31. Bulgarian soldier hoping for Christmas at home [1914]
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31. Bulgarian soldier hoping for Christmas at home [1914]
1860, Vraný, Austrian Empire - 1915, Sofia
Estimate:
EUR 3.000 - 5.000
Not sold
темпера върху хартия, 26 x 17 cm, 26 × 17 cm, signed and dated bottom right, in blue, "J. Vesin, 1914"
In 1904, Jaroslav Věšín officially assumed the position of artist at the Bulgarian Ministry of War. As a student at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts, in the class of historical painting led by Józef Brandt — himself a master of military-historical painting — Věšín acquired the necessary training for a military painter. Although until that point battle painting had not been the central focus of his artistic practice, his appointment to the position was far from accidental. Over the following years, Jaroslav Věšín would create some of the most significant works in the history of Bulgarian battle painting. In 1911, the artist completed the work “The Samara Flag,” and with the outbreak of the Balkan Wars in 1912 — the first war Věšín experienced as a military artist — he painted “Attack” in 1913.
The two presented lots from 1914 reveal a different aspect of Věšín as a military painter. Both works correspond with the beginning of the First World War and portray two soldiers from different spheres of life. The painting “Hopes for Christmas at Home” depicts a Central European officer reminiscing about Christmas celebrations spent with his family, while enjoying an elegant dinner illuminated by a richly decorated Christmas tree. The second work, entitled “Peaceful Memories,” portrays a low-ranking soldier whose Christmas memories are far more modest than those of the officer — namely, selecting Christmas trees outdoors on a winter’s day.
Věšín used tempera on paper for both paintings, a technique much closer to the graphic quality of the postcards from the period that soldiers sent to their families from the front during the holidays. It is possible that Věšín conceived these works specifically as designs for such postcards, which were extremely common, particularly during the early years of the First World War. (M.Z.)
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