This contemplative and melancholy portrait depicts Sophia Smirnova, the first wife of the artist Porfiry Krylov. She died at an early age. They met while studying at Vkhutemas — Higher Art and Technical Workshops in Moscow. They studied at different departments — Porfiry studied painting and Sophia prepared to become a textile artist. They met in the lively corridors of Vkhutemas or during an evening of student initiatives.

The archives of Porfiry Krylov contain his student photo signed:

“He loved her very much”, Nikolai Sokolov, a co-member of the Kukryniksy group and Krylov’s friend, wrote decades later in his book “I Remember…”.

The couple got married in 1928, and on October 22, 1929, their son Andrey was born. But their domestic bliss was very short-lived. Sophia suffered from a heart condition since she was a child, and four years after the wedding she died at the age of 24. Porfiry Krylov outlived his wife by 58 years. He remarried and was happy in his family life — his son Anatoly was born from his second wife.

The image of the artist’s first wife is preserved in portraits, each reveals something about her appearance and personality. In 1927, Krylov painted an exquisitely strict portrait “Sophia Dressed in Black” in the year of the wedding — a light and thoughtful “Portrait of Wife Sophia”, which is currently stored in the collection of the State Tretyakov Gallery.

The painting “Sophia Lying Down” was painted by Porfiry Krylov in 1929, the year their son Andryusha (Andrey) was born. The artist’s wife in the portrait looks sad and deeply immersed in thought. It is likely Sophia was suffering from heart pain or worried about the fate of the child soon to be born and left without a mother at a young age.

Krylov’s last painting dedicated to his wife Sophia, “Portrait with a Book”, was painted in 1932 — the year she died. The artist had a long creative career ahead of him.

Porfiry Nikitich Krylov entered the history of Russian fine art as a member of the creative collective of Soviet artists called “Kukryniksy”. He was awarded the titles of People’s Artist of the USSR, Academician of the Academy of Arts of the USSR, Hero of Socialist Labor, winner of one Lenin and five Stalin Prizes, the USSR State Prize and the State Prize of the RSFSR named after Ilya Repin.