2790 - Vassily Yacovlevitch Gratchev (1831 Berestjanki – 1905 St. Petersburg)

Vassily Yacovlevitch Gratchev (1831 Berestjanki – 1905 St. Petersburg) Troika on a Speedy Sleigh Ride Bronze, with a dark brown patina, 1877. Signed in Cyrillic; Inscription from the C. F. Woerffel Art Foundry, St. Petersburg. A fully three-dimensional depiction of the sleigh passing a milestone, with a young couple as passengers and an older, full-bearded coachman urging the horses into a gallop. This finely and richly detailed, lively sleigh group is one of the Russian sculptor’s most significant works. Gratchev studied under V. Andreev and opened his own studio in St. Petersburg in 1885. He became known for small-scale genre scenes featuring horse-drawn teams or Cossack riders, which he had cast by C.F. Woerffel in St. Petersburg. Gratchev’s artistic influences included, among others, Evgeni Alexandrovich Lanceray. Approx. 29.5 cm x 45 cm x 30 cm. Dark brown patinated bronze, 1877. Signed in Cyrillic. 19th-century cast. Inscribed by the Woerffel foundry, St. Petersburg.