ROUBTZOFF Alexandre (1884-1949)

or RUBCOV Aleksandr (1884-1949)
or RUBTSOV Alexander (1884-1949)

"Ben Negro's garden in Bizerte, Tunisia" 

Oil on burlap,
Signed lower right and dated 1919,
Signed lower left (perhaps in Arabic) in a way that is not very legible in the flowers and dated 1919,
Numbered "4" on the back of the canvas in ink,

Beautiful work by the great Russian orientalist painter Alexandre Roubtzoff which represents a view of the park of the residence of the Consul of Great Britain in Bizerte in Tunisia.
The artist uses a vibrant color palette and pays attention to details in order to transcribe this idyllic setting. He thus realizes with talent the representation of the many flowerpots which decorates the circumference of the basin, the reflections on the water, but also the play of light.
Alexandre Roubtzoff endeavors to represent, details, reality in a strict way, he paints his works according to the light of the moment without transforming reality.

The garden of the Ben Negro property, residence of Mr. Bourke, was considered one of the most remarkable in North Africa. This garden had lush vegetation with its many flowerbeds, centuries-old olive trees, eucalyptus, cypresses ... embellished with fountains, temples and many stone statues in its paths.
The garden was a source of inspiration for the artist, a haven of peace, a place where he could recharge his batteries. Its destruction during the Second World War deeply saddens the painter as Patrick Dubreucq tells us in his book "Alexandre Roubtzoff, a life in Tunisia".

We would like to thank the Alexandre Roubtzoff Committee and its president Mr. Paul Boglio for their research work, which unfortunately did not allow us to identify our work in the first exhibitions of the artist in Tunisia due to the lack of visuals. Moreover, the production of the artist during the year 1919 amounts to a hundred works.

The Tunisian Salon of 1920 organizes a retrospective exhibition of 128 works by the painter Alexandre Roubtzoff representing views of Tunisia from 1916 to 1920. Our painting could be part of this retrospective.

Born in Saint Petersburg, Alexandre Roubtzoff is a Russian orientalist painter and draftsman.
It was his aunt Alexandrovna Watcher who introduced him to drawing and painting.
A pupil of Ian Zionglinski and Dmitri Kardovski at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, he obtained several major prizes at the Academy of Saint Petersburg from the start.

As a young scholarship holder, he discovered Europe: Vienna, Venice, Andalusia... In 1914, he arrived in Tunisia a few days after the painters Paul Klee and August Macke. He settles definitively in Tunisia because of the War then of the Russian Revolution and is naturalized French in 1924. He realizes at his beginnings worldly portraits which open the doors of the colonial high society to him.
Alexandre Roubtzoff explores Tunisia, especially the South, going to the most remote places.
He thus brought back from his travels sketchbooks and paintings representing views of Bizerte, Carthage, Hammamet, Sidi Bou Said, Tunis ...
The Tunisian Salon of 1920 by Alexandre Fichet consecrates him as "the painter of light" His landscapes and post-impressionist gardens, with an elegant and wisely colored touch, are very close to those of his friend Baron d'Erlanger and seduce as much as his portraits of Bedouin women. His painting and his growing notoriety gave him an important place in the artistic life of the colony.

His works are now kept in many private collections in Tunisia and Russia but also in various museums such as the Musée du Petit Palais and the Musée Carnavalet in Paris, the Musée de l'Hermitage and the Académie des beaux-arts. of Saint-Petersburg but also in Tunis.

Dimensions: 52 x 73 cm without frame and 66 x 86.5 cm with its original black wooden frame.

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