This is a half-length portrait of an elderly woman against a neutral dark background. She is depicted with her body turned slightly to the right. Her oval face is framed by black shoulder-length curls. She has sad black eyes, looking to the left of the viewer, a straight nose, and thin lips. She wears a blue dress with a ruffled collar and sleeves. Her right hand rests in her lap. She wears a velvet neckband with a diamond and dark blue earrings. The image is enclosed within an oval frame.
Vladimir Sherwood created a traditional 19th-century academic portrait with all the typical stylistic features — a waist-length, three-quarter turn image and a dark background that does not distract the viewer from the woman’s face, dress, and jewelry. Kleopatra Fyodorovna Golyashkina is dressed according to the fashion of her time. In the 1870s, women’s dresses were particularly elegant. One of the most popular styles was the “siren cut”, with abundant drapery and a bustle to accentuate the back of the hips.
This dress also features a bustle — a special device used to add fullness at the back of women’s dresses and create an S-shaped silhouette. It accentuates the model’s waist. A velvet neckband was a fashionable accessory during that time. It could complement the outfit of both an adult woman and a young girl.
This was usually a black velvet ribbon tied around the neck. It was intended to emphasize the wearer’s beauty or hide any imperfections. Wealthy women decorated the neckband with various gems, pearls, or pendants.
The portrait of Kleopatra Golyashkina was painted by Vladimir Sherwood. He is known not only as a brilliant painter but also as the architect who designed the building of the State Historical Museum on Red Square in Moscow. As a young child, Vladimir Sherwood already showed a talent for painting and technical drawing. At the age of 8, he entered an orphanage that later became a land surveying school. There, he established himself as a skilled draftsman and received his first commissions. Later, Vladimir Sherwood graduated from the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture.
