Rating and value of Russian paintings by Constantin Westchiloff

If you own a work by or based on the artist Constantin Westchiloff and would like to know its value, our state-approved experts and auctioneers will guide you.

Our specialists will carry out a free appraisal of your work, and provide you with a precise estimate of its value on the current market.

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Artist's rating and value

Constantin Westchiloff's work is uncommon and fairly highly rated on the auction market. His works arouse interest among collectors and art lovers, particularly those who appreciate 20th-century Russian painting.

The price at which his works sell on the art market ranges from €430 to €75,900, a considerable delta but one that speaks volumes about the value that can be attributed to the artist's works.

As such, a painting by Westchiloff can fetch thousands of euros at auction, like his study drawing Afternoon sun, Crimea, adjudged for €75,900 in 2011, whereas it was estimated at between €58,000 and €82,000.   

Order of value from the most basic to the most prestigious

Constantin Westchiloff's style and technique   

Constantin Westchiloff is a Russian painter in keeping with Russian Impressionism, who during his career belonged to the Naturalist group, rejecting movements such as Suprematism and Constructivism. He maintains a fairly traditional working method.

Yet his master, none other than Elie Repin, had rejected academic conventions at the end of the 19th century and founded the Ambulants group, bringing together painters opposed to the pictorial norms current in Russia.

Westchiloff is thus part of the history of Russian painting in the midst of upheaval.

Constantin Westchiloff : his life, his work

Constantin Alexsandrovitch Wetschiloff, (1878 - 1945) was an American-Russian impressionist painter.

Born in St. Petersburg, he studied at the Imperial Academy of the same city in the studio of Elie Répine. In his youth, he lived through all the revolutionary events leading up to Russia's implosion in 1917.

After the Revolution, he chose to support Soviet propaganda, which enabled him to exhibit paintings at the " first free national exhibition ", in 1919 in Petrograd. Described as an Impressionist, his paintings were initially inspired by naturalism, aiming to depict nature as it is, without artifice.

He chose to pursue his career in Italy, where he produced various landscape paintings. In 1935, he decided to settle permanently in the United States, where he continued to paint landscapes but also marine paintings, like his fellow Ivan Aïvazovsky.

Focus on a marine painting by Westchiloff

Constantin Westchiloff, usually recognized for his powerful seascapes, here reveals a turbulent sea scene under a heavy sky. The artist highlights the indomitable force of nature, where the waves come crashing violently against the rocks at dusk.

We see a tumultuous expanse of water, lit by silver flashes reflected on the wave crests. White foam stands out against the dark surface of the water, creating a striking contrast with the sky, tinged with shades of bluish and violet. On the horizon, orange lights appear, perhaps fires, suggesting a human presence at the edge of this wilderness.

The painter here captures a moment of tension between the immensity of the sea and the fragile presence of man. The waves, rendered with meticulous realism, seem ready to engulf everything in their path. The stormy sky, with its menacing clouds, adds to this impression of hostility and mystery.

Everything, from the flickering light to the force of the wind, seems to underline the power of nature and man's helplessness in its face.

The details are carefully crafted, particularly in the reflections of light on the water, which capture the way the dying sun tries to break through the thick clouds.

Cold hues dominate the composition, but the warm touches of the fires in the distance subtly draw the eye in, reminding us that despite the force of nature, human life persists.

With this work, Westchiloff demonstrates not only his ability to depict the grandeur of the sea, but also to convey a certain poetry in this confrontation between man and the elements. The soft but fleeting light that illuminates the scene creates a balance between beauty and menace, inviting the viewer to contemplate both the serenity and brutality of the ocean.

The contrast between the agitation of the waves and the calm glow on the horizon creates a fascinating dynamic, in which the artist demonstrates his mastery of both the representation of natural forces and the subtle play of light. Here, Westchiloff excels in the art of capturing an ephemeral moment, between calm and storm, where every detail contributes to creating an immersive scene, filled with movement and emotion.

In this way, the artist offers us a painting where nature becomes both character and setting, and where emotion is born from the contemplation of a sea that is both magnificent and threatening.

The context of Westchiloff's artistic creation

The Russian Impressionists, like their Western counterparts, captured the fleeting moment and the subtle variations of light, but their work was set in a very particular context: that of a Russia in upheaval.

At the dawn of the 20th century, while Western Europe was enthusiastic about the aesthetic innovations of Impressionism, Russian artists, such as Isaac Levitan, Konstantin Korovin or Valentin Serov, seize on this style to express both the beauty and fragility of their native land.

In the midst of revolutionary turmoil, their works take on an extra dimension. The peaceful landscapes, bathed in soft light, seem almost at odds with the political and social turmoil shaking the country.

Yet, this dissonance between the serenity of the scenes depicted and the violence of the surrounding events is deeply significant. The Russian Impressionists sought to preserve, in their canvases, the beauty of a world that was disappearing.

Nature, which they painted with such delicacy, became a refuge from the storms of history. Their luminous palette and light brushstroke technique create a striking contrast with the darkness of the coming revolution.

The revolutions of 1905 and 1917 mark a turning point, and for many artists, this impressionism becomes a swan song, a final attempt to capture peace before the irruption of chaos.

In this context, the art of the Russian Impressionists resonates as both an aesthetic and emotional testimony to an era in flux, where the ephemeral beauty of landscapes reflects the precariousness of a society on the verge of toppling over.

Focus on a Russian landscape painting by Westchiloff

Constantin Westchiloff takes us here to a peaceful winter landscape, typical of the vast Russian expanses. The painting exudes calm and tranquility, with its bare trees and stream meandering gently through the snow.

The colors are soft, almost muted, dominated by cool tones of white, gray and blue, evoking the quietude of a winter's day.

The trees, with their bare branches, stand out against a gray, heavy sky. Their reflections in the dark water bring a touch of movement to this setting frozen by the cold.

The stream, though small, catches the eye with its shimmering surface that contrasts with the immaculate whiteness of the snow. It becomes a central element of the painting, creating a sense of depth and continuity in this seemingly silent landscape.

The overall atmosphere is one of serenity, almost solitude. One imagines the biting cold, the silence interrupted only by the discreet rustle of water. The total absence of human presence accentuates this impression of absolute calm, as if nature, in its simplicity, were self-sufficient.

The light is subtle, diffused through an overcast sky, but it illuminates just enough to bring out the details of the trees and the stream. This play of light, typical of winter, adds an almost dreamlike touch to the scene, making the whole both realistic and poetic.

With this work, Westchiloff captures the essence of the Russian winter, not in its violence or austerity, but in its silent, still beauty.

The whole is soothing, from the soft colors to the calm of the landscape. The viewer is invited to lose himself in this sleeping nature, to take a moment's pause, away from the hustle and bustle of the outside world.

Constantin Westchiloff's imprint on his period

Constantin Westchiloff is a world-famous painter, both during his lifetime and today. His paintings of landscapes and other compositions are highly sought-after by collectors and are successful at auction, but so are his preparatory drawings.

Some of his works are exhibited in museums in France, but private collectors play a major role in preserving his work.

His signature

Not all of Wetschiloff's works are signed. It's also possible that they're copies or that the inscription has faded over time, which is why expertise is essential.

Expertise your property

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