Beschreibung:

Maxim Gorky (Alexei Maximovich Peshkov, 1868-1936) On Grigoriev's erotic art, and his view of Venice. 1926 Autograph letter signed ('A. Peshkov') to [Boris Dmitrievich Grigoriev], [Sorrento], 3 June 1926. In Russian. 2⁄3 page, 280 x 218mm, on squared paper. Provenance: Les Autographes, Paris, 26 June 2006, lot 155. On Grigoriev's erotic art, and his view of Venice. Gorky thanks Grigoriev for the 'marvellous verses', but regrets that he has not received a copy of his Russische Erotik (1921: a collection of erotic Russian verse and prose, with lithographs by Grigoriev): 'I would love to have a closer knowledge of that side of your creativity. They answered me from Munich that there is no such book'; he also asks after Grigoriev's 1924 book Boui Bouis. He goes on to discuss his mixed views of Venice: 'Does Venice attract you? Hmm ... Colleoni is my favourite in Venice. Of course, it is a very original city. It always seemed to me that in those palaces the canals are occupied by catfish and sturgeons. I realise that it is one of the best of all amphibian cities of our waterproof planet. But I love Naples. / When will you come to Sorrento?' Boris Grigoriev (1886-1939) is one of the best-known Russian portraitists of the 20th century. Grigoriev did indeed visit Gorky in response to the invitation in this letter, and executed a portrait of the writer which he considered his masterpiece in the genre (now in the State M. Gorky Museum in Moscow). By 'Colleoni' Gorky presumably means the equestrian statue of Bartolomeo Colleoni in the Campo Santi Giovanni e Paolo in Venice. Please note this lot is the property of a consumer. See H1 of the Conditions of Sale.