ALEXANDER YAKOVLEV (1887 – 1938) Portrait of Mahomet Ghaus

signed, inscribed and dated ‘Mahomet Ghaus 17 fevr 1932’ (lower right) sanguine and chalk on paper 46.5 x 43.5 (à vue) Provenance : Professor Nikolai Okunev, Prague Exhibited : Prague, Salon Výtvarné dílo, Soubor kreseb a obrazů ruských malířů, 1947, no.41 Literature : Exhibition catalogue Soubor kreseb a obrazů ruských malířů, Prague, 1947, no.41 listed The present drawing was created in Peking in February 1932. From April 1931 to February 1932, Alexandre Yakovlev joined a second Citröen expedition, the trans-Asiatic 'La Croisière Jaune' from Beirut to Peking, passing through Persia, Afghanistan and British India, following the ancient Silk Road. The first exhibition occurred in 1924, the route passing in Africa from Algeria to Madagascar. For both expeditions, Yakovlev was invited by the industrialist André Citröen and appointed an official artist of the expeditions. His paintings and drawings that he created during the expeditions were shown at the Galerie Jean Charpentier in Paris.