Valentin Alexandrovich Serov (1865–1911) reached his highest level of mastery as a portraitist in the 1900s. Having achieved great popularity, he painted many commissioned portraits, especially of women, which are often referred to as “interior” or “sofa” portraits. However, even in these works, Serov emphasized the essential individual traits of the models, despite the posing. The painter paid close attention to the habits, poses, gestures, and facial expressions and analyzed them all thanks to his understanding of people and amazing intuition.

Many people wished to be portrayed by Valentin Serov but were also afraid of his astuteness. The portrait of Princess Sofia Fyodorovna Kasatkina-Rostovskaya from the collection of the Sevastopol Art Museum is in many aspects different from the commissioned, ceremonial portraits of Russian aristocrats of that time. It does not have a luxurious interior, expensive surroundings, or accessories. This unfinished, almost sketch-like portrait allows the viewer to witness the process of the artist’s work, reveals the basic painting techniques, and shows the planned, undeveloped color spots. This is an accurate portrait of a woman with an intelligent, attentive look and likely with a very strong character. Her image is clearly defined and accurately placed. It is unclear why Valentin Serov did not complete the portrait. Maybe, the artist lost interest in the model and, knowing his value, did not want the customer to interfere with his work by giving advice and instructions. Or maybe some personal circumstances prevented the artist from completing the painting.

Sofia Fyodorovna Kasatkina-Rostovskaya represented one of the highest-placed noble dynasties. She was the daughter of Prince Fyodor Mikhailovich Kasatkin-Rostovsky, a staff captain and one of the organizers of the Noble Assembly of the Samara Governorate. She was also the sister of Nikolay Fyodorovich Kasatkin-Rostovsky, who was a prominent public figure and statesman, the leader of Kursk Governorate nobility, and a member of the State Election Council.