Female characters depicted by Alexander Leontovsky at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries resemble the collective romantic image of the Beautiful Lady, created by his contemporary, poet Alexander Block. The vagueness, alluring perfection, the intriguing play of the obvious and the hidden, all these features can be traced both in the artist’s work and in Block’s poem ‘The Stranger’, written in 1906.
Alexander Leontovsky studied at the Imperial Academy of Arts from 1885 to 1894, first as a listener, and later as an official student. Leontovsky was a gifted portrait painter; he had a fine sense of his model and could favorably represent the best qualities of a model’s appearance. He tried to see something more than a set of spectacular poses and recognizable facial features, although the rules of a custom-made salon painting did not always allow breaking away from existing clichés. For many years, the artist worked successfully as a secular portrait painter, his models were representatives of the highest aristocracy.
“Lady in White” is a romantic transformation of the genre of salon portrait. The artist deliberately avoided photographic limitations and deliberate realism, filling the portrait with poetry and lightness.
Leontovsky created several female images that have become real symbols of the era. The “Lady in White” is a perfect example of the Art Nouveau style that reigned at the turn of the century. It seems to capture the spirit of the time itself: refined, florid-capricious, profound and mysterious. The portrait perfectly demonstrates the free style of painting and mastery of the brush. This allowed him to create effects similar to the Renaissance “sfumato”.
The canvas depicts a refined and beautiful young woman. There are obvious portrait features in her image. Her gaze is scattered, and the posture feels slightly tired. At the same time, she is shrouded in mystery and light intrigue, as if the silhouette is gradually dissolving in the space of the picture.
There is no doubt about the aristocratic origin and dignified position in society of the depicted young woman. Perhaps Leontovsky might have been inspired by one of the secular beauties of Saint Petersburg. The identity of the woman still remains unknown.
Alexander Leontovsky studied at the Imperial Academy of Arts from 1885 to 1894, first as a listener, and later as an official student. Leontovsky was a gifted portrait painter; he had a fine sense of his model and could favorably represent the best qualities of a model’s appearance. He tried to see something more than a set of spectacular poses and recognizable facial features, although the rules of a custom-made salon painting did not always allow breaking away from existing clichés. For many years, the artist worked successfully as a secular portrait painter, his models were representatives of the highest aristocracy.
“Lady in White” is a romantic transformation of the genre of salon portrait. The artist deliberately avoided photographic limitations and deliberate realism, filling the portrait with poetry and lightness.
Leontovsky created several female images that have become real symbols of the era. The “Lady in White” is a perfect example of the Art Nouveau style that reigned at the turn of the century. It seems to capture the spirit of the time itself: refined, florid-capricious, profound and mysterious. The portrait perfectly demonstrates the free style of painting and mastery of the brush. This allowed him to create effects similar to the Renaissance “sfumato”.
The canvas depicts a refined and beautiful young woman. There are obvious portrait features in her image. Her gaze is scattered, and the posture feels slightly tired. At the same time, she is shrouded in mystery and light intrigue, as if the silhouette is gradually dissolving in the space of the picture.
There is no doubt about the aristocratic origin and dignified position in society of the depicted young woman. Perhaps Leontovsky might have been inspired by one of the secular beauties of Saint Petersburg. The identity of the woman still remains unknown.
