View Of Beyik 1931

Alexandre Jacovleff made this painting, View of Beyik, in 1931. Jacovleff was a Russian émigré artist, trained in St. Petersburg, who lived and worked in Paris. He was known for his ethnographic documentation of travels in Asia and Africa. Here, Jacovleff depicts a Turkestani landscape with soft colors and a focus on the region's natural grandeur, following in the tradition of academic orientalism. This was a time of increasing Western interest in, and colonial influence over, Central Asia. We should think about the role of artists in shaping European perceptions of distant lands and people. Jacovleff 's expeditions were often funded by institutions with colonial interests, like Citroën, which used images of exotic locales to promote its products. To better understand this artwork, look into travelogues, colonial archives, and studies of orientalism. Consider how Jacovleff's vision of Beyik might have served the political and economic goals of his patrons.