Nikolai Ivanovich Kravchenko (Russian, 1867-1941) A summer's day signed in Cyrillic (lower right) oil on cardboard 32.5 x 39.8cm (12 13/16 x 15 11/16in). Footnotes: Provenance Private collection, Eastern Europe Thence by descent Nikolai Kravchenko, famous for his battle scenes, studied at the Imperial Academy of Arts in the class of battle painting of Bogdan Willewalde. In 1891, he left Russia for Paris where he painted numerous portraits of his contemporaries. He spent time in two schools, those of Julien and of Colarossi. At the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War, Kravchenko went to the Far East. This trip to the war theatre resulted in a book To the War (St. Petersburg, 1906) and a series of battle drawings. Kravchenko is not only known as a battle painter but a talented portraitist and landscape artist. By order of the Russian Emperor, Kravchenko executed his large portrait and a half-length portrait in coloured pencils. The offered work is a fine example of Kravchenko's landscapes. The present composition is reminiscent of the Ukrainian landscapes commemorated in the masterpieces by Alexey Savrasov, Sergey Vasilkovsky, Vladimir Makovsky. Kravchenko's interpretation of a rural landscape, such as A summer's day, is characterized by his ability to capture a fleeting moment in time and his admiration of nature. The soft palette and the contrast of a small hut to a seemingly endless road with a sole female figure, a canonical motive in Russian 19th century painting, intensify the feeling of peaceful isolation and complete remoteness of the village. This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: * * VAT on imported items at a preferential rate of 5% on Hammer Price and the prevailing rate on Buyer's Premium. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com