Sologub Leonid Romanovich (yeysk 1884 – The Hague 1956), Crucifixion, Oil On Canvas, Signed

Sologub Leonid Romanovich (Yeysk 1884 – The Hague 1956), Crucifixion, oil on canvas, 123 x 93 cm, signed

Oil on canvas.

123 x 93 cm.

Signed on the right.

This Crucifixion fits particularly well within the artistic path of Leonid Romanovich Sologub, a Russian artist associated with the world of Mir iskusstva, who emigrated after the Civil War and remained deeply faithful throughout his life to his Russian identity. Even in an evangelical subject such as this, one senses something of his destiny and of the weight of history: the sacred scene is translated into an austere and concentrated pictorial language, capable of giving the religious theme a broader historical and inward resonance.

The composition is built through strong simplification. Christ, elongated and almost broken, dominates the surface against a pale ground scattered with distant crosses, which widen the meaning of the image. The brushstrokes, extremely expressive, are thick, rapid, at times almost scratched, giving the painting an intense tension, deliberately unpolished. The palette is gathered into a severe range of muted whites, greys, browns, ochres and earthy reds, producing a restrained and meditative effect.

Born in Yeysk in 1884, Sologub studied at the Imperial Academy in Saint Petersburg under Léon Benois, worked for a period in the circle of Alexey Shchusev, and became a member of Mir iskusstva. After his emigration in 1920, he lived between Constantinople, Italy, Paris and finally The Hague, where he played an important role within the milieu of Russian artists abroad. He refused Dutch citizenship, continuing to regard himself as a Russian artist. His works are now held in important Russian museums.