MIKHAIL CHEMIAKIN (B. 1943) Untitled (from the series Gallant Scenes), 1969

signed in Cyrillic and dated ‘M Chemiakin 69’ (lower right) monotype on paper 25 x 20 cm (plate), 31 x 31.8 cm (sheet) The present work relate to Mikhail Chemiakin’s early Leningrad period, before his emigration to France in 1971, and to his Gallant Scenes series of the 1960s. Inspired by the Rococo genre of fêtes galantes, the artist reinterpreted eighteenth-century imagery through an ironic and grotesque lens. The elongated theatrical figures and stylised gestures reflect Chemiakin’s fascination with carnival, commedia dell’arte and the visual language of past eras — themes that would remain central to his later work.