Lot 1228 Dα

Illuminated by the intense sunlight of a winter's day, the warmth of the light breaks with the palpable chilliness of the colour palette. For a moment one almost seems to feel the icy chill of the air entering one's lungs, and hopes in just a few meters to reach the end of the alleyway and feel the warm sunlight on one's face. Gorbatoff allows the sun to break through half-way through the alleyway. He conjours up the contrasts of light and shadow, heat and cold with skilful precision.
Gorbatoff uses his typical fine blue brushstrokes to depict the knarled branches of the birch trees covered in snow. Winter scenes such as this are a motif which reoccurred frequently in his oeuvre over many years, and thus the work cannot be dated securely.
We would like to thank Dr. Olga Sugrobova-Roth for confirming the authenticity of this piece upon examination of the original. It has been included in the database of her forthcoming catalogue raisonné.