Titi and Naranghe, Daughters of Chief Eki Bondo - Alexandre Jacovleff

A portrait of Titi and Naranghe, daughters of Chief Eki Bondo, painted by Alexandre Jacovleff during the 1924-1925 Croisière Noire expedition.

Alexandre Jacovleff, a Russian artist known for his precise draughtsmanship, produced this work during the Croisière Noire, an expedition across Africa sponsored by Citroën between 1924 and 1925. The painting depicts Titi and Naranghe, the daughters of Chief Eki Bondo, seated within a sheltered structure. Their figures are rendered with a smooth, sculptural quality that reflects the artist's academic training and his interest in the human form. The composition balances the intimate, quiet interaction of the two sisters in the foreground against the broader view of the village beyond the shelter.

To the left, a patterned textile provides a geometric contrast to the organic curves of the figures. The background shows a village scene with thatched-roof huts and a lone figure carrying a vessel, providing a sense of scale and environment. Jacovleff employs a muted palette of earth tones, ochres, and deep browns, which harmonise with the natural setting. The light is soft, suggesting the late afternoon or the shade of the interior, which allows the artist to model the skin tones with subtle gradations of shadow and light.

Jacovleff's approach to this portrait is observational. He documents the specific features of the subjects and the cultural elements of their surroundings, such as the jewellery and the patterned backdrop, with a high degree of technical control. The work remains a record of the artist's travels and his encounter with the people he met during the expedition. It avoids overt sentimentality, focusing instead on the physical presence of the subjects and the spatial relationship between the interior space and the village exterior. This piece is representative of the artist's output during the mid-1920s, where he combined his classical skills with the subjects he encountered during his extensive travels.