KONSTANTIN BOGAEVSKY (1872- 1943) Ancient Genoese fortress in Feodosia, Crimea, 1935

signed and dated ‘C. Bogajewsky 1935’ (lower right) oil on canvas 44 x 80 cm Painted with light and lush hues in 1935, 'Ancient Genoese fortress in Feodosia' reveals the artist's appreciation of his native Crimea. In the early 20th century, Bogaevsky created a series of paintings based on the Crimean landscape, followed by Symbolist paintings of invented sights not tied to particular places. In the 1930s, the artist worked on industrial landscapes. Bogaevsky studied under Ivan Aivazovsky in Feodosia and later at the Imperial Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg under Arkhip Kuindzhi. He travelled to Italy and France, always returning to his native land, where he lived and worked. The symbolist painters Arnold Böcklin, Giovanni Segantini, and Gustav Klimt were among the European influences, which are notable in Bogaevsky’s oeuvre. The 'Ancient Genoese fortress' is an example of a mature work where the Feodosian artist reverts to his favourite subject matter. ‘He was born among the stones of ancient Feodosia, worn down like their names; he wandered as a child over its eroded hills and burial monuments; the Kenegez steppes trained his eye to understand the stars and observe the floating clouds.’ - his friend, writer Maximilian Voloshin about Bogayevsky.