Bidspirit auction | Nikolai Ivanovich Golikov (1924–2011)

Nikolai Ivanovich Golikov (1924–2011) - Study Panel “Landscape Forms in the Stroganov Style”. Palekh, USSR, 1940s. Cardboard, egg tempera. 16 by 12 cm Condition report: Signs of handling; traces of black pigment on the reverse. Provenance: From the family archive of the Golikov dynasty. One of the earliest surviving works by Nikolai Ivanovich Golikov, created during his studies at the Palekh Art School in the 1940s. Preserved in the artist’s family. A rare academic study revealing the foundation of the artist’s visual language. This work focuses on the rendering of stylized landscape forms (“rock formations”) characteristic of the Stroganov school of the 16th-17th centuries. The composition demonstrates structural precision, rhythmic organization of forms and clarity of planar construction. The palette is built on pure local colours - deep blues and greens warm ochre and terracotta tones. The tempera technique highlights control, discipline, and accuracy of execution. This study represents not merely an academic exercise, but the foundation from which Golikov’s later expressive “flying style” would emerge. Collecting & Investment Potential: Early academic works by Nikolai Ivanovich Golikov are among the rarest surviving components of his oeuvre. They are significant because they document the formation of his artistic language, reveal the academic basis of Palekh painting and are rarely preserved outside institutional collections.