Lot n° 93
Estimation :
6000 - 8000
EUR
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Alexandre IACOVLEFF (1887–1938) - Lot 93
Alexandre IACOVLEFF (1887–1938)
Self-Portrait with a Cap, Gaviota, 1936
Red chalk and pencil on paper.
Signed lower left, inscribed, and dated lower right: “To my dear President, in memory of our expedition
to the land of the Meltem, Gaviota 1936.”
Height: 37.2 cm
Width: 27.4 cm
A magnificent self-portrait of the artist, who looks us straight in the eye. Wearing a cap, his handsome face wears a slight smile. A few fine lines dot his temples, while his mustache and beard are beginning to turn gray. At forty-nine years old, Alexandre Iacovleff has already seen and experienced so much! His dedication to “the dear President” confirms that Ana Lopez Ross, Anita’s mother, was the model for Lot 2. All the more so since, in 1933, he had already sent her a self-portrait (the one with the pith helmet, painted in 1926 upon his return from the Croisière Noire), also accompanied by a respectful and somewhat formal dedication (To Mrs. A. Lopez, in memory of the wonderful trip to Greece and with my best wishes for the year 1934).
We thank Ms. Caroline Haardt de La Baume, an expert on the work of Alexandre Iacovleff, for writing this description. This lot will be included in the Alexandre Iacovleff catalog raisonné currently in preparation.
Notes:
This series of faces in profile, three-quarter view, or full face was created by Alexandre Iacovleff in the summer of 1936 during a cruise in Greece aboard the Gaviota (Spanish for “seagull”). Entirely paneled with wood, this luxurious yacht belonged to Arturo Lopez Perez (1873–1949), a wealthy Chilean industrialist who made his fortune in the guano trade.
These five red chalk portraits are all connected to the Lopez family, which made a name for itself in Parisian society during the interwar period. Having befriended many Russian émigrés, including Diaghilev and Stravinsky, the Lópezes became major patrons of the arts and amassed significant collections of works of art and silverware. It is unclear whether Alexandre Iacovleff met Arturo Lopez through Diaghilev or in connection with the exhibition “Drawings and Paintings from the Far East,” which he presented at the Barbazanges Gallery. In any case, by the mid-1920s, he had already been invited by the Lopezes to Château de Vosves—famous for its water features—and to their magnificent townhouse in Neuilly-sur-Seine. In the charming dining room, one of the walls was adorned with a quote from Ovid’s *Tristia*: “You will have many friends as long as fortune smiles upon you; but if the heavens darken, you will find yourself alone.” ” As he was such a delightful and cultured man, the artist accompanied the Lopez family on several occasions on a cruise through the Greek islands aboard the Gaviota.
Having become a highly sought-after portraitist and draftsman, he received numerous commissions from the entire Lopez family. These included several portraits of Ana Lopez-Ross, Arturo Lopez’s second wife, their daughter Anita, and also the son from Arturo Lopez’s first marriage to Sara Willshaw. With her strong personality, it was Anita Lopez-Ross (1911–2002) who particularly caught his attention. Since she was involved with the French Girl Scouts Federation, he drew her in a scout uniform.
Here, these five red chalk drawings were not commissions but works given by the artist to their recipients as gifts.
Illustration No. 6
Self-Portrait with a Colonial Helmet, 1926 (Detail) D.R. Given by the artist in 1933/34 to Ana Lopez Ross
Expert: Cabinet Perrazzone Brun
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