Alexnder Rubtsov (1844-1949) was a painter, a graphic artist and a publicist whose work belongs simultaneously to Russian, French and Tunisian cultures. The artist painted portraits, landscapes and genre pieces.
Alexander Rubtsov was born on January 24, 1884, in St. Petersburg. In 1893-1898, he studied painting and drawing at the school of the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, and in 1904-1912 he did so at the Higher Art School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture under the Imperial Academy of Arts in the classes of K. Makovsky and I. Repin. In 1912, his painting Interior of the Empire Style won the Grand Prix at the academic competition, and Rubtsov received the title of artist and the right to travel abroad for four years. Having visited several countries (France, Spain, Morocco, Germany, England), on April 1 of 1914 he arrived to Tunisia and took a travel through the Tunisian south.
In 1920, A. Rubtsov for the first time took part in the Tunisian Salon, where he presented 122 works. A number of his paintings were purchased by the Tunisian state. In 1944, he published his album Streets of Tunisia that comprised 45 of his artworks. A. Rubtsov was awarded the Tunisian Order of Honor and the Order of the French Academy of Arts (1924).
The postage stamps present A. Rubtsov's painting Self-Portrait (1919, private collection of Mehdi Duss) and a fragment of his painting In the Living Room (early 20th century, Ilya Glazunov Gallery); the margins provide a facsimile of the artist and two of his paintings: Beni Khiar, 1919 and View over Sidi Bou Said, 1914 (both are in the private collection of Medhi Duss).
| Paper |
Printing method |
Perforation |
Format of the stamp |
Edition |
| Chalk surfaced |
Offset + security system |
Comb 11¼:12 |
37 × 50 mm |
45 thousand stamps |