NIKOLAI SAPUNOV (1880-1912) Mystical Feast

signed with monogram in Cyrillic ‘NS’ (lower right); ownership stamp of Igor Dichenko collection and inscribed in Cyrillic ‘Nikolay Sapunov/Misticheskoe zastolie/ veroyatno 1911-12/ Eto odin iz dvukh risunkov N. Sapunova, visevshikh v masterskoy Pavla Kuznetsova, podaren mne Elenoy Bebutovoy’ (on the reverse) pencil on paper 16.8 x 28.5 cm Executed circa 1911-1912. PROVENANCE: Collection of Elena Mikhailovna Bebutova (1892–1970), artist and wife of Pavel Kuznetsov (1878-1968) Collection of Igor Dichenko (Ihor Dychenko) (1946-2015), Soviet and Ukrainian collector, art historian, and painter; one of the ideologists of the Ukrainian avant-garde, Kyiv. Private collection, Europe Nikolai Sapunov was a Russian painter, theatre designer and graphic artist, and an important representative of Russian Symbolism. Born in Moscow, he studied at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, where he was influenced by Konstantin Korovin and Valentin Serov. He became known for his highly decorative compositions, theatrical imagery and dreamlike, mystical subjects. Sapunov collaborated with Sergei Diaghilev and Alexander Benois and designed sets and costumes for major theatrical productions. He died prematurely in 1912 at the age of 32.