LONDON.- MacDougall's Russian Art auction on 3 June features an exceptional selection of Russian Orientalist paintings. The highlight of the auction is a stunning romantic landscape by the master of Russian XIX Century art, Ivan Aivazovsky Camel-Cart at Sunset in a Coastal Landscape (Estimate: 150,000– 200,000 GBP). It was painted during his first summer spent in Crimea, in 1848, where the artist settled with his family in a villa built in a deserted part of the Feodosia coast. The local area, mostly populated by Islamic Crimean Tatars, inspired the artist to create a series of works dedicated to their everyday life. Camelcarts were a feature of the 19th century life in Crimea, which always aroused interest and curiosity amongst Europeans travelling around the peninsula. The picture is full of air and space, soaked with the light of the setting sun, in which superfluous detail is lost, lending a special charm to the deserted shoreline. The fine gradations of rose and yellow tints gradually darkening to a deep blue sky demonstrate Aivazovsky’s virtuoso technique and his full brilliance as a master of the art of painting.

Another work that personifies the epoch of Symbolism exploring with what the rich imagery of the Orientalist subject can offer is a dreamy and mysterious painting by a renowned Armenian artist, Martiros Saryan, Oasis. By the Pomegranate Tree (Estimate: 300,000–500,000 GBP). Dating to 1905, it is one of the very few surviving works of that period by the artist, which lends even greater importance to the Oasis. This painting reflects Saryan’s inclinations and interests, which were undoubtedly based on his impressions of nature, gained from his annual trips to the North Caucasus and Transcaucasia.

The poetry of these nomadic expanses with the mysterious contours of the mountain chains, the vastness of the flat deserts and the exotic animals that inhabited these extraordinary lands reawakened the artist’s imagination prompting him to create a series of the fairytales and lavish oasis. These enchanting works were a direct response to the aesthetics of the Blue Rose group and the Golden Fleece magazine -– the leading symbolist movements of Russia at the time.

The journey to the East continues through the enchanted streets of Samarkand. Celebrated by poets and writers, the city drew many travellers and artists, feeding their passion for the oriental world. Daniil Stepanov’s Carpet Weavers, Samarkand (Estimate: 10,000-– 15,000) and Alessio Issupoff’s Shah-i-Zinda, Samarkand show the city’s bustling every day life, each in their unique way of expression.