Dmitry Lebedev

Exhibited by James Butterwick

Material watercolour on paper

Dimensions 12.5 x 17.5 cm

Place of Creation Odessa, Ukraine

Price Available upon inquiry

Status Vetted

About the Work

Dmitry Lebedev (1899-1922) was, to all intents and purposes, a self-taught artist. His prodigious talent, however, had been noticed by the Great and the Good of Odessan Art life and in 1919, he was invited to exhibit at the Salon des Independents, the most important exhibition of the Civil-war strewn city. On December 7, 1919, in the City Museum of Fine Arts on Sofiiska Street, the last exhibition, as it turned out, of paintings of the “Independents” opened. At the exhibition were presented works of artists of the World of Art group from private collections of A. K. Dragoev and N. M. Kobylinsky. But the main part of the exposition consisted of works of contemporary artists — members and exhibitors of the Society of Independents. Dmitry Lebedev presented four works: “The Gates of the Horizon” (No. 89 in the catalogue), “The Heavenly Cow” (No. 90), “The Bells” (No. 92) and this work, “Sunrise” (No. 91). It is indeed rare to find such a jewel of Ukrainian Modernist Art with such a provenance.

Lebedev was, at the time, hugely influenced by the concept of Ancient Egypt and its culture. Many are the works that include these, though they only serve as a backdrop for the rich imagination of the artist. Five winged Egyptian minstrels, led by an Ibis, are lined up on the background of a pyramid, walking into the Rising Sun.

In just two years that passed between the second and fourth exhibitions, the government in Odessa changed eight times, and each such change saw bloody retribution. Be that as it may, despite hunger and epidemics, banditry and devastation, artistic life in the city did not cease. Magazines were published, theatres worked, lectures were read, debates were held, and exhibitions were opened. Our collection of Lebedev was saved from the privations of Odessa Life by Valentin Bulgak, a local aristocrat and, possibly, the artist’s lover. It was passed on to four generations of the family.

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