Lot 35: Attributed to Mikhail Vrubel (1856-1910)

Attributed to Mikhail Vrubel (1856-1910)
Study for a decorative panel
pencil on card
3½ x 13½ in. (8.5 x 34 cm.)

Anonymous sale, Sotheby's, London, 24 November 1992, lot 5.

VAT rate of 5% is payable on hammer price and at 17.5% on the buyer's premium.
It has been suggested that the present work is a study for Vrubel's decorative panel entitled Mikula Selianinovich; one of two panels commissioned for the 1896 All-Russia Industrial and Art Exhibition held in Nizhny Novgorod. Rejected by an Academy of Arts commission due to their progessive style and design, the panels became a sensation after Savva Mamontov acquired both works and displayed them in a dedicated pavilion at the exhibition. It is thought that Mikhail Ryabushinsky purchased Mikula Selianinovich from Mamontov; however, the current whereabouts of the panel are unknown.