Bidspirit auction | Sergey Nikolaevich Ridman (circa 1890

Sergey Nikolaevich Ridman (circa 1890 — after 1930) ”Portrait of Meerhold and sketches of animals”. The drawing is two-sided, with a pencil portrait of a girl on the other side. Paper, watercolor, pencil. 37x27cm. - Sergey Nikolaevich Ridman (1890 – after 1930) was a Soviet artist and architect. He studied at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture (MUZHVZ), created theatrical sets for productions in the 1920s. Sergei Nikolaevich Ridman's double-sided sheet ”Portrait of Meerhold and sketches of animals” is a working material characteristic of the artistic practice of the 1920s — at the same time observation, image search and free improvisation. On one side is a portrait of Vsevolod Meerhold: a rapid pencil drawing with watercolor accents conveys the lively facial expressions and inner composure of the model, avoiding external ”parade” for the sake of psychological accuracy. Light color touches enliven the shape and emphasize the expressiveness of the look. Sketches of animals are placed nearby — fast, plastic, made on the fly. Movement and character are most important in them: several confident lines capture the turn of the head, silhouette, tension of the paws or back, creating the feeling of an instantly grasped gesture. The turn of the sheet complements the work with a pencil portrait of a girl — chamber and more calm in mood, which emphasizes the breadth of the author's observation and the variety of his tasks: from the theatrical environment and type to intimate sketching.