Igor Prager (1938 -?) - La Mungitrice

Painting, mixed media on faesite, depicting a grotesque figure crouching, hypertrophic hand with hatch shading, landscape with a river, izba, Orthodox chapel, a small truck, sky with spirals.

Style: Soviet grotesque Expressionism, unofficial.

Technique: Vinyl tempera / matte oil

Measurements: cm 45.5 x 43.5 - with frame cm 24.5 x 27 - without frame

Frame: wooden with aged gold finish, 1970s - 1980s, solid, closed corners + fabric-mounted passe-partout, there is a yellow-brown stain (glue/moisture) in the top right - Frame included as a gift.

Signature: signed bottom right in Cyrillic: Prager. Autographed and dated inscription, on the back with title and dedication, in Russian: translation 'This Milker for Franco Miele by Igor Prager, 1973' - Igor Prager was a Russian painter best known as a book illustrator and painter of the Russian diaspora in Canada, where he emigrated in the 1970s with his family and settled in the Montreal suburb.

Provenance: Direct gift from the artist to the painter, art critic and Italian dealer Franco Miele (Formia 1924 - Rome 1983). Miele undertook over 30 trips to the Soviet Union between 1965 and 1975, purchasing and bringing to Italy paintings of Russian avant-garde and non-conformist works, exhibiting them in shows he organized. The painting comes directly from his private collection.

Condition: good, solid support, not mounted, painting layer with good adhesion. Signature and dedication perfectly legible. The painting is provided with glass.