Attributed to Serge Poliakoff (Russian/French, 1900-1969). Abstract Composition in Ochre and Violet

Mixed media on paper

This work represents a fascinating window into the early 1930s, a period when Serge Poliakoff was deeply immersed in the bohemian life of the École de Paris. Having fled the Russian Revolution, Poliakoff’s early work is a soulful dialogue between his Slavic roots and the burgeoning modernism of Montparnasse.
The composition vibrates with a rhythmic, almost musical tension—a direct reflection of Poliakoff’s secondary career as a professional guitarist. Rather than a static image, the painting offers a "spatial dance" of forms. The deep violets and earthy tones suggest a moody, nocturnal atmosphere, typical of the introspective spirit that defined the interwar Parisian art scene.
By 1933, Poliakoff was just years away from meeting Kandinsky and Sonia Delaunay, who would eventually push him toward his world-famous "architectural" abstraction. This piece is a rare testament to that formative journey—capturing the raw energy and the search for a new visual language. It is a work of transition, where the artist is not just painting a subject, but exploring the very soul of color itself. Signed and dated "1933" (lower left). Mixed Media on Paper, 19.5 x 20.5 cm