Object Description
Russian oil portrait of Andrei Arsenevich Tarkovsky by A. Ivasenko
Russian, 1987
Frame: height 106cm, width 111cm
Canvas: height 95cm, width 100cm
This excellent portrait was executed by the artist A. Ivasenko, and depicts Andrei Arsenevich Tarkovsky, the famed Soviet filmmaker, and son of the noted poet Arseniy Tarkovsky. Tarkovsky wasthe most important Soviet filmmaker after Sergei Eisenstein, and his approach to cinematic time and space, as well as his commitment to cinema as a form of poetry, means his oeuvre is regarded as one of the most defining collections of modern film. He first achieved international acclaim with ‘Ivan’s Childhood’ in 1962, which won top prize at the Venice Film Festival, and other career highlights include ‘Andrei Rublev,’ Solaris,’ and ‘Mirror.’
This fine painting depicts him with a forceful sense of presence and a charismatic energy, showing him in semi-profile against a sombre blue background. He is mature in expression, yet with a glint in his eye and a hidden creative genius conveyed by his glance. The work is signed and dated in Cyrillic to the lower left, ‘A. Ivasenko 87’. and to the right the work is dated and signed in Cyrillic ‘Andrey Arsenevich Tarkovskiy / 1934-1986’. There is a further Cyrillic inscription on the reverse. The painting is set within a wooden frame.