Portrait of a man reading; Shovelling sand on the Seine

Born in Ekaterinburg to a family of timber merchants, Paul Kotlarevsky originally trained as a lawyer. However, painting had always been his main interest and passion, and so in his early years he strived to educate himself about art. In the early 1910s, Kotlarevsky went on a trip around Europe; visiting Rome, Vienna and Paris to study Western artistic tradition as well as contemporary trends. The outbreak of the First World War left him marooned in the French capital and the young lawyer valiantly set off to fight along the French army.
After the war and the Russian Revolution, Kotlarevsky decided to remain in Paris. Unable to practice law in France, Kotlarevsky decided to pursue his long-term dream of becoming an artist. Kotlarevsky enrolled in the École des Beaux-Arts to study painting. Kotlarevsky moved in Parisian artistic circles and visited the studios of numerous artists, including his compatriot Serge Charchoune (1888-1975), Henri Le Fauconnier (1881-1946), and Francisco Bores (1898-1972). Having left all his worldly possessions back in Russia and not being able to fully support his family with his artistic work and his legal qualifications, Kotlarevsky took on different menial jobs, such as working in the Parisian market Les Halles or as a truck driver.
Kotlarevsky experimented with various styles, predominantly Fauvism and Cubism; the present lot is a superb example of his Cubist works. Multiple shifting perspective points dissect the compositions into numerous planes emphasised by dynamic geometric elements that determine the application of colour. Kotlarevsky also worked in different genres, including portraits, still life, landscape, and collage. Shovelling sand on the Seine perfectly represents his artistic versatility, broad range of skills, and ability to masterfully construct and combine several elements into one work of art. The large-scale dynamic view of the city with workers shovelling sand is juxtaposed with a more colourful intimate composition with Portrait of a man reading. Deep warm yellows, orange, pink and emerald greens immediately catch the eye, leading the viewer through the richly-detailed composition.
The present lot reflects the influence of contemporary French artists, especially Albert Gleizes (1881-1953), Georges Braque (1882-1963) and Juan Gris (1887-1927). At the same time, it is characteristic of the Russian avant-garde tradition represented by such artists as Liubov Popova (1889-1924), Aleksandra Exter (1882-1949) and the aforementioned Goncharova. Thus, as in case of many Russian émigré artists living in Europe at that time, Kotlarevsky’s oeuvre combined and united French and Russian artistic traditions, despite the artist’s homeland being somewhat excluded from European cultural life.