Dmitri Semenovich STELLETSKY (1875-1947) Project... Lot 97

Dmitri Semenovich STELLETSKY (1875-1947) Project for an icon kiot. Watercolor and graphite on paper, signed lower right "STELLETSKI" and annotated in French Villa Wenden Cannes / 1920", with pencil annotations to the ribs. Framed, bears on the back a label annotated in Russian in the hand of Alexander Liapin dated 1970. H. 51.7 x W. 36.5 cm (when viewed). Provenance - Villa Wenden, Cannes, 1920. - Alexandre Liapine Collection (1927-2011). History The Villa Wenden in Cannes was built in 1889 on the order of Anastasia Mikhailovna of Russia (1860-1922), grand duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin by her marriage, granddaughter of daughter of Tsar Nicolas I and sister of Grand Duke Michel Alexandrovich Romanov (1861-1929) who stayed in Cannes during the winter seasons. Neo-Gothic style, with a garden and a spectacular a spectacular terrace resting on a peripheral wall, the villa was realized in accordance with the with Anastasia's exuberant tastes. It was the first residence in Cannes to be equipped with electricity, it was a place of sumptuous receptions and was frequented by the German family of the prince of Wenden-Schwerin and by the Romanovs of Russia. In 1914, the painter Dmitri Stelletsky left Russia for France and settled in a small in a small studio, which he nicknamed "Le Toit", in La Napoule near Cannes. While emigrating, he realized many architectural and decorative projects as well as murals for the residences of the the residences of the Russian, English or French aristocracy in Cannes and on the French Riviera. One examples being the old fortified residence the "Fanfarigoule", bought in 1920 by the Sir Alan Johnstone and his wife. The present project could have been commissioned for the interiors of the Villa Wenden by the Grand Duchess Anastasia herself, or by her son and heir Louis Alexis de Wenden (1902-1976). But in 1923 the son-in-law of the Marshal, M. Grus-Galliéni, took possession of the estate and the project never saw the light of day.