Country scene with peasant and white horse was executed by Alexey Vladimirovich Isupov (1889, Vyatka, Vyatka Province, Russian Empire - 1957, Rome), the Russian artist, realist painter, a vivid representative of salon painting.

After arriving in Rome, Isupov began work on the rhinestone; he was attracted to a variety of genres from still life to animalistics. After the first Italian exhibition Isupov recognized not only critics, but also famous Italian artists - Giorgio Nicodemi, Michele Biankale, Garzolini Irolli, Di Santi, etc. The high appreciation of Isupov´s work was given by Michele Biankale, who noted that by "depicting Italian women in black suits, Isupov gave them a Russian sensibility of local character, which gave the image a special expressive Expressiveness... The work of Alessio Isupova is the art of a painter who knows all the joy and power of color" ("Woman from Scanno," "Italians with children," 1928). In 1928-1929, his exhibitions were held in Rome and Milan, and when the isupov exhibition opened in Naples, it was repeatedly visited by Maxim Gorky. In Italy, the artist communicated closely with the Soviet Ambassador to Rome D.I. Kursky, his workshop was visited by s.T. Konyonkov, A.M. Gerasimov, P.D. Corin, F.S. Bogorodsky, G.G. Ryazhsky. In the 1920s, Isupov´s paintings continued to appear at Soviet exhibitions as well.

Isupov´s paintings were purchased in their collections by Italian museums. Critics noted "the broad scope of the brush, the subtle analysis of the details, the desire for truth." He became a significant participant in personal and group exhibitions, both Italian and international. Isupov acquired a villa in the center of Rome, owned his own workshop, studied the heritage of great masters in the museums of Italy, vacationed in Sicily. Newspapers called the Russian artist a "revelation for Rome," a "wonderful draftsman and an exhilarating painter," but especially the artist´s works were loved for "gentle colors, " and the audience found them "truth and poetry." In Rome, Isupov has earned great popularity as a portraitist. He used a variety of techniques of impressionistic painting ("The Girl with the Rose," "The Lady with the Glass," "Portrait of the artist´s wife. Behind the spinning," 1930s; The Woman with the Tray, 1942; "In Front of the Mirror," 1944; Self-Portrait with the Dog Vatrushka, 1943). Paintings of the artist have been exhibited at numerous exhibitions: in Rome (1926, 1928, 1933, 1945), Milan (1929, 1930, 1931, 1934, 1948), The Hague (1931), Livorno (1934), Genoa (1934), Florence (1934), Naples (1934, 1946), in Bergamo (1935), Trie (193), 1939), Turin (1937), in exhibitions in France, Holland and Belgium.In Russia, Isupov was never referred to as a "bourgeois element" and his work was recognized by the Soviet authorities. During the Second World War, the artist actively helped the Italian Resistance in the fight against the fascist regime established in Italy. Aleksey Vladimirovich turned his studio into a safe house, although his studio was directly against the fascist barracks. Every effort to help his compatriots, he constantly provided material assistance to the detachment of Soviet partisans. After the war at the end of 1945, the Gallery of Modern Art in Rome hosted a large solo exhibition by Alexei Isupov, and two years later in Milan, in the International Art Gallery, his last solo lifetime exhibition took place. In 1949, an illustrated monograph about the artist´s work, written by the famous Italian art historian Professor Giorgio Nicodemi, was published in Italy.Having lived for many years away from his homeland, Alexey Isupov never considered himself an immigrant. "My wife and I actually belong to emigration," the artist wrote, "we have Soviet passports and we are Soviet citizens. I was not driven to Italy by civil war, but by illness."The artist died in Rome. He was buried in the Roman Protestant cemetery of Testaccio, where K.P. Bryullov, P.N. Orlov, brothers A. A. and P. A. Svedomsky, V.I. Ivanov and others are buried.In 1958, Tamara Isupova, fulfilling her husband´s will, brought part of his legacy to Russia. About 300 works (80 paintings and more than 200 drawings) were transferred to Vyatka, an art museum, one of the founders of which was a master. Nineteen works of Isupov the artist´s widow gave the State Tretyakov Gallery.

Literature : Alessio Issupoff alla galleria Scopinich (catalogo della mostra), Milano, Rizzoli, 1931; Alessio Issupoff, Michele Cascella, Gino Romiti : mostre personali dei pittori, Livorno, Bottega d´arte, 1934; Mostra personale di Alessio Issupoff. Aprile 1935, Galleria permanente d´arte Alessandro Gazzo, Bergamo, 1935;Biancale, Michele, Alessio Issupoff, Roma, Palombi, 1945;Nicodemi, Giorgio Alessio Issupoff, Milano, L´Arte, 1949;Lyubimova, Irina, Alexei Isupov between Russia and Italy, articolo pubblicato fra i documenti del sito di The Tretyakov Gallery Magazine.

Inscription: signed lower right.

Technique: oil on wood panel. Original period frame.

Measurements: unframed w 13 2/3" x h 9 2/3" (34,5 x 24,5 cm); framed 19 7/8" x 16" (50,5 x 40,5 cm).

Condition: in very good condition.