Original Fantasy Oil Painting by Natacha Rambova
signed
1918 · Hollywood
by RAMBOVA, NATACHA
Hollywood, 1918. Striking original oil painting painted by Natacha Rambova, the wife of Rudolph Valentino. Signed in the lower right hand corner, “Natacha Rambova - Hollywood 1918.” The painting is a very atmospheric and spooky affair in which Rambova depicts a carriage being driven down a gaslit cobblestone street pulled by two demonic looking horses. The passengers in the carriage are a ghoul and skeleton holding the reins and urging the horses on at breakneck speed. In the foreground, a man in a top hat is seen fleeing the path of the hurling vehicle. Painted on canvas, the picture has been expertly relined and cleaned by a noted conservationist. The painting itself measures 23 x 29 1/2 the painting then very handsomely framed to an overall size 28 x 35 inches. Natacha Rambova (1897-1966) was the wife of silent film star Rudolph Valentino during his years of fame. She was a noted dancer, actress, playwright, artist, costume and set designer, art director, Egyptologist scholar and collector of antiquities. The painting is accompanied by a copy of Michael Morris’s Madam Valentino - The Many Lives of Natacha Rambova, the definitive biography. Rambova’s surviving original artwork is rare. (Inventory #: 13437J)