Description of the picture:
Portrait of Ekaterina Nikolaevna Arsenyeva – Vladimir Lukich Borovikovsky. Canvas, oil. 71.5 x fifty six cm
Borovikovsky Vladimir Lukich – Russian painter, master of ceremonial, solemn portraits of noble, high-ranking and monarchs.
He was especially famous for writing female portraits – chamber, graceful, light, in which he brings a bit of sensitivity, tenderness, naturalness and sentimentality. A whole gallery of female portraits of Borovikovsky decorates the country’s museums.
And, of course, the portrait of a charming ruddy girl will surely attract attention with its freshness. The artist is posed by the eldest daughter of General Arsenyev N. D. – Ekaterina Nikolaevna Arsenyeva. She is a pupil of the society of noble maidens under Smolny, in one thousand seven hundred ninety six she will be accepted into maids of honor, and in one thousand eight hundred she will marry.
In the meantime, a young teenage girl who is in that beautiful time when she is no longer a child but also not a girl is looking at us coquettishly and as if deliberately from above.
She is wearing an airy white dress, pearl bracelets, an apple in her hands, ringlets scattered from under the cowgirl’s straw hat. It is depicted against a background of green foliage, possibly in the garden or on the balcony. The feeling of complete harmony, the unity of the girl and nature.
Katya relies on a stone fence, and her whole appearance speaks of mobility and liveliness of character. It seems that she will stand still for a moment, and then she will fly away further, laughing and rejoicing at her young energy.
This charm of youth is perfectly conveyed by Borovikovsky. The girl has a completely Russian, Slavic appearance – a cute oval with dimples, an upturned nose, white skin and rosy cheeks, as they say, “blood with milk.”
The bright character of the heroine is felt – gaiety and audacity, mischief and coquetry, waywardness and love of life.
In his work, Borovikovsky, as always, masterly, with light strokes, conveys the general mood of the portrait – youth, tenderness, attractiveness of a young girl and the sincerity of her feelings."