(Bilhorod near Charkow 1843–1903 Strzalkow) At the Well, signed H. Siemiradzki pinx., oil on canvas, 50 x 33.5 cm, framed, (Rei)

Provenance: Private property. Siemiradzki painted most of his works of women beside wells and set in antiquity between 1880 and 1900. This painting demonstrateds not only the artist’s typical subject matter but also his lightness and virtuosity of brushwork, great precision but without excessive detail, and his masterly rendering of the play of light. Letter of authentication issued by Dr Tatiana Karpova, dated August 2010 available: The stylistic characteristics of the painting accord with the genuine works of this artist. Similarly, the layering of colour, the style of rendering the folds of clothing, the foliage, surfaces and stone, all find their counterparts in Siemiradzky’s other works. The signature, applied over a dry layer of colour, is one stylistic variation of his recognized signature. The composition „At the Well“ belongs to one of Siemiradzki‘s so-called „idylls of antiquity“ which were so esteemed by his contemporaries. These idylls were always set in locations reflected in titles such as “At the Pond”, “At the Well”, “At the Swimming Pool”. With their countless wells and fountains and flowing water, Siemiradzki alludes in these works to the sounds of water that constantly accompanied life in towns of that period. The painting „At the Well“ belongs to the group of similar works including „Scene at the Well“ (early 1880’s, private collection, Moscow) , „At the Well“ (1898, Art Gallery, Lvov) , „Girl at the Well“ (sketch, National Museum, Cracow) , „At the Well“(1880s to early 1890s, Leon Wyczolkowski Museum, Bydgoszcz) , „Roman women at the Well“ (Museum Okregowe, Torun, Poland) , „Girl at the Well“ (also; „Girl in Springtime“, 1880s-1890s, private collection, Poland) . We are grateful to Dr Olga Sugrobova-Roth for her assistance in cataloguing this work.