BORIS DMITRIEVICH GRIGORIEV (RUSSIAN 1886-1939)
At the Dance Hall, 1913-1914
oil on canvas
64.7 x 79.3 cm (25 1/2 x 31 1/4 in.)
signed lower left

PROVENANCE
The collection of the family of Georgiy Soldatenkov, Riga
Acquired from the above by the present owner

EXPERTISE
A signed expert opinion by Tamara Galeyeva, Moscow 2009
A reissued signed expert opinion by Tamara Galeyeva, 2013
A study of materials and techniques executed by V. P. Golikov and V. B. Lukyanov, Moscow, 2013
A comparative artistic analysis provided by Maria Valyayeva, Moscow, 2011
A radiographic analysis by Ye. A. Lyubavskaya
A physical and chemical analysis executed by Laurette Thomas, Paris, 2008
n.b. Copies of all above expertises available upon request.

LOT NOTES
At The Dance Hall is a rare, early composition by Grigoriev, which was executed in the period of 1913-1914, soon after his return to St. Petersburg from Paris. The subject of the present lot is typical for the artistic work of Grigoriev of that period and was likely painted after his earlier Café Chantant. Dancers were popular subjects among European artists at the time, including Post-Impressionism giants, such as Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Kees van Dongen. Immersed into the bohemian life of St. Petersburg, the young artist sought to define his own artistic style and adapted elements from the Itinerants, Impressionists, Symbolists, Primitivists, and Futurists amongst others. The exaggerated gestures of the characters, coupled with the expressionistic distortion of form and color, brilliantly impart a grotesque but jovial mood, and make the present work a particularly fine example of Grigoriev's early experimental style.