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Lot Essay
Nikolai Kalmakov is as fascinating and inscrutable a figure as his art; both are associated with the decadence, eroticism and spirituality of the fin de siècle. A Russian aristocrat by birth, Kalmakov was an eccentric figure whose intensity and mysticism both inspired and isolated his peers to the extent that he died, alone, and in extreme poverty at the hôpital de Lagny, near Chelles.
Of Russian and Italian descent, Kalmakov studied at The Imperial School of Law in St. Petersburg where he met Nikolai Evreinov, the prominent Russian playwright and theatre director, for whom Kalmakov later produced a sexually-charged stage design for a production of Oscar Wilde's Salome in 1908. Lacking a formal artistic training, Kalmakov's oeuvre, is clearly linked with a dark spirituality; indeed, many of his works display 'other-worldly' qualities and create an ethereal, or perhaps primordial vision imbued with complex symbolism.
In the mid-1920s, Kalmakov fled Russia, travelling first to Estonia and Brussels before settling in Paris where he became increasingly reclusive and retreated from the Russian émigré circle. His physical isolation marked the onset of creative maturity. Painted the same year as his series for Fortin's Chapel of the Resurrected (see lot 221), 'Amphitrite' is a mesmerizing example of Kalmakov's fascination with goddesses and figures from classical mythology. As the wife of Poseidon, Amphitrite was goddess of the sea and is depicted in a commanding pose, astride two seahorses with her trident held aloft. Kalmakov often painted Naiads and seems to have been particularly inspired by the watery underworld. He later painted Poseidon's Roman counterpart, 'Neptune' (1936) and 'Two Seahorses' (1947).
Of Russian and Italian descent, Kalmakov studied at The Imperial School of Law in St. Petersburg where he met Nikolai Evreinov, the prominent Russian playwright and theatre director, for whom Kalmakov later produced a sexually-charged stage design for a production of Oscar Wilde's Salome in 1908. Lacking a formal artistic training, Kalmakov's oeuvre, is clearly linked with a dark spirituality; indeed, many of his works display 'other-worldly' qualities and create an ethereal, or perhaps primordial vision imbued with complex symbolism.
In the mid-1920s, Kalmakov fled Russia, travelling first to Estonia and Brussels before settling in Paris where he became increasingly reclusive and retreated from the Russian émigré circle. His physical isolation marked the onset of creative maturity. Painted the same year as his series for Fortin's Chapel of the Resurrected (see lot 221), 'Amphitrite' is a mesmerizing example of Kalmakov's fascination with goddesses and figures from classical mythology. As the wife of Poseidon, Amphitrite was goddess of the sea and is depicted in a commanding pose, astride two seahorses with her trident held aloft. Kalmakov often painted Naiads and seems to have been particularly inspired by the watery underworld. He later painted Poseidon's Roman counterpart, 'Neptune' (1936) and 'Two Seahorses' (1947).