I purchased a small painting by this same Soviet artist, Chaloi Leonty, several months ago, which was such a gem I went back to the seller in Russia to buy two more, larger in scale. I really love the big lush brushstrokes on this one--a great interplay of loose vertical and horizonal gestures. Viewed up close, the painting pretty much completely dissolves into abstraction; it is only from some distance that it takes shape as a landscape, increasingly so the further the distance—rather like life!
Oil on cardboard, signed on the back, and dated 1976. From what I understand, Leonty was born in 1929 in the Urals, and graduated from the Leningrad Art College in 1955, where he studied under G.A. Shah, a student of Ilya Repin. He then worked at the Combine of Fine Arts in the 50s and 60s--a production subdivision of the Leningrad branch the Art Fund of the RSFSR--and in 1975 joined the Soviet Union of Artists. At least from what I have seen, landscapes seem to have been his most frequent subject.
Very good condition, with minor wear (and pin holes) at the corners and in a few spots along the edges. 19 5/8" long x 15 3/4" t.
