Boris Riabouchinsky

BORIS RIABOCHINSKY (1898-1975) .
"Spaniels".
Watercolor on paper.
Signed.
Measurements: 22 x 31 cm (frame).
Boris Riabouchinsky, known artistically as Riab, became one of the leading French painters specializing in the representation of hunting dogs, waterfowl and birds of prey. Coming from a wealthy Muscovite family, he grew up in close contact with nature on the family estate, where he developed an early interest in hunting and drawing, making sketches of his hunting experiences. Trained at the Moscow Academy of Fine Arts under the tutelage of Visotsky and Stepanoff, his life took a turn with the events of the Russian Revolution: after the assassination of Tsar Nicholas II and the expropriation of the family property, he was forced to leave the country. After a period in the army, he emigrated in 1920, first to Turkey and then to Milan, where he decided to devote himself entirely to animalistic painting.
His travels took him to Great Britain, Canada and the United States, where he combined his love of hunting with his artistic practice. Towards the mid-1920s he returned to Europe, first residing in Scotland and later settling in Paris and Joinville. His integration in French hunting and dog breeding circles allowed him to receive commissions for canine portraits, achieving great prestige in the 1930s. Since then he began to sign his works as "Riab". Between 1947 and 1950 he worked in the United States, collaborating with hunting clubs and specialized magazines, and maintained an intense pictorial activity in France.