Ivan Fedorovich CHOULTSÉ (1874-1939)

The evening symphony. Oil on canvas, signed lower right. Titled on the back on the frame. In its original blackened wood frame with cartouche. H. 54 x W. 65 cm. Provenance - Acquired directly from the artist by Mr. J. Gandon, living at 7 place Saint Michel in Paris. - Acquired from Mr. J. Gandon by the family of the present owner. - French private collection since the 1930s. History An absolute master of landscapes and a magician of light, Ivan Choultsé was very successful throughout his career. Originally from St. Petersburg and a student of Kouïndji and Kryjitski, his flamboyant or icy landscapes joined the collections of the Romanovs and Carl Fabergé, Nicolas II even honoring him with the title of "court painter" just before the Revolution. The tragic events of 1917 forced him to go into exile in Paris where he obtained French nationality and continued to paint relentlessly. The Parisian scene then discovered the talent of one of the best Russian landscape painters and the critics of the time praised his work: "The paintings of Shoultse delight both the eye and the soul, because they are imbued, at the same time, with truth, dream and poetry" wrote A. Andresse in the Figaro of December 9, 1923 following the exhibition of Ivan Choultsé at the gallery Gérard Frères at 2 rue la Boétie in Paris. The collectors hurry to acquire his eternal landscapes, and it is surely on the occasion of one of these exhibitions that our "Evening Symphony" was acquired. This unpublished work has only changed hands once since its acquisition and has remained in the same French family since the 1930s.