$20,480
oil on panel 41 x 31. 5 cm (16 1/8 x 12 5/8 in.) signed in Latin in the upper right, titled in Cyrillic on verso, Konstantin Makowsky studio stamps on verso PROVENANCE The present lot was acquired by the owner from Sotheby`s Parke Bernet in the 1970s. Perhaps best known for his luxurious gala portraits of elegant Saint Petersburg beauties, Konstantin Makovsky`s intimate paintings of women close to him form an exceptionally important part of his oeuvre . With her piercing blue-grey eyes, Makovsky`s mother-in-law bears a striking resemblance to her daughter, Maria Alekseevna Matavtina, whom the artist met while working in Paris to escape the dark St. Petersburg winters. The intimate feel of the present lot is also found in such celebrated painting by Makovsky as the group portrait of Sofia Nikolaevna Volkova with the Secretary of State Mihail Sergeevich Volkov and their son, which is in the collection of the Hermitage Museum.
Auctioneer:
Shapiro Auctions
Date:
2014-10-25
