Konstantin Jegorowitsch Makowskij - Portrait of a Young Woman
Konstantin Jegorowitsch Makowskij
Portrait of a Young Woman
Oil on panel. 45 x 34.5 cm.
Signed upper right: C. Makowsky.
Konstantin Yegorovich Makovsky was one of the most sought-after portrait artists in Russia in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. During his lifetime, the artist was celebrated as the "Russian Rubens" or "Russian van Dyck" and his clients included Tsar Alexander II and the Russian aristocracy as well as other artists and cultural figures. As a result of the popularity of his depictions of boyars in scenes from the time before Peter the Great, many of his patrons had their portraits painted in corresponding attire from Makovsky's rich trove of costumes.
His depictions of young boyaresses, some wearing elaborate, luxurious clothing and lavish jewellery, were particularly popular, forming a veritable gallery of Russian beauties. The present portrait of a young woman, which was kept in a private collection for three generations over almost 100 years, now joins this gallery. Here, however, the young woman is by no means sophisticated but rather melancholic, calmly facing the viewer with an impassive gaze from dark brown eyes.
We would like to thank Dr Elena Nesterova, St Petersburg, for kindly confirming the authenticity of this work by Konstantin Jegorowitsch Makowskij on the basis of digital photographs.
Provenance
In family ownership for three generations since 1931.
Konstantin Jegorowitsch Makowskij
Portrait of a Young Woman
Oil on panel. 45 x 34.5 cm.
Signed upper right: C. Makowsky.
Konstantin Yegorovich Makovsky was one of the most sought-after portrait artists in Russia in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. During his lifetime, the artist was celebrated as the "Russian Rubens" or "Russian van Dyck" and his clients included Tsar Alexander II and the Russian aristocracy as well as other artists and cultural figures. As a result of the popularity of his depictions of boyars in scenes from the time before Peter the Great, many of his patrons had their portraits painted in corresponding attire from Makovsky's rich trove of costumes.
His depictions of young boyaresses, some wearing elaborate, luxurious clothing and lavish jewellery, were particularly popular, forming a veritable gallery of Russian beauties. The present portrait of a young woman, which was kept in a private collection for three generations over almost 100 years, now joins this gallery. Here, however, the young woman is by no means sophisticated but rather melancholic, calmly facing the viewer with an impassive gaze from dark brown eyes.
We would like to thank Dr Elena Nesterova, St Petersburg, for kindly confirming the authenticity of this work by Konstantin Jegorowitsch Makowskij on the basis of digital photographs.
Provenance
In family ownership for three generations since 1931.
