Bidspirit auction | [Important Russian Art.] Sergei Mikhailovich

[Important Russian Art.] Sergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein. Sailor. USSR, 1944. Tinted pink paper, coloured pencils. Artist’s monogram and date in the lower right corner. Expert examination: “The work has antique and collectors’ value and may represent the artist’s oeuvre in a museum collection.” Grabar All‑Russian Art Research and Restoration Centre, Expert Report No. 192 EK‑165‑25 dated 11 July 2025, Expert Council minutes No. 23 dated 10 July 2025. The drawing belongs to the late period of Eisenstein’s work, the time when he was engaged on the film Ivan the Terrible. It is executed in his signature manner of “automatic writing”: an expressive, fluid line and a minimum of strokes convey the volume of the figure and the complex psychological state of the sitter. The use of pink tinted paper combined with blue and red pencils creates a sharp, almost poster‑like contrast characteristic of the 1940s aesthetic. The sailor motif is one of the recurring themes in Eisenstein’s graphic art, linked to his interest in masculine aesthetics and the classical canons of male beauty; the melancholic face of the character clashes with the brutality of the image, giving the sheet a deep psychological subtext. The drawing comes from the artist’s album of graphic works. Size: 19.8 × 14.5 cm. Condition: good; minor deformation of the support, slight creases and abrasions; the drawing is mounted on an album sheet. Sergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein (1898–1948) was one of the foremost film directors and theorists of world cinema, the founder of the montage school whose films Battleship Potemkin, Strike, October, Alexander Nevsky and Ivan the Terrible became milestones in film history. His graphic work is regarded as an independent stratum of his legacy: it is known that he produced thousands of drawings, many of which are held in the State Central Museum of Cinema, the Bakhrushin State Central Theatre Museum, the Russian State Archive of Literature and Art, the State Hermitage Museum and other institutions. Original sheets by Eisenstein remain an exceptionally rare occurrence on the market: the bulk of his graphic oeuvre is preserved in museum and archival collections, while the occasional appearance of his drawings at auction is episodic and perceived as an event, which lends this work particular rarity and artistic allure.