Artist of the week: David Shterenberg
ARTinvestment.RU   18 мая 2020

History, pricing and marketing indicators of the modernist, avant-gardist and one of the key figures in the development of Russian art of the 1920-30-х years, artist David sterenberg

In art must live the thought of the artist,
if not — art is dead.
David Shterenberg

Years of life: 1881-1948

Direction: vanguard

type of art: a painting, drawing, lottery products

Life and work

"A resolute modernist" and "honest man", according to A. V. Lunacharsky, David Shterenberg was born on 7 (14) July 1881 in a poor family, an ordinary employee in Zhytomyr, where he spent the first years of life. In 1905, a teenager, he, being a social member of the Jewish party "Bund" took an active part in the self-defense of Zhitomir during the three-day riots, after which he was forced to leave the Russian Empire. First time abroad, he lived in Vienna, but in 1906 moved to Paris, where he lived for the next 11 years.

the Art of interested in David Shterenberg from an early age, but the artistic education he is receiving, only once abroad. "A real school of art I took in Paris from 1906 to 1912 under the direction of Professor Henri-Martin and Spaniard Anglada Camarasa. In 1912 he presented at the Spring jury of the national salon portrait. He was accepted and received good feedback," — Schr wrote later in his autobiography.

in Addition to the the Schr names that experts call among his teachers at the Paris Academy Vitti, where he went after 1907, and Kees van Dongen.

the First years of life in Paris was devoted to the exploration of the techniques of the artists of the past — Rembrandt, Tintoretto (creativity last Shterenberg was particularly fond) and the Impressionists. But, he settled in early 1910-х in the famous Parisian "Hive", a hostel for artists, he became fascinated with cubism and other avant-garde movements. That is not surprising because it is in "the Hive" Shterenberg met Modigliani, Soutine, H., F. léger, M. Utrillo, Picasso, G. Braque and others In the circle of his acquaintances and friends were Guillaume Apollinaire, thanks to which the work Steinberg has appeared on the pages of French magazines and Newspapers as illustrations to the verses of the poet.

In 1914 in Paris, an acquaintance Shterenberg with Anatoly Lunacharsky — man who played an important role in his future.

With increasing skill and increase your horizons and experience menalda and the style of the artist. In 1916 he formed his recognizable style, in which recognizable elements of cubism (unlike the Cubists, he sought to reveal only the internal structure of things without breaking, but its silhouette) draws attention to the detail in the image different textures and the overall simplicity and flatness of the composition. Favourite genre becomes Shterenberg still life.

Their creative opening, the artist presented to the public in 1917, during a joint exhibition with Henri Matisse, Ozenfant, A. and M. Utrillo. His work was received by critics very well, career was on the rise, but in 1917 Shterenberg decided to return to pre-revolutionary Russia.

the First month upon returning to Moscow he worked in the workshop of Malevich, while — Chairman of the Art section of the Moscow Soviet of soldiers ' deputies. However, what-либо development or influence on the artist, this work did not have.

A. Efros, recalled that "no one had heard of the Schr until the spring of 1918", and he thought (probably confusing David Petrovich with his brother Abram, who lived with him in Paris) that Shterenberg — photographer. More surprising to others was the fact that in 1918-м year he was appointed Lunacharsky as head of the Department of fine arts Narcompros, becoming, literally, one of the major figures in the art world of the country. In this position he remained until 1921-го year.

Friends and even acquaintances have Shterenberg in Moscow were not too many, so his participation in the creative life of the country in the first years after the return was low. So, in 1918-м he has exhibited his works at the Exhibition of Jewish artists in Moscow in 1922-м participated in a group exhibition of their Paris N friends. I. Altman and Chagall, arranged under the auspices of the Cultures-Лиги.

In 1920-м year he began working as a teacher at VKhUTEMAS (1925-м renamed in VHUTEIN) and in this position remained for the next ten years.

1920-30-е not called the period of creative flowering of the artist. It was at this time his art reaches its peak of expressiveness: still life in its brevity acquire some timeless value of painting virtually disappear elements of cubism, he begins to treat form as the result of the interaction of material, color, space, each time as if anew "collecting" the objects of a separate, independent elements.

His work of this period had an enormous influence on the development of the artistic style of his students, among whom were A. Deineka, Y. Pimenov, A. Labas, P. Williams etc. it is not Surprising that many of them then entered in the Society of easel painters, famous OST, one of the founders of which was Shterenberg in 1925.

In 1930-е years in terms of the artist's life are gradually changing. Changes and artistic manner in which he from local contrasting colors moves to develop a finely nuanced concise brown-красной range. Accused of formalism, he is forced to move to a more realistic style of painting. However, true to his convictions, he, and not taking until the end of the changed attitude to innovative art, 1930-40-е became one of the founders of the so-called "quiet art", opposing the official order.

In 1941-м year, with the beginning of a General mobilization, he tried to volunteer, but because of their age (then the artist has turned 50 years) to the front he joined up and was sent to the evacuation in Irkutsk, where the war Shterenberg worked in the "Windows TASS".

Back in Moscow, in the postwar years Shterenberg were acutely conscious of the changes taking place in art and in society. The result of this reflection, but also a kind of attempt at a return to the roots became the series "Biblical stories" overwhere the artist worked from 1947 until his death on may 1 1948.

In 1912-1915 David Shterenberg attended the Spring and Autumn salons in Paris, together with Matisse, Utrillo, Ozenfant, and in the Salon of independents. In 1925 his work took part in the International exhibition of modern decorative and industrial arts in Paris in 1928 — in the Russian pavilion at 16-й Venice Biennale. Retrospective exhibitions of the artist were held in Moscow in 1959, 1978 and 1991. In 2000, the river in the centre of the arts opened a large exhibition of still lifes by David Shterenberg. In 2019, 100-летию the world's first public Museum of contemporary art — of the Moscow Museum of painterly culture (MZHK), — of the State Tretyakov gallery held an exhibition "the avant-garde. List number 1", where the work Shterenberg was exhibited next to the works of Malevich, Kandinsky and other artists of his circle. Abroad in the last decade of the artist's work, in particular, appealed in 2005 (gallery Henri Hayden & Friends, San-Франциско, USA), 2007 (gallery Artvera's, Geneva, Switzerland) and 2013 (gallery Casa del Mantegna, Mantova, Italy), respectively.

the Work of David Shterenberg are in the collections of the State Russian Museum, State Tretyakov gallery, Pushkin Museum im. Pushkin outside Russia — in the State Museum of arts. I. V. Savitsky Karakalpakstan in Nukus (Uzbekistan) and private collections in Europe and USA.

Financial indicators

the three most expensive works of David Shterenberg included painting, created in avant-garde creative period (1910-20-е): in 2017 at Sotheby's in London for $577 412 was sold "Portrait of the father and sister of the artist (Pinchas and Malka Shterenberg)" (1914), in 2013, at Stockholms Auktionsverk Stockholm was sold "still life" (1920) for $475 850. The most expensive work of the artist, "Fruit and plate on a red background", was sold in 2006 for $604 000 at Sotheby's in new-Йорке.

According to the database ARTinvestment.RU today the artist has 70 auction sales, of which painting @27 mdas works, graphics @11 mdas works, replicable products — 31 papers, and one book with lithographs. The average price of sold works — of $66.9 thousand Total capitalization to the public market — $2.81 million Has a positive balance of sold and unsold works 42 to 28 (60 % of all trading completed the sale).

table 1. Sale during the auction

table 2. Sales by country the auction

table 3. Re-sale

the compound annual growth rate, which shows the existing re-sale — of 20.1 %. It should be noted that all four work with the re-sale, are etchings or the engraver, and was sold by one auction house with a break of one year: in other words, the sample is not significant as a representative of the Russian avant-garde, and financial Analytics and forecasting. A much more important fact is the increase in the number of successful sales with the appearance of the artist on the public market (from 47 % to start 2010-х to 76% in 2016-2020). It should be noted that since the beginning of the quarantine at Shapiro Auctions in new-Йорке (21.03.2020) sold 5-я value work of David Shterenberg: for $325,000 buyer found "still life with bottle, glass and fruit".

On the current 330-м AI Auction "self-Portrait with a tablecloth" (1920-е).

Maria Kuznetsova, AI
Denis Belkevich, AI

Sources: lechaim.ru, artinvestment.ru, the Paris school 1905-1932. From museums and private collections of Paris, Geneva and Moscow. Catalogue of the exhibition of the Pushkin Museum Pushkin. M.: Skanrus. 2011; Shaan Sheng. The avant-garde. Russian revolution in art. 1917-1935. Moscow: Kolibri. 2019