YAKOV BROVAR (1864–1941) Bialowieza Forest, 1907

signed in Cyrillic and dated ‘Brovar 1907’ (lower right) oil on canvas 76 × 124.5 сm Painted in 1907, the present painting features bisons in the autumnal Bialowieza forest. It takes its name from the Polish village of Bialowiza, which means 'White Tower' in Polish. Between 1888 and 1917, the Russian tsars owned the forest, which became the royal hunting reserve. Yakov Brovar painted in this royal forest reserve with the special permission of Nicolas II. Yakov Brovar was born in Kapitonovka village near Kyiv. The artist got his artistic training at the Imperial Academy of Arts in St Petersburg. He also trained under Mikhail Clodt, Arkhip Kuindzh, and Ivan Shishkin.