Portrait of the volkonsky children with a blackamoor the portrait depicts cousins: princess elizaveta grigoryevna (1838–1891), daughter of the chamberlain prince g. P. Volkonsky, and princess sophia dmitrievna (1841–1875), daughter of the chamberlain prince d. P. Volkonsky. The portrait could well be called a ceremonial one, since the girls, despite their young age, are depicted in court ceremonial dresses. The appearance of such a costume is associated with the decree of nicholas i of february 27, 1834, which introduced a special "form" of court dresses. The desire to demonstrate folk national elements in dresses led to them being decorated with gold embroidery, and the cut itself resembled the russian open-fronted garment of ancient times. Add to this the stylized "long" (long) sleeves of the red velvet robe, and you get what was ironically called a "frenchified sarafan". The stylized kokoshnik on the head of five-year-old elizabeth (in fact, a kokoshnik is a female peasant headdress) emphasizes that a court lady is always a lady, regardless of age. Painted in st. Petersburg after a triumphant return from italy with the result of thoughtful work - the painting "the last day of pompeii", the portrait once again demonstrates the brilliant painting skills of karl bryullov. Date: 1843.
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