ca'Foscari, Russie! Memoria mistificazione immaginario Arte russa del '900 dalle collezioni Morgante e Sandretti, 22 April -25 July 2010

Literature
Zhitie Vasil Yaklicha Sitnikova, New York, 2009, p. 220, illustrated
Russie! Memoria mistificazione immaginario Arte russa del '900 dalle collezioni Morgante e Sandretti, Treviso 2010, pp.138,192, 216 illustrated, p. 129 listed

According to Sitnikov's autobiography, in 1965, the painting was 'roughly' sketched by his student and wife Lidia Krokhina and 'perfected' by Sitnikov. The artist also indicates that the picture was in the collection of Professor Franco Miele in Rome and the measurements cited for the painting vary slightly from its actual size. It is possible that the date '1970' inscribed on reverse of the canvas indicates the year that the painting was given to Miele.


Vasily Sitnikov was an artist with a tragic fate, who managed to embody a unique phantasmagorical world in his paintings. Completely self-taught, he acquired his knowledge of art by listening in on lectures at the Surikov Art Institute where he was employed as a slide projection assistant. Such lack of formal artistic education allowed him to experiment beyond the strict boundaries of Social Realism which dominated the academies of the time.

Being one of the key figures of non-conformism, Sitnikov nevertheless stood apart from the general movement. A lone artist who created his own unique pictorial language, he cultivated a flock of famous artists in his underground art school, the most famous being Vladmir Weisberg and Alexander Kharitonov. His fate was, however, more reminiscent of a nightmare. In 1941 he was incarcerated first in jail and later committed to an asylum for several years.

Retrospectively, there has been renewed appreciation in Sitnikov's painting as the precursor to an important formal element of Russian nonconformism. Sitnikov's work has achieved significant commercial success and artistic recognition posthumously, thanks in no small part to a major solo exhibition of his work in Moscow in 2009, which successfully showcased works spanning his career. Additionally, his works can be found in major collections around the world including the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

The popularity of his paintings of the 'Monastery' and 'Kremlin' with foreigners living in and visiting Russia prompted Sitnikov to produce varied representations of the subjects. These captivating and appealing works of snowy scenes are characteristically ripe with humour in various degrees, including paradoxical and absurd plots with caricatured tropes from Soviet everyday life. In the present lot the various personages have flocked to the beer kiosk at the walls of the Kremlin. In the lower right, Sitnikov includes a self-portrait, depicting himself as a quiet observer while standing his left foot on a pedestal.