Nadezhda Sergeyevna Bohm-Grigoryeva was a graphic artist and landscape painter. She studied in private art studios in Moscow. From 1916, she presented her works at exhibitions, organized by the Society for Travelling Art Exhibitions, the art associations “Modern Painting” and “Moscow Association of Artists”.
The works of the artist are kept in the State Tretyakov Gallery, the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, the Kaluga Regional Art Museum and other collections.
The bright and unique style of Bohm-Grigoryeva, that developed over six decades of the 20th century, was especially in sync with the 1900s and 1910s — the time when existing art forms were reformed, resulting in the formation of new ones.
The characteristic features of the art of the 1910s were reflected in the painting named “Interior”, which depicts a fragment of the living room of Alexandra Alexandrovna Corsini — a traveler and educator.
The painting shows a bright patterned carpet, an exquisite cabinet with a collection of porcelain, a gilded figurine, a vase with flowers, a painting, and heavy velvet drapes, that resemble a backdrop, opening a view of a painted curtain with an image of a rooster. The vividly emphasized fragmentary structure of the composition enhances the impression that the depicted objects have a life of their own. They let the viewers picture in their minds what the hostess and the interior of the living room were like. The aesthetic design of the room is obviously influenced by Art Nouveau, which dominated the art scene back in the day.
By conveying the shape of objects, their texture, physical characteristics and volume, the artist succeeds at accurately depicting them, as well as adding a subtle decorative value, which was achieved through the use of muted dense green, red-brown, purple and yellow tones and shades of pink and blue.
Bohm-Grigoryeva masterfully used the gouache technique to its full potential, demonstrating its decorative and practical advantages such as density, thickness and mattness. Most of the artist’s works were painted in this technique.
The painting was purchased at the Moscow auction house Alpha-Art in 1994.
