Boris Riabouschinsky, known as Riab (1898–1975). Watercolor depicting a Korthal griffin in a bust view, looking to the left and carrying a partridge. 
 
Frame: 45.5 x 36 cm. Some scratches on the frame’s gilding.
 
Watercolor: 31 x 22 cm. The watercolor is in very good overall condition.
 
 
 
Price: €1,800.
 
Ref: 138.
 
 
 
Boris Riaboushinsky, known as Riab (1898–1975). Russian animal painter who became a naturalized French citizen
 
Born into a wealthy family in Moscow, he was deeply influenced from childhood by nature, hunting, and animals—a world that would form the core of his work.
 
Trained at the Moscow Academy of Fine Arts, he studied under Konstantin Visotsky while developing a unique passion for drawing animals. He lived through the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the collapse of the society to which he belonged. Stripped of his possessions, he fled Russia in 1920, passing through Constantinople, Milan, Great Britain, and Canada, before settling permanently in France in 1927.
 
He frequented the Natural History Museum in Paris, where he rubbed shoulders with the masters of animal drawing, Edouard Paul Merite and Roger Reboussin. This encounter enhanced his powers of observation and his realism in depicting animals. 
 
Based first in Paris, then in Joinville-le-Pont, and finally in Saint-Vincent-du-Lorouër in the Sarthe region, Riab became one of the most sought-after animal painters of his time, particularly in hunting circles. He painted primarily hunting dogs, hunting scenes, forest landscapes, and wild animals. His painting is imbued with a certain nostalgia, evident in the recurring Russian motifs (birch trees, northern atmospheres). Riab excels in the art of suggesting light and depth through the light layering of washes. His strict observation of animal anatomy and behavior is the hallmark of his realism. His line is confident, at times almost scientific, yet never rigid: the animals are captured in their natural movement, whether at rest or in full action. He collaborated with specialized hunting magazines and regularly participated in the Salon des Animaliers. He died in 1975.