Nikolaï Baskakov

The collection of the Art Russe Foundation offers a glimpse into the entire breadth of the unique artistic phenomenon that is Russian art. The collection includes works by both household names and gifted artists who have long been in the shadow of their illustrious peers. One such artist is Nikolai Baskakov (1918-1993), whose work Milkmaids, Novella was selected to decorate one of the labels of Chateau La Grace Dieu des Prieurs, Sain-Emilion Grand Cru, Art Russe Collection 2018.

Baskakov completed his studies at the Ilya Repin Academic School for Painting, Sculpture and Architecture in Leningrad (art studio of Boris Ioganson) in 1951. His graduation work was Lenin and Stalin in Smolny. For his first large-scale painting Presenting of the Order of Lenin to the Kirov Factory, Baskakov was admitted to the membership of the Leningrad Union of Artists. However, historical, and revolutionary themes within the boundaries of the stylistic norms of socialist realism are not the most striking part of Baskakov’s heritage. He also painted portraits, landscapes and genre works with lively, precise strokes, in a free impressionistic manner. Today, the latter can be found in museums and private collections in Great Britain, Germany, Turkey, France, and the U.S. One such painting, Milkmaids, Novella (1962, oil on canvas, 69.5 x 120), is in the Art Russe collection.

Commenting on the acquisition of the work, Art Russe founder said: ‘A prominent representative of the Leningrad school of Soviet painting, Nikolai Baskakov was practically unknown outside the USSR until his exhibition in Paris in 1989. I am glad that we are finally able to present one of Baskakov’s works to art connoisseurs around the world.’