As representatives of the auction house Stockholms Auktionsverk, the panel did not leave the house 200 km from Stockholm 1930-ies. It turned out that this is the work of K. Makovsky "Happy Arcadia" value 650-870 thousand euros

Amazing discovery was found in the Swedish estate Earswick 200 kilometers to the East of Stockholm. Murals that adorned the living room of this house from 1930-х years, was the work of the famous Russian artist Konstantin Makovsky (1839-1915).

How to tell the owner of the house, a picture appeared in the mid-1930-х years. The previous owner of the manor — owner of a Shoe factory in örebro — received this beautiful piece in payment for the order on party shoes for the Soviet army. Double-panel resold together with the estate. It was an integral part of the interior living area of the house, and no one thought about whose work it is. And only at the beginning of this year, one of the family of the current owner proposed to explore the work and called a specialist auction house Stockholms Auktionsverk Mark Mori (Marc Maurie). Mori and London consultant Ivan samarium found that the author of scale (220 × 364) panels is Constantine Makowski.

Work Makovsky auctioned Stockholms Auktionsverk December 3, with an estimate of 650-870 thousand euros. A specialist in creativity Makovsky, Professor of the St. Petersburg Academy of arts Elena Nesterova was prepared a special press-релиз about the history of this panel. According Nesterova, this panel is either the source or the author's repetition of paintings made Makovsky in 1886-1889 years for mansion Sergei Pavlovich von Derviz in St. Petersburg. For three years Makovsky wrote sixteen large panels for your customer. Some works from this series were exhibited in Paris and St. Petersburg. The panels, which was found in the Swedish mansion, called "Happy Arcadia". Work reproduced in the magazine "Niva" in 1889(№ 24).

In the years 1903-1905 S. P. von Derviz sold his St. Petersburg mansion along with works Makovsky. The new owner, a Finnish entrepreneur Anton G. Alfthan, in 1907 he organized an exhibition of all the sixteen panels Makovsky, which had great success. In 1918, Baron Alftan returned home to Finland. Was taken, whether it is with a panel Makovsky @because it is not known, however, further information about the history of their existence come from-за abroad. Apparently, the panel went into different collections. The son of Sergei Makovsky seen some of these panels in Paris before the Second world voinoi.

since 1980-х years separate the panel from the mansion von Derviz began to appear at international auctions in Europe and the USA. Panel "Happy Arcadia" was sold at auction in Finland in 1989, and then was resold in 2007 at Sotheby's in new-Йорке. But it's just not the kind of job that hung almost the entire last century mansion in Sweden. Both panels are almost identical in size, the image is identical to the smallest detail, but that was hanging in the Swedish estate, there is a signature, and that was sold at Sotheby's, there is no sign. There is a historical anecdote, published in the journal "the Sun of Russia" - a seemingly Baron Alftan persuaded Makovsky after the fact to sign on his / her own picture on the mythological surety.

Without thoroughly researching both panels "Happy Arcadia" it is impossible to establish what work is original, and what — author's repetition. Apparently, someone-то saw the original panel "Happy Arcadia" for the mansion von Derviz at one of the exhibitions in Paris or St. Petersburg and was so impressed that I ordered Makowski copy. In any case, the quality of both the work and the documented history of provenance not allow us to doubt their authenticity. In the late nineteenth — the beginning of the XX century to repeat such a large canvas was possible only with the author's cardboard life-size. Until recently, the picture is not reproduced in color, so to make such a perfect copy on the basis of only black and-белой reproduction in the magazine "Niva" is not possible. To copy such a large, complex composition and colour of the panels was only a master like Makovsky.

Istochnik: press-релиз auction house Stockholms Auktionsverk