VLADIMIR BEKHTEEV (VLADIMIR VON BECHTEJEFF) (1878-1971) Double-sided drawing: sketches for illustrations

ink on paper 22 x 15.8 cm Vladimir Bekhteev (Vladimir von Bechtejeff) was a Russian painter and draftsman of Baltic German origin, active in the avant-garde movements of the early 20th century. He was a co-founder of the New Munich Artists’ Association together with Wassily Kandinsky, Alexej von Jawlensky, and Marianne von Werefkin. Closely associated with the circle of the Blue Rider, he also took part in the first exhibition of the Jack of Diamonds group and in the exhibition of the New Society of Artists. After the Russian Revolution, he settled in Germany, where his work developed under the influence of Expressionism and Symbolism. He was also active as a book illustrator: between 1936 and 1945, he created a series of illustrations for the works of Lermontov and illustrated several 19th-century foreign classics.