Skippings Fine Arts has dated this piece to the 1930s.
He arrived in France as a young man, probably full of hope and excitement for what Paris might add to his art - but he wasn't the sociable kind. Although close friends with fellow artists Soutine and Zadkine, he found it hard to mingle with art collectors and lived in poverty.
Still, it was a time when travel on a shoestring was possible, and Mintchine visited Algeria and Morocco.
He was a poet as well as a painter, writing in Yiddish. Often his paintings served to illustrate poetic works that he had written. Like Chagall's, his universe is filled with Russian folklore and fables, nostalgia, dreams and regret. He is also inspired by French history and his memories of the Orient. A natural colourist with an innate sense of composition, Mintchine was frustrated by his lack of formal training, but could not afford it. He writes: "I cry in my own way, my painting follows the sobs and the tears of my soul".
Mintchine is deported by the Nazis in 1941 and never returns. Most of his writings were lost under the German occupation. A number of his paintings survived, and the artist has at least found posthumous acclaim.
Our painting is a mixed media (oil/gouache) painting on thin board, and measures 34 x 26 cm at sight. Painted circa 1930, it is part of a series of works which the artist titled "My love for France". It depicts a caravel and a castle. It is unsigned, but was acquired in the studio sale and is certified authentic by the auction house which conducted the latter. The artwork is beautifully framed, the framed dimensions being 54 x 45 cm.
Skippings Fine Arts has dated this piece to the 1930s.
Modern french & continental pictures selected by a former french auction house expert
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Chagall-esque Dream Landscape Ca. 1930 by Ukrainian Issaac Mitchine (Kiev 1900- Died in Deportation 1941) Original Painting "The Caravel"