This beautifully harmonized and intriguing Mid-Century Modernist Lithograph entitled Les Deux Personnages (The Two Characters) is by the Russian artist Mihail Chemiakin and originates from France C. 1980. Edition 230/300. This piece features three figures, two in the foreground taking up the center of the picture plane, with a series of at least two silhouette faces peeking into the lower left hand corner. The square format lends stability and ease to the composition, with the figures depicted in gentle and energetically curved lines, small surreal features, and hard edges separating each colored shape along with stunning gradients of value alluding to shadows and overlap of clothing onto skin. The background is a soft and muted green from which the bright reds, ivory, blues, and umber sing alongside and achieve a lovely harmony of color and expressive juxtaposition. The two characters take up a lot of space, only showing their upper bodies with their shapely hands and slender curved fingers resting just below their chins. The figures have a surrealist lean, appearing to be actors, the character on the left has a cutout cerulean blue mask which is tied behind his head and reveals his eyes, nose, and mouth, with the mouth of the mask resting directly below his own in a short black dash. Above this mask is a bright red hat with a white and black front trim. The figure to the right wears a red mask, with a deep muted blue hat and hands rendered in the same red of the mask. They engage in an intimate pose, noses overlapping and lips beside one another, as though engaged in deep and quiet conversation or about to kiss, though facing outwards as though revealing their act to the audience. In the lower left there is a series of faces in colored silhouettes, small and perhaps depicting the audience. Framed in an antiqued white gold leaf and black enamel gallery frame.

Mihail Chemiakin is a Russian artist celebrated for his Nonconformist and Surrealist paintings that feature vividly colored scenes filled with figures, symbols, and spatial elements. Rejecting traditional stylistic norms and strict formalities, Chemiakin work incorporates influences from Western art history, mixing aspects from various eras, personas, themes, and techniques within his pieces. For instance, his 1977 print "Philosophy of the Sea 1" blends elements of Cubism and the works of Francis Bacon with classical still-life motifs. Born on May 4, 1943, in Moscow, Chemiakin experienced a nomadic childhood due to his family's military commitments. He studied at the Il’ya Repin Institute of Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture in what is now St. Petersburg. There, he rejected the dominant Soviet style of Socialist Realism and gained attention. He later joined the St. Petersburg Group of artists, where he formulated the aesthetic theory known as Metaphysical Synthetism. Today, Chemiakin resides and works in France.

France C.1980

Dimensions:

Height: 35.5 in (90.17 cm) x Width: 32.5 in (82.55 cm) x Depth: 1.25 in (3.18 cm)

Sheet: Height: 24" x Width: 21"

Creator: Mihail Chemiakin (1943, Russian)

Creation Year: circa 1980

Medium: Lithograph

Movement & Style: Surrealist

Period: 1980-1989

Condition: Excellent

Reference Number: LU711315028792