Rare original oil painting by very renown Russian orientalist Richard Karlovich Zommer (1866 Munich-1939 Siberia or Kazakhstan). It depicts scene on a old bridge in Central Asia or probably, on the Donkey bridge with the Shiite mosque in the front in old Tiflis. This painting is also of historical value, since both the bridge and the mosque no longer exist, both were destroyed in the 20th century. For proof of topogaphic identity, see old photographs of Tbilisi (source in on-line: https://visualhistory.livejournal.com/1452456.html) as well as a painting by N.G. Chernetsov "Old Tiflis", dated 1832.

Biography of the artist:

The artist and graphic designer Richard Karlovich Zommer was born in Munich in 1866. From 1884 he studied at the St. Petersburg Academy of Fine Arts and had considerable success, receiving several awards for his work. Zommer’s most prolific period relates to the last decade of the nineteenth century, which he spent in Central Asia (Uzbekistan, Kirgizstan), where he was sent in an archaeological expedition and worked as an ethnologist. During this period he produced a series of portraits, landscapes and works on paper, twenty of which can be found in the Museum of Uzbekistan. At the beginning of the twentieth century Zommer went to Georgia, where he led an active life, travelling extensively. He walked almost the entirety of the Caucasus Mountains and produced anumber of works during this period that provide a fascinating insight into the Caucasus from an ethnographic point of view, as well as glimpses of everyday occurrences and situations. His charming works characteristically display his love for truth and simplicity, and are executed using deep strong colours. Each of his works is particular in its composition, and each tells a story.Many Georgian artists in the course of the twentieth century were forced to take on governmental jobs, however Zommer succeeded as a preserver of Georgian arts. Describing the world as it truly was, he was a guardian of truth and key in the creative development of Georgian painter Lado Gudiashvili. Zommer was Gudiashvili’s first teacher and it was Zommer who encouraged the young talented artist to enrol at the Academy of arts in Tbilisi. The academy had a series of distinguished teachers including the Italian painter Longo, the German painter Oskar Schmerling, and the Georgian painter Jakob Nikolades, student of the French sculptor August Rodin. Gudiashvili thought fondly of Zommer, recalling that he was a very articulate, jovial man with red hair, who was popular with everybody and always wore a red scarf around his neck: ’I saw him as someone who stepped out of a Rembrandt painting’.Zommer had predicted a great career for Gudiashvili, and in December 1926, the two exhibited together at an exhibition in Tbilisi. Gudiashvili was by now well known and had his own distinct style. However, one wonders whether Gudiashvili’s passion for Georgia and its landscape was perhaps instilled by Zommer’s own particular and relentless obsession with the diversity of the surrounding landscape.Zommer was a member of many art groups, and exhibited at various exhibitions in St. Petersburg between 1916 and 1920. He was one of the founders of the Society for Encouraging the Caucasian Decorative Arts in Tbilisi, and took part in various exhibitions organised by the Caucasian painters society, between 1916 and 1920 in Tbilissi, in Baku in 1907 and in Taschkent in 1915.For one of Zommer’s exhibitions, the Georgian journalist Michael Dschawachisschwili wrote a review in the newspaper Znobis Purzeli. Dschawachischwili praised Zommer as a great artist, able to express a form of realism in an outstanding way. He commented: ‘There is liveliness and holiness reflected in his landscapes, portraits and in his representations of historical monuments.’During the 1930s, Georgian intellectuals and artists suffered under the Stalinist regime, and in 1939 Zommer was forced to leave Georgia. After this period his exact whereabouts are unknown, this can in part be explained by the fact that all ethnic Germans were relocated to Siberia and Kazakhstan before World War II.What is clear is that Zommer had a remarkable and dynamic life. Always on the move, he explored man and his character, creating pictures in his individual and unique way, and provided an important role in the history of twentieth century Georgian painting.Collections : Zommer is represented in the State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, amongst other collections.

Short biography of the artist in Russian:

Рихард-Карл Карлович Зоммер с 1884 года являлся вольнослушателем Императорской Академии художеств. За время обучения он был удостоен ряда больших поощрительных медалей. В 1893 году он закончил своё обучение со званием классного художника 3-й степени.С конца 1890-х и до начала 1900-х годов Зоммер много работал в Средней Азии, в период с 1912 по 1917 годы он работал в Закавказье: Грузии, Армении, Азербайджане.Он является автором многочисленных живописных произведений, а также ряда графических работ в основном жанрово-этнографического характера.В своих произведений он изображал как бытовые, так и батальные сцены, а также виды памятников архитектуры Туркестана и пейзажи старых кварталов Ташкента, Бухары, Самарканда.С 1894 года работы Зоммера экспонировались на выставках «Санкт-Петербургского общества художников», а позднее - на ежегодных Осенних выставках и выставках «Общества русских акварелистов». В 1915 году выставка работ Зоммера состоялась в Ташкенте. В настоящее время произведения Р. К. Зоммера находятся в собраниях Государственного Русского музея, Омского областного музея изобразительных искусств, Тульского областного художественного музея, Государственного музея искусств Азербайджана (Баку), Музея истории культуры и искусства Узбекистана (Самарканд), Республиканского художественного музея Северной Осетии , Музея искусств Узбекистана (Ташкент) и многих других.

Literature: Solovjev V.D. "Russian Artists of 18-20th centuries"(in Cyrillic), 2005;Thieme/Becker "Allgemeines Künstlerlexikon"(in German), Lepzig, 1999.

Inscription: signed in Cyrillic lower right.

Technique: oil on canvas, splendid original period gold-plated frame.

Measurements: unframed 16 1/2" x 24 1/2 " (42 x 62 cm); framed w 23 1/4 " x h 31 " (59 x 79 cm).

Condition: in good condition.