Franz Roubaud Oil Painting, ca. 1885
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GUEST:
My dad's sister married a grandson of the Blatz family in Milwaukee. And she had this painting and another one in her apartment and in her house for a long time. And I always loved this. I like horses. And when she broke up housekeeping, she gave this to me. And so I've had this for maybe 20 years. I do know it was bought in Munich in around 1910 or in that area.
APPRAISER:
This artist, Franz Roubaud, was born in Odessa, Russia, in 1856.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
He trained in Munich.
GUEST:
Oh, all right.
APPRAISER:
So there's your connection. He trained in Munich under Karl von Piloty, who also trained a lot of the American Impressionist artists. In 1885, Russia asked Roubaud to come back to Russia and paint the history of the Caucasus.
GUEST:
Oh, that's... okay.
APPRAISER:
So that would have been... Approximately the date of this painting. Now, can you tell me what the scene is, what the subject is?
GUEST:
The subject is a game that they play in the Caucasus. It's like we would play polo, in a sense, and it's keep-away. There are two teams, and one team gets the goat or the sheep or whatever they've got, and then the other team chases and tries to take it away from them.
APPRAISER:
The market for Russian paintings has exploded..
GUEST:
Oh.
APPRAISER:
..in the past five years.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
As a result of the incredible wealth of the new Russian oligarchs.
GUEST:
Oh, Okay.
APPRAISER:
And they have been repatriating their masters.
GUEST:
Wow.
APPRAISER:
So the market is very strong. You mentioned that you had a thought as to the value.
GUEST:
Well, I had done some research with the Minneapolis Institute of Art. And the only Roubaud I found, or "Ribaud," was a painting that had sold now maybe 15 or 20 years ago for $25,000. And it was very different, more still, but it was en plein air and in the Caucasus.
APPRAISER:
Uh-huh.
GUEST:
And I just thought this would probably be worth less than that, because it's more kind of rough-and-ready and action.
APPRAISER:
It's in gorgeous condition.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
Unlined, it has its original frame. It's a jewel. I would say that a retail price in today's market, which is soft in some areas, but not soft in Russian art, would be about $100,000.
GUEST:
Oh, my God. I can't believe that.
APPRAISER:
$100,000.
GUEST:
Oh, wow. I mean, that's... that's a lot. That's... I just am speechless. I mean, I enjoy just looking at the painting so much, and knowing that it has that value is special. Makes it more special.
APPRAISER:
It makes it even more special.
GUEST:
Yes, it does.
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