01 work, PORTRAIT OF A LADY, MT COHEN's Portrait of a woman, with Footnotes. #144

MT COHEN

Portrait of a woman

Oil on canvas

130 x 89 cm (51.18 x 35.04 in.)

Private collection

I have not been able to find ant information on the artist, MT COHEN.

The artist's first piece to be offered at auction was "M.T. COHEN Portrait de femme" at Artcurial in 2022.

Please visit my other blogs: Art Collector, Mythology, Marine Art, Portrait of a Lady, The Orientalist, Art of the Nude and The Canals of Venice, Middle East Artists, 365 Saints and 365 Days, also visit my Boards on Pinterest

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02 Paintings, PORTRAIT OF A LADY, Anthony Frederick Augustus Sandys' Cassandra, with Footnotes #148

Anthony Frederick Augustus Sandys (British, 1829-1904)

Cassandra

Pencil, watercolour and coloured chalks on light blue paper

14 1/8 x 21 in. (35.8 x 53.3 cm.)

Private collection

Sold for GBP 75,600 in December 2022

The most beautiful daughter of King Priam of Troy, Cassandra caught the notice of Apollo, who gave her the gift of prophesy. However, when the god came to her at night, she rejected him and he ordered that her prophesies should not be believed. Here Cassandra is both salient and alone, constrained by her inability to persuade her peers, afflicted by visions of terrors that are to come. The irony of her tale makes it more potent; it is her son Paris whose love for Helen exacerbates division between Troy and Greece, and leads to the destruction of Troy.

Cassandra's hair and garments billow out behind her, as if animated by a seeming centrifugal force of heightened consciousness, in contrast to the still equanimity of the city beyond.

Frederick Sandys (1829–1904)

Cassandra, c.1863–1864

Oil on board

H 30.2 x W 25.4 cm

Ulster Museum

Sandys had treated the subject before, in 1863-4 (see above). This version, oil on panel, is a more abrasive image depicting a dark-haired Cassandra, her mouth wide open as if she is screaming, a coastal landscape beyond. Betty Elzea explains that for this earlier painting Sandys used the gypsy Keomi as a model, whereas for the present drawing he used one of his daughters. More on this painting

Anthony Frederick Augustus Sandys (born Antonio Frederic Augustus Sands; 1 May 1829 – 25 June 1904), usually known as Frederick Sandys, was a British painter, illustrator, and draughtsman, associated with the Pre-Raphaelites. He was also associated with the Norwich School of painters.

He was educated at Norwich Grammar School and at the Government School of Design at Norwich. Sandys made architectural and antiquarian drawings for him and etched his drawings.

He exhibited drawings at the Norwich Art Union from 1839 and won Royal Society of Arts medals in 1846 and 1847. By 1851, the year he first exhibited at the Royal Academy, he had moved to London. A precocious draughtsman, he worked mainly as an illustrator and portraitist, but in the late 1850s and early 1860s he also painted in oils.

Sandys first became acquainted with the Pre-Raphaelites in 1857, while working on his engraving A Nightmare, a parody of Millais's Sir Isumbras at the Ford. He called on Rossetti in order to get an accurate likeness for the engraving, and they became friends. He was thereafter much admired but remained on the fringes of the group. 

He showed regularly at the Royal Academy from 1851 to 1886, and at the Grosvenor Gallery, London from 1877. He became a founder member of the International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers in 1898. He died in London. More on Anthony Frederick Augustus Sandys

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01 work, PORTRAIT OF A LADY, Cecil Aldin's Land Girl Ploughing, with Footnotes #147

Cecil Aldin (1870–1935)

A Land Girl Ploughing, c.1918

Oil on canvas

H 91.4 x W 228.6 cm

Imperial War Museum London

The scene shows two grey horses harnessed to a plough being driven by a Land Girl, moving from right to left of the composition. Beyond the girl is a view of the distant countryside. A storm is brewing in the grey sky above their heads. More on this painting

The Women's Land Army (WLA) was a British civilian organisation created in 1917 by the Board of Agriculture during the First World War to bring women into work in agriculture, replacing men called up to the military. Women who worked for the WLA were commonly known as Land Girls. The Land Army placed women with farms that needed workers, the farmers being their employers. The women picked crops and did all the jobs that the men had done. Notable members include Joan Quennell, later a Member of Parliament, the archaeologist Lily Chitty and the botanist Ethel Thomas. It was disbanded in 1919 but revived in June 1939 under the same name to again organise women to replace workers called up to the military during the Second World War. More on The Women's Land Army

Cecil Aldin - Born in Slough on 28 April 1870, educated at Eastbourne College and Solihull Grammar School. Studied anatomy at South Kensington and animal painting under William Frank Calderon. Early influences included Randolph Caldecott and John Leech. His drawings first made their way into print in The Building News, and began to appear throughout many popular journals and magazines; his work was published in The Graphic in 1891. He also published a short series of fully illustrated books in 1923, Old Manor Houses and Old Inns. His village scenes and rural buildings were executed in chalk, pencil and wash sketching was used for country scenes. Aldin was an enthusiastic sportsman and a Master of Fox Hounds and many of his pictures illustrated hunting.

Cecil started drawing at a very young age. He studied art at the studio of Albert Moore and then the National Art Training School which later became The Royal College of Art. After this he spent a summer with the fine animal painter and teacher, Frank Calderon. 

The birth of his son and daughter inspired his nursery pictures which together with his large sets of the Fallowfield Hunt, Bluemarket Races, Harefield Harriers and Cottesbrook Hunt prints brought him much popularity. An exhibition in Paris in 1909 was received with much acclaim and extended his fame to a wider audience. 

During the First World War Cecil Aldin was in charge of an Army Remount Depot where he befriended Lionel Edwards, Alfred Munnings and G.D. Armour. Sadly he lost his son, Dudley at Vimy Ridge in 1917, which affected him deeply for many years and had a profound effect of his style of work. 

In 1930 Cecil Aldin had to go and live in a warmer climate due to serious attacks of arthritis but he continued to paint and etch, producing some of his best work. He died in London of a heart attack in January 1935 on a short trip back home. More on Cecil Aldin

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01 work, PORTRAIT OF A LADY, Beatris Burgoin's Water Protectors, with Footnotes, part #143

Beatris Burgoin, Mexico

Water Protectors

Oil on Canvas

24 W x 36 H x 1 D in

Private collection

Water protectors are activists, organizers, and cultural workers focused on the defense of the world's water and water systems. The water protector name, analysis and style of activism arose from Indigenous communities in North America during the Dakota Access Pipeline protests at the Standing Rock Reservation, which began with an encampment on LaDonna Brave Bull Allard's land in April, 2016. More on Water protectors

Beatris Burgoin was born and raised in southern Baja California, Mexico, as a member of an artistic family. Shee began painting when she was 19 years old recovering from a car accident. She has been developing her style for over 19 years and has become a modernist oil painter using only three primary colors and white. Beatris is a very prolific artist, she has explored different forms of art while continuing to develop techniques in oil painting. Her artwork has been acquired by collectors around the world, including Europe, Latin America, the Western Pacific, and North America

"An idea catches my eye, surrounds my mind and inspires me to create. My process is organic and changes like clouds in the sky. I discover as I go. My main influence is 'light' and the subtle contrast with the dark, and how I manifest it with the use of palette knives, brushes and my hands, giving an impasto effect with the texture inherent in oil painting. Oils dry slowly. This allows me to stop the process and start again with, perhaps, a new perspective. Sometimes I use a brush, but mostly I use a palette knife to paint. With the palette knife I can bring clean, vibrant color and texture to the canvas. I choose to use only the three primary colors and white which I like. it gives you the freedom to create any nuance you want and bring a certain harmony, as if you were a conductor in a color orchestra

When we make art we transform ourselves. When we challenge our limits, you are able to expand yourself artistically and, at the same time, feel the connection with our surroundings. At that moment the mind stops. You are in the pure presence of the present, where everything is beyond criticism. More on Beatris Burgoin

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01 work, PORTRAIT OF A LADY, Chant Avedissian's Leyla Fawzy, with Footnotes. #186

Chant Avedissian (Egyptian, 1951-2018)

Leyla Fawzy, c. 2000

(from the Icons of the Nile series)

Stencil with acrylic and metallic paint on board

191⁄4 x 271⁄8in. (49 x 69cm.)

Private collection

Sold for GBP 6,300 in Nov 2022

Laila Fawzi (E1923 - January 12, 2005) was an Egyptian actress and model. She was one of the pioneers of Egyptian cinema and starred in over 85 films throughout her career. In 1940, she was crowned Miss Egypt.

Fawzi was born in Turkey to Egyptian parents. Her father owned fabric stores in Cairo, Damascus and Istanbul. She won Miss Egypt contest in 1940 and was awarded a small role in the Egyptian movie Wives Factory in 1941

Fawzy shot to fame with her success in ‘Saladean’ as Princess Virginia and many remarkable films and stunning performances followed suit. Her performance in ‘Arabian Nights’ won her much praise from her fans and critics alike.

She is also known for joint collaborations and associations with legendary Egyptian actors like the late actors Omar El Sherif, Abdel-Halim, and Yehia Shahin.

Fawzi was married three times to Egyptian actors Aziz Osman, Anwar Wagdi, Galal Moawad and had no children. In the early 2000s she decided to quit showbiz altogether. Fawzi died on January 12, 2005. More on Laila Fawzi

Chant Avedissian was born in 1951 in Cairo, the son of Armenian refugees who fled the Turkish incursions in 1915-16. After studying fine art at the School of Art and Design in Montreal and applied arts at the National Higher School of Decorative Arts in Paris during the 1970s, Avedissian returned to Egypt. He fused the techniques, concepts and cosmopolitan experiences acquired abroad with the heritage of his Armenian-Egyptian background to produce striking commentaries on the world around him. His artistry ranges from photography to costume and textile design to the painted stencils seen here. His relationship with Hassan Fathy, a well-known Egyptian architect who advocated the use of local materials and craftsmanship, challenged Avedissian to reconsider local traditions of artistry and to appreciate the properties of common materials.

Exhibited widely, Avedissian's artwork is held by the National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution; the British Museum, London; the Tropenmuseum, Amsterdam; the National Museums of Scotland, Edinburgh; and the National Gallery of Jordan. More on Chant Avedissian

Please visit my other blogs: Art Collector, Mythology, Marine Art, Portrait of a Lady, The Orientalist, Art of the Nude and The Canals of Venice, Middle East Artists, 365 Saints, 365 Days, and Biblical Icons, also visit my Boards on Pinterest and my art stores at  deviantart and Aaroko

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01 work, PORTRAIT OF A LADY, Reginald Arthur's Pharaoh's Daughter, with Footnotes, #184

Reginald Arthur

Pharaoh's Daughter, c. 1896

Oil on canvas

101 by 51cm., 40 by 20in.

Private collection

Estimate for 30,000 - 50,000 GBP in July 2016

Pharaoh's Daughter appears to depict the un-named heroine of Exodus who discovered the infant Moses among the bulrushes when she was fetching water from the Nile. It was a popular subject in the nineteenth century and the most famous depiction of her was painted by Lawrence Alma-Tadema. Arthur's picture was painted eight years before Alma-Tadema's but has the same exotic glamour that inspired the early pioneers of cinema and may have been inspired by contemporary opera or theatre. More on Pharaoh's Daughter

Pharaoh, becoming alarmed at the increasing power and numbers of the Israelites in Egypt, ordered that every male child who might be born to them should be cast into the river, and drowned. But the wife of a man named Levi felt that she could not give up her baby, and for three months she hid him.

When she could hide him no longer, she prepared a basket of rushes, and coated it with pitch, so that it would float upon the river and keep out the water. In this ark she placed her infant son, and hid the ark among the flags and bulrushes on the river-bank, and set the child's sister to watch it.

Now it happened that the daughter of Pharaoh came with her maidens to bathe in the river; and when she saw the basket she sent one of her maids to fetch it. And when she looked at the child he wept, and she had compassion for him, and said, "This is one of the Hebrews' children," she said. Then the child's sister, who was watching, came forward and said to Pharaoh's daughter, "Shall I call to thee a Hebrew woman that she may nurse the child for thee?" And when the princess said, "Go!" she, the little sister of Moses, went and called her own mother, to whom Pharaoh's daughter said, "Take this child and nurse him for me, and I will give thee thy wages." More The Finding of Moses

Reginald Arthur lived at 47 Bedford Square, very close to the British Museum and was greatly inspired by its classical treasures; one of his earliest exhibits was entitled A Bit from the British Museum. Egyptian subjects seem to have been his speciality and among his finest works are The Death of Cleopatra and Joseph Interpreting Pharaoh's Dream. More on Reginald Arthur

Please visit my other blogs: Art Collector, Mythology, Marine Art, Portrait of a Lady, The Orientalist, Art of the Nude and The Canals of Venice, Middle East Artists, 365 Saints, 365 Days, and Biblical Icons, also visit my Boards on Pinterest and my art stores at  deviantart and Aaroko

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03 works, PORTRAIT OF A LADY, Portrait of Roxelana (Haseki Hurrem Sultan), with Footnotes #150

Workshop of Titian (1490–1576

La Sultana Rossa, or Portrait of a Woman, circa 1550 or ca. 1515-20

Oil on canvas

38 x 30 in. (96.5 x 76.2 cm); Framed: 50 1/2 × 41 7/8 × 3 3/4 in. (128.3 × 106.4 × 9.5 cm)

John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art

The woman in this painting is dressed in a style associated with the Ottoman Empire (centered in what is today Turkey, but which encompassed a vast area, including the Middle East). Titian and his workshop produced a number of paintings of women in "exotic" (Near Eastern or Turkish) dress, to satisfy local demand. Although in the past this painting has been thought to represent a specific person, it is more likely an idealized representation. More on this work

Follower of Titian, Italy, Venetian School, 16th century

A portrait of Roxelana (Haseki Hurrem Sultan, 1506-58)

Oil on canvas

110.5 by 92cm.

Private collection

Estimated for 20,000 - 30,000 GBP in October 2022

Known in the West as Roxelana, this painting depicts one of the most famous women of the Ottoman empire. Originally from what is now western Ukraine she was sold at an early age in the slave markets of Constantinople and entered the harem of Sultan Süleyman I ('The Magnificent'). Her Turkish name, Hurrem meant 'the laughing/joyful one' and she soon became the Sultan's favourite, bearing him six children, until he eventually defied convention and married her.

Süleyman revealed his passion for her in poetry: “My most sincere friend, my confidante, my very existence, my Sultan, my one and only love…The most beautiful among the beautiful…” She enjoyed influence not only over his heart but on his running of the empire. She corresponded with Süleyman when he was away on campaign, keeping him abreast of developments in the capital, and she corresponded with King Sigismund of Poland. She was a major sponsor of architecture and charitable foundations, including in Jerusalem. Most notoriously, though, she promoted her own son at the expense of Süleyman’s oldest, a son by another concubine. Gossip among both the Ottomans and Europeans claimed she had bewitched the Sultan. More on this painting

Follower of Tiziano Vecellio, called Titian

Portrait of a woman, possibly Haseki Hürrem Sultan, called Roxelana, c. (1506-1558), bust-length, in Ottoman costume, with a jewelled headdress

Oil on panel

14¼ x 11¾ in. (36.2 x 29.9 cm.)

Private collection

Sold for GBP 55,250 in Jul 2012

Roxelana, the wife of the Ottoman Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent (1494-1566), is as much a figure of legend as she is of history. A European woman captured in her childhood and presented to Suleyman as a slave concubine, she eventually won the complete devotion of the Sultan, who first freed her and then married her as his Empress, in an astonishing break with tradition. Traditionally believed to have been of Russian (Ruthenian) origins, Roxelana may have been called Ruslana in her native tongue, although other traditions hold that her name was Anastasia or Alexandra. She bore the Sultan six children and her influence over him was such as to make her one of the most powerful women of her age. This and other possible depictions of Roxelana may ultimately derive from a lost portrait by Titian (cf. also the anonymous woodcut published by Mathio Pagani, Venice, circa 1550), who also portrayed Suleyman on several occasions, as well as a daughter identified by Vasari as 'Cameria' (possibly the historical princess Mihrima Sultan, 1522-1578). More on this work

Tiziano Vecelli or Vecellio, known in English as Titian, was an Italian (Venetian) painter of the Renaissance, considered the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, near Belluno. During his lifetime he was often called da Cadore, 'from Cadore', taken from his native region.

Titian was one of the most versatile of Italian painters, equally adept with portraits, landscape backgrounds, and mythological and religious subjects. His painting methods, particularly in the application and use of colour, exercised a profound influence not only on painters of the late Italian Renaissance, but on future generations of Western artists.

During the course of his long life, Titian's artistic manner changed drastically, but he retained a lifelong interest in colour. Although his mature works may not contain the vivid, luminous tints of his early pieces, their loose brushwork and subtlety of tone were without precedent in the history of Western painting. More on Titian

Please visit my other blogs: Art Collector, Mythology, Marine Art, Portrait of a Lady, The Orientalist, Art of the Nude and The Canals of Venice, Middle East Artists, 365 Saints, 365 Days, and Biblical Icons, also visit my Boards on Pinterest and my art stores at  deviantart and Aaroko

Images are copyright of their respective owners, assignees or others. Some Images may be subject to copyright

I don't own any of these images - credit is always given when due unless it is unknown to me. if I post your images without your permission, please tell me.

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112works, PORTRAIT OF A LADY, Wenda Parkinson, Model, Traveler and Author, with Footnotes. #148

Norman Parkinson (British, 1913–1990)

WENDA AND THE COW, c. 1954

Silver print

33 x 33 cm. (13 x 13 in.)

Private collection

Sold for  $1,200 USD in April 2010

Wenda Rogerson was born in 1923. She trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in her teens. In 1946, she was appearing in a play at The Arts Theatre Club when she was spotted by photographer Cecil Beaton. 

Wenda Parkinson had a striking widow’s peak and a perfectly symmetrical rectangular face. She also had the fashionably slender body of the times. Beaton’s photos of her were considered rather pedestrian, but they worked together quite a lot. When Norman Parkinson saw them, he was convinced he could do better. He booked her as much as he could. 

Norman Parkinson

The Art of Travel, Nairobi, C. 1951

Silver print

31 x 23 cm. (12 ¼ x 9 in.)

Private collection

Sold for EUR 15,000 in Jun 2019

Norman Parkinson
Nairobi, Kenya, South Africa, next to a Hermes aeroplane, c. 1951

Silver print

Private collection

“The camera can be the most deadly weapon since the assassin’s bullet,” the photographer Norman Parkinson once said, “or it can be the lotion of the heart.” Parks, as he is often called, was a leading figure in shaping the image of 20th-century fashion. After apprenticing with royal court photographers Speaight and Sons Ltd., he spent the rest of his life working at leading fashion magazines, including Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue, where he photographed subjects ranging from the candy-colored ensembles of Dior’s New Look to the bold style of the 1970s supermodel Jerry Hall. A frequent collaborator of Grace Coddington, Parkinson pushed the limits of fashion photography by traveling to far-flung destinations and by infusing his work with an irreverent dose of British humor. More on Norman Parkinson

Norman Parkinson

Wenda Parkinson, Hyde Park Corner, Vogue, 1951

Silver print

40.4 by 30.5cm.; 16 by 12in.

Private collection

Estimate for 3,000 - 5,000 GBP in September 2021

Norman Parkinson

Wenda Parkinson and Ostriches, c. 1951

Gelatin silver print

61 x 51 x 4 cm (h x w x d)

Private collection

Norman Parkinson

Wenda Parkinson photographed in Andalucia, Spain for Vogue magazine, c. 1954

C print

Private collection

Norman Parkinson

Wenda Parkinson in Tobago, Vogue, c. 1956

C print

30 x 30 inches

Private collection

Norman Parkinson

Wenda Parkinson photographed modeling on a Canoe in India, C. 1956

C print

Private collection

Norman Parkinson

Wenda Parkinson photographed for British Vogue, March 1951

C print

Private collection

In the history of fashion photography the great fashion photographers often had key muses to inspire them, Wenda Parkinson, Norman’s wife, was certainly his. - Peter Fetterman

In 1947, she married Norman Parkinson. After the marriage, unlike many models who immediately retired, she continued working: primarily for Parkinson. They created a striking and original body of work together, often on locations abroad. Parkinson also took family portraits featuring his wife, including a humorous one now in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery (below).

Norman Parkinson

Norman Parkinson; Wenda Parkinson (née Rogerson); Simon Parkinson; Sue Robertson, c. 1956

Colour print

National Portrait Gallery

In 1963, the Parkinsons moved to the Carribean island of Tobago. Wenda Parkinson continued to model occasionally for her husband. She was known as a fantastic hostess, and the couple had many visitors. Lots of them were from the world of celebrities that Norman photographed. When she was not in front of the lens, Wenda often went with Norman on his photography trips. 

Norman Parkinson (1913-1990)

Reclining Nude with Vogue, c. 1954

silver print

9.6 x 12.4 cm. (3 ¾ x 4 7/8 in.)

Private collection

This Gilded African: Toussaint L'Ouverture

Engraving showing Toussaint Louverture riding a horse.

From a series of French engravings (1802)

In 1978, Wenda Parkinson’s book This Gilded African: Toussaint L’Ouverture was published. It was a biography of the Haitian general and best-known leader of the Haitian Revolution. She had been researching it, often from original source material, for several years with visits to Haiti and libraries and archives all over the world. It came to be known as definitive with many original discoveries and was reprinted several times

Wenda Parkinson died at age 60 in London on Oct. 24, 1987. More on Wenda Parkinson

Norman Parkinson CBE (21 April 1913 – 15 February 1990) was an English portrait and fashion photographer. His work revolutionised British fashion photography, as he moved his subjects out of the studio and used outdoor settings. While serving as a Royal Air Force photographer in World War II, he started with Vogue magazine, discovering several famous models. He became an official royal photographer in 1969, taking photographs for Princess Anne's 19th birthday and the Investiture portrait of Charles III as Prince of Wales. Many other royal portraits included official portraits of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother for her 75th birthday. He was known for using elements of humour in his photographs. Parkinson received many honours during his life including the Royal Photographic Society's Progress Medal, the Lifetime Achievement Award of the American Society of Magazine Photographers, a Google Doodle, and a British postage stamp. More on Norman Parkinson

Please visit my other blogs: Art Collector, Mythology, Marine Art, Portrait of a Lady, The Orientalist, Art of the Nude and The Canals of Venice, Middle East Artists, 365 Saints, 365 Days, and Biblical Icons, also visit my Boards on Pinterest and my art stores at  deviantart and Aaroko

Images are copyright of their respective owners, assignees or others. Some Images may be subject to copyright

I don't own any of these images - credit is always given when due unless it is unknown to me. if I post your images without your permission, please tell me.

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01 work, PORTRAIT OF A LADY, Vasily Dmitrievich Poleno's The Herzegovian on lookout, with Footnotes #147

Vasily Dmitrievich Poleno (Russian, 1844-1927)

The Herzegovian on lookout, c. 1876

Oil on canvas

127 x 90.8cm (50 x 35 3/4in)

Private collection

Sold for $300,000 USD in Nov 2019

In 1876, Serbia and Montenegro, joined by Bosnian and Herzegovinian rebels, declared war on Turkey. These events produced a stormy response in Russian society when many Russian cultural and scientific persons of note expressed strong public support for the Balkan people. Among them were the writers Vsevolod Garshin, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, doctors Sergei Botkin and Nikolai Pirogov, as well as a group of Russian artists who took direct part in the campaign, including Vasilii Vereshchagin, Konstantin Makovsky, Ivan Aivazovsky, Alexey Bogolyubov and Vasily Polenov.

Polenov was working in Paris when the war broke out. As a response to the events in the Balkans, he produced two extraordinary works The Montenegrin Girl and the present The Herzegovinian on lookout. Different in artistic approach, both paintings are highly romanticized images of the Balkan women-fighters.

In the fall of the same year, Polenov traveled to the Balkans as a volunteer in the army of General Chernyaev. Two months spent at war earned Polenov medal for his bravery. 

Vasily Dmitrievich Polenov (1 June 1844 – 18 July 1927) was a Russian painter. He began a systematic study of drawing in 1856. He also took lessons with Chistyakov, whom he considered his most important teacher, in 1871 and early 1872, after finishing his academic course. From 1863 to 1871 Polenov studied at the St Petersburg Academy of Art, where he met members of the progressive wing of the Russian artistic intelligentsia, and occasionally in the faculty of law at St Petersburg University.

The classical education he received at home, his academic training and lessons with Chistyakov led Polenov towards an 'exalted' history painting, although he personally inclined towards landscape. This dualism remained in Polenov's work for the duration, and not until the late 1880s and early 1890s did he achieve a stable relationship between the two forms.

The whole of his student career and the initial postgraduate, scholarship period was largely taken up with historical works: from academic compositions, to numerous pictures and sketches on subjects from antiquity and medieval history, executed in France or shortly after his departure from there, under the perceptible influence of Paul Delaroche. At the same time he produced his first independent works, in the 1860s and early 1870s: landscapes in the surroundings of the Imochentsy estate in Karelia and landscape studies and pictures executed from nature in Normandy in 1874.

In 1876 he became an Academician. In 1882-95 he was professor of landscape painting at the School of Art in Moscow. He became interested in depictions of Christ and philosophical and religious questions. In 1905 he left the teaching staff of the Academy in protest against the massacre in St. Petersburg. In 1910-18 he managed the first folk-theatre in Moscow, and became active in the development of factory and village theatre. More on Vasily Dmitrievich Polenov

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