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Buzkashi
Franz Roubaud (1856 – 1928)
1889
oil on canvas
120 x 180 cm
signed and dated lower left:
F Roubaud/1889
Provenance
Private collection, USA
Buzkashi ranks among the most important paintings by Roubaud in private hands. The large and impressive oil painting
is a rare example of the artist’s mature style.
The painting belongs to the key period of the artist’s career. During the late 1880’s - early 1890’s Roubaud created his
most accomplished masterpieces, including the famous Caucasus cycle (1885-1893) and its centerpiece The Storm of
Achulgo (the Museum of Graphic Arts in Makhachkala, Daghestan). The period was marked by Roubaud’s increased
official recognition: he had his first solo exhibitions in St. Petersburg (1898), Paris (1891), and Madrid (1892). In 1890 he was
admitted to the Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts and gained several prestigious awards.. Most artworks from this period are
in museums (The Russian Museum, St.Petersburg; Museum-panorama The Borodino Battle, Moscow; P. S. Gamsatova
Dagestan Museum of Fine Arts, Machachkala; A. Tacho Godi Dagestan State Museum, Machachkala; Museum of History
of Azerbaijan, Baku).
Buzkashi or kokpar (literally «goat bashing» in Turkic, buz is Turkic for «goat» and kashi means «bashing») is Central Asian
sport in which horse-mounted players attempt to drag a goat carcass toward a goal. Buzkashi is played amongst Kyrgyz,
Pashtuns, Kazakhs, Uzbeks, Tajiks, and Turkmens.
It is widely believed the game was first played in the Oxus basin, now known as the Amu Darya, along a border of
Afghanistan. Expert horsemen, the nomads of northern Afghanistan fought Alexander the Great’s triumphant army to
a standstill. When the ancient Greeks first saw these formidable horsemen of Central Asia, they believed the legend of the
centaur (half horse, half man) had materialized. For any witness of modern Buzkashi, this reaction is easily understood.
Before moving on to India, Alexander replenished his cavalry with this sturdy breed of horse.
Many people associate Buzkashi with the famous Genghis Khan. The Mongol horsemen were adept at advancing swiftly on
enemy campsites and, without dismounting, swooping up sheep, goats, and other pillage at a full gallop. One theory is that
in retaliation, the inhabitants of northern Afghanistan established a mounted defence against the raids and this practice
might be the direct forbearer of today’s Buzkashi. As speculative as this story on the origins of Buzkashi might be, it seems
a plausible re-enactment of the campaigns of the great Mongol and his Golden Horde in Asia Minor.
Franz Alexyeevich Roubaud (1856-1928) - famous Russian battle and genre painter. Born in Odessa in 1856 to a Catholic
family of French descent. Since 1865, he studied at the Odessa Drawing School, and since 1877 at the Munich Academy
of Fine Arts.
Having returned to Russia, Franz Roubaud taught at the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts in St.Petersburg. In 1913 he left
Russia and settled in Munich, where he lived for the rest of his life.
The first success came to Roubaud in 1880’s when he painted 18 monu