THE STUDIO

ALEXANDER IACOVLEFF’S MURAL paintings. BY M. VALOTAIRE.
LAST year, when I was studying M.
Alexander Iacovleff’s paintings and drawings brought back from his journey across Africa with the Citroen Expedition, I was struck by the decorative qualities manifested in certain of his works. I still remember very clearly how The Euphorbia, The Gan’za and particularly Horsemen at Djerma (Niamey) impressed me in this respect. But let no one misapprehend my meaning when I write of decorative qualities: I certainly do not mean that sort
of stylisation of forms and colours, not infrequently seen in easel-paintings, which too often has no other aim or result than to cover up poverty of skill, to which the
painter is able to give a safe-conduct, so to speak, by favour of an ephemeral fashion. The decorative qualities which I attri
buted to certain works by M. Iacovleff were clearly such as would render the said works suitable for large mural panels.
Since then, circumstances have allowed me to learn from M. Iacovleff not only that mural painting fits in exactly with certain of his preoccupations, but also that
it has, up to now, absorbed a good part of his energies.
During his years of study at the Petrograd Academy of Fine Arts, the young artist took an interest in the techniques which lend themselves particularly to decoration on a large scale — fresco and different kinds of distemper. Tempted to put the knowledge thus gained into
MURAL DECORATION IN A CON­ CERT ROOM IN A PRIVATE HOUSE BY ALEXANDER IACOVLEFF