Bidspirit auction | Maximov Nikolai Khristoforovich (1892-1979) ”Lunch

Maximov Nikolai Khristoforovich (1892-1979) ”Lunch break. Samarkand”. The 1930s. Cardboard, oil, 49×62 cm. Without a signature. There is an identifying inscription on the back.: ”I certify: that this work was purchased by me from Semyon Yakovlevich Feldstein (a well-known collector) in the 1970s, who at one time bought it from the author. / President of the Art Propaganda Foundation / / Maximov / Samarkand in the 1930s”. - Painting by Nikolai Khristoforovich Maksimov ”Lunch break. Samarkand (1930s) is an expressive genre scene that conveys the atmosphere of a Central Asian city and the unhurried rhythm of everyday life. Figures of people relaxing are grouped in the shade of trees and near the bright walls of the courtyard: the artist builds the composition as a lively ”conversation” of silhouettes and color spots, where the viewer's attention gently slides from the foreground into the depths of the space. Maximov's painting style is free and temperamental: broad strokes and pasty texture create a sense of movement of air and light. The contrast of cool blue and light blue hues of clothing with the warm ochre and gray-earthy tones of the environment enhances the impression of a hot day and the saving coolness under the foliage. The scene is designed not as an ethnographic sketch, but as a complete pictorial image, with an emphasis on color, materiality of painting and the rhythm of composition. The origin of the work is confirmed by the certifying inscription on the back: ”I certify: that this work was purchased by me from Semyon Yakovlevich Feldstein (a well-known collector) in the 1970s, who at one time bought it from the author. / President of the Art Propaganda Foundation / / Maximov / Samarkand in the 1930s”. Maximov Nikolai Khristoforovich (1892-1979), painter, graphic artist, studied at the MUZHVZ (1914-1918), then at the studios of I. I. Mashkov and P. P. Konchalovsky in Moscow (1918-1919). He lived in Voronezh (1919-1920) and Moscow (since 1920). He painted thematic paintings, landscapes, still lifes, portraits. He was engaged in monumental painting. He was friends with the artist S. M. Romanovich. Member and exhibitor of the Makovets Association (1924-1926), the Society of Moscow Artists (1928-1929), and the AHR (1929-1932). Participated in the First Russian Art Exhibition in Berlin (1922), the exhibition ”Artists of the RSFSR for XV years” in Leningrad (1932) and others. Member of the Union of Artists of the USSR. He taught at the Voronezh Free Art Workshops (1919-1920), at the Art Faculty at Vkhutemas — Vkhutein in Moscow (1920s), at the Moscow Higher School of Art and Industry, the Surikov Moscow State Art Institute (since the second half of the 1940s), professor. Among the students are I. V. Evstigneev, P. F. Nikonov, V. F. Stozharov, P. P. Ossovsky, N. F. Novikov and others. Honored Artist of the RSFSR. A memorial exhibition of Maximov was held in Moscow (1981).His work is represented in a number of museum collections.