Vladimir Volodia Lazarev (Russian French, 1904-1988) "The Ballad" Impressionist

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This emotive and skillfully rendered oil on canvas by Vladimir Volodia Lazarev depicts a solitary young musician in quiet reverie, … Read more This emotive and skillfully rendered oil on canvas by Vladimir Volodia Lazarev depicts a solitary young musician in quiet reverie, absorbed in the act of playing a traditional Russian stringed instrument—likely a balalaika or domra. With its restrained palette, nuanced light effects, and sensitive modeling, the painting exemplifies Lazarev’s mature style, rooted in the Russian academic tradition but filtered through a Western European sensibility refined during his years in France and Germany.

The seated figure, clad in a rich crimson blouse, emerges from a deep and tonally unified background. His pale blond hair catches a soft light, and his posture—slightly bowed and introspective—conveys an air of meditative stillness. Lazarev renders the folds of the garment with expressive brushwork and sculptural volume, while the musician's hands are treated with subtle delicacy, emphasizing the contemplative gesture of performance rather than dramatic narrative.

Lazarev, born in Russia in 1904, trained in the academic realist tradition before emigrating to Western Europe, where he continued his artistic practice in France and Germany. His work often reflects a synthesis of Russian spiritual melancholy and European formal modernism, seen here in the balance between tonal rigor and psychological depth. The dark ground, restrained chromatic scheme, and reflective mood recall the influence of 19th-century Russian masters such as Repin and Kramskoi, while the flattened spatial treatment and introspective solitude nod to modern European expressionism.

Signed lower left in red pigment, the painting is presented in a carved and gilded frame with deep gouge work along the outer edge, complementing the tonal richness and romantic sensibility of the piece. This work exemplifies Lazarev’s capacity to infuse genre portraiture with lyrical mood and emotional weight, bridging the Russian realist legacy with the introspective aesthetics of interwar European painting.

Measurements: 28.25" w x 36.5" h. See less