Varvara ermolaevna novosiltseva (1760–1815), daughter of state councilor e. Tishin, a graduate of the smolny institute. Novosiltseva’s portrait is enclosed in an exquisite oval – rokotov’s favourite format in the 1780s. This shape lends the portrait sophistication and refinement, but requires the artist to be particularly precise in his compositional construction. The light falling directly on the face and figure makes the colour scheme cool and light. The play of transparent pearl-white and blue shades enhances the portrait’s emotional expressiveness. The finest pictorial modelling gives the heroine’s face a complex, changeable expression – aristocratic restraint and arrogance are combined with hidden sadness and emotional trepidation. The artistic expressiveness of the portrait is enhanced by the superbly painted fabrics – transparent lace, a satin bow and slightly outlined strands of thick ash-blond hair merging with the dark background. Rokotov’s work was long considered a portrait of an unknown woman. The fact that it depicts v. E. Novosiltsova was established by v. M. Meshcherina in a very original way. On the back of the stretcher there is a paper label that says: “the portrait was painted by rokotov in moscow on september 23, 1780, and i am 20 years, six months and 23 days old. ” although the note is illiterate (either russian was poorly taught at the smolny institute, or varvara novosiltsova was weak in her studies, despite her aristocracy), the text gave researchers an accurate chronological reference point. The unknown author of the note turned 20 years, 6 months and 23 days old on september 23, 1780. The date of birth was easy to calculate. It was also known that the portrait came to the tretyakov gallery from the novosiltsov estate of kochemirovo, temnikovsky district, tambov province. Meshcherskaya, using the moscow necropolis (st. Petersburg, 1908, vol. Ii), established that “major varvara ermolaevna novosiltsova, née tishina, born february 29, 1760, died september 15, 1815” was buried under the pokrovsky cathedral of the novospassky monastery in moscow. “major” meant major general, since her husband, major general v. A. Novosiltsov, was also buried in the same monastery. The absolute correspondence between the age of the person depicted and the origin of the portrait left no shadow of doubt about the accuracy of the attribution (lebedev a. V. F. S. Rokotov (studies for a monograph). – m. , 1941. P. 51. ). Object Type: painting. Genre: portrait. Date: 1780. Dimensions: height: 70.5 cm (27.7 in); width: 59 cm (23.2 in). Medium: oil on canvas. Collection: Tretyakov Gallery. Fedor Rokotov - Портрет В.Е.Новосильцевой - Google Art Project
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