Articles From the Experts

Foreign and unidentified authors

Enakor Auction No. 47, 10 April 2025

In the previous parts of the presentation of works from the collection of Rouzha Marinska in the auction №47 of “Enakor” (publication of the entire collection at Dimitrov 2024), the works of Bulgarian artists of the modern era, who received their artistic education until 1948, were presented. The works of those artists, who received their education after 1948, educated and created in the era of socialism, were also presented. Special attention was paid to the works of the youngest Bulgarian artists in the collection, some of them personal discoveries of R. Marinska, born after the mid-1960s, who received their artistic education in the last (slightly more liberal) years before 1989 and after. The work of most of these artists, Marinska has researched, published, included in her own projects, curated and opened exhibitions – this is, in my opinion, the specific unusual concept of the composition of her art collection.

The last part of the presentation includes three groups of works: works by foreign authors, works with available but unread signatures, and works by unidentified authors. Among them, there are very valuable artefacts. First are those from the first half of the twentieth century, but there are also some from the second half. Among the works by unidentified artists are certainly hiding, waiting to be uncovered, amazing finds, similar to the discovery we made in our initial survey of the collection. At the last moment before publication, through our joint efforts, we were able to identify the author of two wonderful drawings as Alexander Bozhinov.

Foreign Artists in the Collection

Rouzha Marinska graduated in 1967 in History and Theory of Art (under the renowned professors Viktor Lazarev and Ivan/Yanos Matza) from Moscow State University. That is the reason she has maintained both her interest and contacts with artists from the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation. The most valuable works in the collection are by artists of the modern era: two linocuts by Vladimir Favorsky (1886-1964) from the Samarkand series, 1942-1943, “A Conversation about Gunpowder” (Fig. 1) and “Camels” (Fig. 2); and the plaster statuette “Naked Female Figure,” 1934-1936 (Fig. 3a-b) by Sara Lebedeva (1892-1967), who is renowned as a master of sculptural portraiture. The statuette offered in the auction is one of the most representative examples of Sara Lebedeva’s work – it was placed on the cover of a catalogue for a retrospective exhibition of her work at the Tretyakov Gallery, organized shortly after her death (Alpatov 1973).

For the artist and art theorist Vladimir Favorsky, Marinska has published a study (Marinska 1987) – a preface to an edition of his theoretical articles in Bulgarian. This explains the presence and value of his prints in the collection. Vladimir Favorsky (see Favorsky) was a Russian and Soviet artist, who worked in almost all areas of the visual arts. He was a graphic artist, illustrator, painter, muralist, scenographer, as well as art historian and teacher, art theorist, leading theorist and practitioner of Soviet typography and book design, founder of a school of woodcut painting, author of his own pictorial system and theory of composition; theorist of modernist fresco painting. After the Revolution of 1917, he was a lecturer and rector at several higher art schools, institutes and academies in Moscow. He received both Soviet and international awards – e.g. the Grand Prix at the World Expositions in Paris in 1925 and 1937, a gold medal at the World Exhibition in Brussels in 1958, etc. In 1941-1943, he evacuated to Samarkand, Uzbekistan, where he produced a series of drawings and linocuts, from which series are the two linocuts included in the auction.Several works in the auction are by artists born after 1930, most of whom were close friends of Rouzha. These include two works by Grigoriy Georgievich Derviz (1930-2019), “Tree,” mixed media (Fig. 4) and the print “Rabbit,” 1986 (Fig. 5). Derviz worked in monumental decorative art on public buildings and there is evidence that he had works also in Sofia (see Derviz). The Soviet-Ukrainian-American artist Mihail Mihaylovich Petrenko (b. 1938) has left a warm dedication on his graphic (Fig. 6) depicting another graphic artist and illustrator who was a poet and composer, “Evgeny V. Bachurin-Bard” (1934-2015). Mikhailo Petrenko (see Petrenko) was born in the town of Mikolaiv, then Ukrainian SSR. He graduated in St. Petersburg, then Leningrad Higher Art and Industrial School “V. I. Mouhina”. He received his doctorate in art history. He worked in painting, graphic arts, book design. He has lived in San Francisco, USA, since 1994. In 2010, the Vereshchagin Museum of Art in Mikolaiv held an exhibition “Return to Ukraine”, when he donated ca. 70 of his works to the museum.

In the group of works by artists who are personal friends of R. Marinska from the USSR-Russian Federation, we include the two paintings by Marinska’s fellow student, the art historian and painter Irina Bolotina (1944-1982), (see Bolotina) – “Cityscape” (Fig. 7) and “City Street”, 1967 (Fig. 8), with a dedication by the artist’s daughter. Both paintings were exhibited in Rouzha’s study.

Three ceramic plates (Fig. 9) by the Uzbek artist Shermatov, from 1981, decorated a small wall in Rouzha’s home. The collection includes works by several Balkan artists: an oil on canvas, “Female Face,” 2006 (Fig. 10), with a dedication by the Croatian Zora Popović (1902-1978); a watercolour, “Space,” 1992 (Fig. 11), by the Serbian Zdravko Mandić, (b. 1935); and a watercolour, “Nessebar,” 2007 (Fig. 12), by the Romanian Suzanne Fântânariu (b. 1947). The Chinese artist Zhao Jianfei‘s work, “Composition”, 2008 (Fig. 13), is probably an acknowledgement of his participation in the “Contacts without Limits” plain air workshops (Marinska, Daneva 2007; Marinska 2007; Daneva ; see Bulgarian Painting in Argos; Marinska 2020:II, 359-360).

Works with undeciphered signatures and unidentified authors

Among the signed works in the collection that remain with undeciphered signatures, we present “Landscape from Greece” (Fig. 14); “Composition with female figures”, “K. B.” (Fig. 15); “Rose and Snake”, greeting painted card, 2007, by “Ventse” (Fig. 16); “Female Portrait”, 1975 (Fig. 17), signed by “Migova” or “P. Migova” (some assume it is a portrait of R. Marinska); “Male Portrait” (Fig. 18).

Among the unidentified artists in the auction, probably from the first half of the twentieth century, we will present the following as more valuable: the drawing “Portrait of a Woman” from 1919, signed with the initials “A. S.” (Fig. 19); the oil study (Fig. 20) “Portrait of Raphael Mihaylov” (1902-1969); the oil on canvas “Blossoming Twig” (Fig. 21); the prints of landscapes from Western Europe (“Ruins” – Fig. 22, “Ponte Vecchio, Florence” – Fig. 23) and the exquisite still life (Fig. 24), reminiscent of the style of Stefan Kutsarov (1918-1944), many works by whom are present in the collection.

Among the works of unidentified authors in the collection of Rouzha Marinska there are others that deserve the attention of connoisseurs. Of the oil and tempera paintings, these are “Untitled” (Fig. 25), the Romanian icon “Prophet Elijah” (Fig. 26); and the drawing (Fig. 27) “Priest” (with possible author Georgi Penchev 1924-2014). The authors of the works, which Marinska must have valued highly because they were part of the permanent exhibition in her home, have remained unidentified to us for now; some were displayed in central places: “Composition with an Angel” (Fig. 28), “Landscape”, 1977 (Fig. 29) and “Composition” (Fig. 30).

We draw attention to several sculptural pieces demonstrating an unusually evocative imagination: the magnificent stone “Prehistoric Mask” (Fig. 31); the extraordinary decorative vessel with a human head, birds and an apple on sticks (Fig. 32); the decorative double-sided ceramic panel with painted human heads (Fig. 33); and the miniature glazed ceramic “Female Head” (Fig. 34).

The auctioning of part of the collection by Marinska’s heirs is a kind gesture to Rouzha’s friends. It is a beautiful, warm and meaningful way for her to touch her many friends, students and admirers, to visit our homes again, to mark another legacy  visual-aesthetic, emotional and meaningful. In this unconventional way, she would leave a tangible and spiritual personal memory with the people who will have before their eyes and interact with an artwork from her personal collection. To make this possible for more of Rouzha’s friends, we are setting very affordable starting prices for the lots in the auction.

Moreover, art connoisseurs who have not had the happiness and honour of being close to Rouzha Marinska will acquire precious works whose quality and value they can rely on the unquestioned assessment of the foremost expert on Bulgarian fine art of our time.

Rositsa Gicheva-Meimari, PhD

Senior Assistant Professor in the Art History and Culture Studies Section and member of the Bulgarian-European Cultural Dialogues Centre at New Bulgarian University 

February 24th 2025

Bibliography:

Alpatov 1973: Алпатов, М. В., Дубовицкая, Н.Н.; Слоним, И.Л. и др. Сарра Лебедева. Москва, „Советский художник“, 1973.

Bolotina: Художник Болотина Ирин. В: ArtMost – https://art-most.com/product-detail/bolotina-irina/  Болотина, Ирина Самуиловна. Статия в Уикипедия. – https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%91%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%BE%D1%82%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%B0,_%D0%98%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%B0_%D0%A1%D0%B0%D0%BC%D1%83%D0%B8%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%BD%D0%B0 Посетени на 22.02.2025.

Bulgarian Painting at “Argos”: Българска живопис в “Аргос” – „Кафене“, 25.04.2007, https://kafene.bg/%D0%B1%D1%8A%D0%BB%D0%B3%D0%B0%D1%80%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0-%D0%B6%D0%B8%D0%B2%D0%BE%D0%BF%D0%B8%D1%81-%D0%B2-quot%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B3%D0%BE%D1%81quot/  Посетена на 13.02.2025

Daneva 2007: Данева, Анжела. Чист въздух за пленера. В: „Следва“, 2007/18, с. 49-51.

Derviz: ДЕРВИЗ Григорий Георгиевич. В: Российская академия художеств – https://rah.ru/the_academy_today/the_members_of_the_academie/member.php?ID=52461  Посетена на 22.02.2025.

Dimitrov 2024: Димитров, Владимир (съставител, автор), Росица Гичева-Меймари (научен редактор) 2024. Ружа Маринска – живот сред изкуство. Каталог. Нов български университет, 2024., на бълг. и англ. език. Dimitrov, Vl. (compiler, author), R. Gicheva-Meimari (scholarly editor), 2024. Ruzha Marinska – Life Surrounded by Art. Catalogue. New Bulgarian University, 2024.

Marinska 1987: Маринска, Ружа, Владимир Фаворски. Предговор. Във: Владимир Фаворски, За изкуството. Сборник теоретични статии. „Наука и изкуство“, София, 1987

Marinska, Daneva 2007: Маринска, Ружа, Анжела Данева. Пленерът: преди и сега. Разговор между Ружа Маринска и Анжела Данева. В: „Следва“, 2007/17, с. 50-57.

Marinska 2007: Маринска, Ружа, Кой се страхува от изкуствоведа. В: „Следва“, 2007/18, с. 46-48.

Marinska 2020а: Маринска, Ружа, За изкуството, том I-II. София, 2020.

Petrenko: Михаил Михайлович Петренко. В: Блог об офорте  https://rosgrafik.blogspot.com/2020/02/blog-post_14.html Посетена на 22.02.2025

Favorsky: Фаворский, Владимир Андреевич. В: Модернизм без манифеста. Собрание Романа Бабичева. https://babichevcollection.com/favorskiy-vladimir-andreevich  ;  Фаворский, Владимир Андреевич – статия в Уикипедия https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A4%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%BE%D1%80%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B9,_%D0%92%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%B4%D0%B8%D0%BC%D0%B8%D1%80_%D0%90%D0%BD%D0%B4%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%B5%D0%B2%D0%B8%D1%87  Посетени на 22.02.2025