"Bogatyr" (The Epical Hero), the picture of Viktor Vasnetsov has been sold for a record-setting $1.7 million at Christie’s.

      The picture was painted by the famous folklore artist in 1920 and has never been showed to public or has taken part in auctions since its creation. The painting has remained in the possession of a single owner for almost a century.

        The auction was held on November 28 in London. Besides Vasnetsov's work, a painting "Roman Crucifixion" (1887) by Vasily  Vereshchagin was sold for $2,675 million. That picture is a part of a well-known trilogy, which also includes "Canon Blastings in British India" and "Hanging Execution in Russia" works.

        Another important lot to be presented at the Christie's are two pairs of unique porcelain vases manufactured by the Imperial Porcelain Factory during the reign of Emperor Nicholas I.

      Christie's auction house opens the series of Russian Art sales in London. Within this week, Sotheby's, Bonhams and MacDougall's auction houses will put up for tender a number of rare masterpieces new to the market, including the painting "Kupchikha" by Boris Kustodiev, which is already estimated at $2,8 million, and works by Vasily Vereshchagin, Aleksandr Volkov, Natalya Goncharova and Filipp Maliavin. 

Source: Lenta.ru Image: penza-press