Lyudmila Nikolaevna Makarenkova was raised in a family with an artistic background. Her mother studied drawing and painting under Nikolai Pavlovich Shlein, who was the founder of the art school in Kostroma. Lyudmila Makarenkova subsequently graduated from the Shlein Art School.

“Image of Mother” is considered one of Makarenkova’s most poignantly sad portraits. The woman in the painting is sitting with her elbow on the table and her head propped on her hand. With her big sad eyes she is gazing into the distance. Her pose expresses fatigue and contemplation.

Behind the woman’s back, the artist placed a bright window with green trees in the distance. The houseplant on the table in the opposite corner of the painting is contrasted against it. The plant with its dark stiff leaves stretched vertically resembles a sansevieria.

This juxtaposition creates a complex emotional mood. In the way the portrait is painted, one can see the influence of Fauvism and Post-Impressionism, in particular Paul Cezanne, whose work Makarenkova greatly admired.

The monumental nature of painting is considered to be one of the hallmarks of the French artist’s works, which shines through even in works of a smaller format. Cezanne created a new artistic standard which the Fauves adhered to and relied upon. The key features of fauvism are bright colors, the play of striking contrasts and a smaller emphasis on depth — all of which are clearly visible in many of Lyudmila Makarenkova’s works, including “Image of Mother”.

The painting has a simple and clear composition. Intense ochre, green, red, brown, and blue colors give it figurative expressiveness by creating unexpected color interactions and harmonies.

In this portrait, beauty is not an external feature, but rather it is synonymous with kindness. Here it is embodied through the feelings of the daughter for her mother — the closest person on Earth. The work emphasizes the artist’s subjective attitude to form. Lyudmila Makarenkova lived a short life, however, she managed to demonstrate her abilities for painting, graphics and small form sculpture, and also develop her own distinct style.