Artist of the week: Mieczyslaw Dobrokovsky
ARTinvestment.RU   27 апреля 2020

History, pricing and marketing indicators of the artist-новатора, a talented graphic and poster artist Mieczyslaw V. Dobrokovskogo

All that we are experiencing now, what to build and how, what our people — all this should be in the sketchbook. This is our travel Luggage. This is a very valuable material for the future.

M. Dobrokovsky

Years of life: 1895-1938

Period: avant-garde

Direction: painting, drawing

Life and work

Naval officer, born poster artist, Russian dervish a lover of the sea and the poetry of the futurists, this is only part of the characteristics that can be described as one of the best graphics the first half of the twentieth century, artist, Mieczyslaw V. (Voytsehovicha) Dobrokovskogo.

Mieczyslaw Dobrokovsky was born 27 may 1895 in the town of Vidzy petrokovsky province, on the territory of modern Poland, in the family of an the main bailiff. Surprisingly, neither early childhood nor his youth nothing predicted future reference to art. After graduating from Peterhof gymnasium of Emperor Alexander II, in the early 1910-х years, he decided to connect his life with military service at sea and entered the Military-медицинскую Academy, where he studied until 1915. Then he was drafted for service in the Baltic fleet in the rank of Midshipman. From 1915 to 1917 Dobrokovsky lived and served in Helsingfors (now — Helsinki), and in the winter of 1917/1918 year was part of a well-known Ice campaign of the Baltic fleet — rescue operations of the Baltic fleet ships from capture by German and Finnish troops and transfer them from Helsingfors to Kronstadt.

Part in this campaign played a major role in his life. On returning from Krondstadt in Petrograd, Dobrokovsky, by the time George knight, filed a report with the request for health to transfer him to the service of the Baltic fleet in place with a warmer climate. The request was granted, and in late 1910-х he was transferred for service in the Caspian fleet.

17 may 1920, ships of the Caspian fleet to support the revolutionary movement in Persia came from Baku and on 20 may captured the Persian port of Anzali in Gilan province, where 5 Jun Gilyanska was proclaimed a Soviet Republic. To support the new building it was decided to establish the local Soviet army, dubbed "Parseme". An important place in it occupied by the so-called "speakers of Parcarii" — artists and poets engaged in propaganda and agitation activities. One of the main "lecturers" were by that time well-proven as a poster artist-самоучка Mieczyslaw Dobrokovsky.

interestingly, Dobrokovskogo fascination with fine art began in 1910-х years and was connected with his love of the sea. Alexei Kosterin in his memoirs, "Silhouettes 20-х years" recalled that "even in Petrograd and Helsingfors he [Dobrokovsky] attained perfection by working in the style of English artists-маринистов". However, by the end 1910-х, fascinated by the ideas of the revolution, it was overtaken by new trends in art — futurism in poetry and painting, the works of Vladimir Mayakovsky, Velimir Khlebnikov, etc.

By the way, his passion for the sea and work of Khlebnikov was so great that his sons he named after the ship on which he served, and friend-поэта — and the Caspian sea Velimir.

In Persia, in the absenceart materials, Dobrokovsky engaged in engraving his works of the 1920s-х years recognizable at first sight: no vertical lines, strokes, halftone, only local black silhouettes on white background. Freedom composite solutions, added passion for futurism and friendship with V. Khlebnikov, joined him in Parcarii a few months later. Fruitful collaboration "Russian dervish" continued until the elimination of the Persian red army in the autumn of 1921, after which Dobrokovsky went to Vladikavkaz, and Khlebnikov — in Pyatigorsk.

For a year of life in the Caucasus Dobrokovsky has worked in the newspaper "mountain truth" and the magazine "mountain thoughts", and even drew illustrations for the essay "In the Caucasus mountains. 1917-1920" his friend, writer A. Dempsey. In addition, in early 1922 Dobrokovsky created the figure of the mountaineer, which, according to the memories of Dempsey, "might have served as the basis for E. Lanceray depicts a rider who, reproduced in millions of copies, is still "jumps" on cigarette boxes "Kazbek"".

In 1922 Dobrokovsky moved to Moscow, where he continued work as an Illustrator. His manner — using simplified shapes and silhouettes — from time to time been criticized, but his drawings were published by the newspaper "Red warrior" (1922-1923) and the magazine "Young Communist".

In 1923 he decided to get a professional art education and enrolled in VHUTEMAS. His teacher was Dmitry Stakhievich Orlov, better known under the name Moore. From this time began the most fruitful period in creativity of the artist. With the support and guidance of Moore Dobrokovsky began to work in the magazine "Atheist" and its application "At the bench", large editions were printed his posters, including "the cava-кузнец" (1921), "the Song band" (1928), "We're going on all cylinders on the path of industrialization to socialism" (1931). In 1925 one of his posters even received a gold medal and a diploma at the International exhibition of fine and-декоративных arts in Paris, after which his schedule was shown in several group exhibitions in Europe.

in Parallel with the work in the newspaper and with posters in 1920-30-х years Dobrokovsky worked a lot in book illustration (she designed the book "scarlet oil" A. Dempsey (1923), "the Miracle-рыба" N. Komolova (1928), "Forest lake" N. Plavilshikov (1929)), he created covers for magazines and many of the preparatory graphic sketches of them.

From 1925 to 1927 Dobrokovsky was a member of the society of easel painters (and has exhibited his work in 1-й and 3-й exhibitions of OST), and in 1928-1930 he was one of the founders and a member of the art Association "October".

In 1930-х fine style of the artist has changed. In the early 1930-х he went to study at the Institute of proletarian fine arts (INPII) that you just created on the basis of the Leningrad Vhuteina — of LAHTI where finally formed his style.

Trying to make their views and research in the arts, in the early 1930-х years Dobrogowski wrote in his notebook: "I have 13 years of knocking on critics of art, to give place — place "under the moon of art" — aesthetics of the factory drawing, because things (industrial), which are now recognized, at last, worthy art, as before to be made, born in the drawing in the coordinates — a t-square and ruling pen, because they are made! So drawing the graphics it conveys better than dry brush or blur.

Soul industrial objects in the drawing!

My art — is “right note,” without the arts, if you want. Directly from paper to brain, without change at the station "impression"".

His uncompromising, "drawing" style in the early 1930-х years could not be better suited for poster and newspaper graphics, the best proof of which was created an infinite number of posters, cartoons, slogans and even the graphic design of the performances of propaganda teams.

during this period, his graphics gets extreme expressiveness and conciseness, but the painting in its simplicity and flatness of the forms is starting to resemble the abstraction.

Perhaps, it is this commitment to their own artistic language and unwillingness to retreat from their "formalist" art techniques has led to the fact that in 1930-е years, the number of jobs, the implementation of which attracted Dobrokovskogo, gradually started to decline. However, in the mid 1930-х he collaborated with the magazine "Crocodile" and in those same years, created a series of landscapes of the town of Kasimov on the Oka river.

it is not known whether affected his views on art and past career successes (in the early 1930-х he managed to work in one of the printed sections of the Comintern, then in the newspaper "Roll" local Committee "Izvestia", in the Ryazan tramparka newspaper, the newspaper of the faculty of philosophy of Moscow state University, worked on the design of the Persian office of the Institute of Oriental studies. T. Narimanov, etc.) on his fate.

4 Mar 1938 Mieczyslaw V. Dobrokovsky was arrested on charges of espionage in favor of counter-revolutionary spy-террористической Polish organisations sentenced on may 19 and July 1, shot at Butovo.

In 1957 he was posthumously rehabilitated.

his Works are in many Museum collections, including the State Tretyakov gallery and in private collections.

Financial indicators

the Three most expensive works of Mieczyslaw Dobrokovskogo was sold at auction in Russia in 2011-2012: $15 975 left industrial painting "Steel-maker" (1930-е), for $8 425 was sold to work "Oil fields" (1930-е). The third value of the work was created in mixed media: "the Mountains. Futurism" in 2011 found its owner for $6 380.

According to the database ARTinvestment.RU, at the time of publication the artist has 31 auction sale, the highest demand graphics — 20 works.The average cost of sold work — $2.8 thousand, the Total capitalization on the public market — $57.2 thousand Has a positive balance of sold and unsold works: 20 to 11 (65 % of all trading completed the sale).

table 1. Sale during the auction

table 2. Sales by country the auction

Auction history Mieczyslaw Dobrokovskogo to date have not had repeat sales from 20 successful sales of 13 works were sold within the estimate. The main sales market of the artist has traditionally been Russia. It should be noted that the auction of the work of Mieczyslaw Dobrokovskogo began to appear beginning in 2009 — in other words, after the peak of the passions of local collectors of the Russian avant-garde, which caused overheating of the market and the speculative mark-up in 2007-2008, It speaks of the objectivity of its pricing and generated demand in a fair, albeit poorly developed domestic market. A solo exhibition and a full catalog of works in the coming years, is able to increase artist to the interest of collectors and institutions and to significantly raise the average cost of his work.

On the current 327-м AI Auction exhibited work Mieczyslaw Dobrokovskogo "the Tractor plant, the plant "Red Putilovets". Sketch illustrations" (Late 1920-х — 1930-е).

Maria Kuznetsova, AI
Denis Belkevich, AI

Sources: ka2.ru, bibliokray.ru, biography.wikireading.ru, artinvestment.ru, culture.ru