DMITRI STELLETSKY (1875-1947) Four Princes

signed in Cyrillic and dated ‘Stelletsky 1940’ (lower left) gouache on paper laid on board 39 x 78 cm executed in 1940 This composition is inspired by The Tale of Igor’s Campaign, considered the oldest epic text of Russian literature, dating from the 12th century. It recounts the expedition of four princes, also referred to as ‘the four suns’: Igor, Vsevolod, Sviatoslav, and Vladimir who set out on a campaign against the Polovtsians in 1185. Rediscovered in the 18th century, the text aroused immense interest in scholarly and literary circles before the original manuscript disappeared in the fire of Moscow in 1812.