Special
Mihail Chemiakin – French Meat Market Series, Original Drawing, Paris 1973
Mihail Chemiakin – French Meat Market Series, Original Drawing, Paris 1973
This whimsical yet psychologically charged drawing by Mihail Chemiakin (b. 1943) is a rare and significant work from his French Meat Market series—an imaginative, surreal body of work created during his early years in Paris. Dated 1973, the piece is rendered in ink with vivid accents of pink and black, bringing theatrical flair and pointed satire to an otherwise mundane moment: the ritualized exchange of goods.
Two characters occupy the scene—one a portly figure bearing an exaggerated, melting cut of meat framed in a dark abstract silhouette, while the other, a fashionably dressed woman with parasol and handbag, gazes on. Chemiakin’s line is precise and lyrical, simultaneously evoking caricature, ballet, and silent film. At their feet, two small birds—perhaps symbolic, perhaps comic—add to the scene’s surreal stillness.
Works from this rare series reflect Chemiakin’s deep engagement with social roles, consumption, and identity. In this drawing, the mundane is transformed into masked performance, layered with both humor and discomfort. Signed and dated lower left, this is a museum-worthy drawing from a pivotal moment in the artist’s Parisian exile.
Medium: Ink and colored pencil on paper
Date: 1973
Signature: Signed and dated by the artist, lower left
Series: From the rare French Meat Market drawings
Provenance: Acquired directly from the artist
