Throughout the 1930s, the Russian and Soviet artist Ivan Silych Goryushkin-Sorokopudov worked hard to preserve the traditions of realism in art. One of his paintings from this period is the portrait of Taisiya Stepanovna Sborshchikova-Podolskaya, completed in 1939.
The artist created a lush and expressly theatrical setting in this portrait set in the interior of a room. In the background, there is a dark blue decorative vase, a carpet, and a bronze statue. The model sits in a large, carved chair and holds a bright headscarf. These details are meant to represent the character of this woman. Her confident gaze, strong-willed face, and sharp features present her as a determined person.
With this portrait, Ivan Goryushkin-Sorokopudov attempted to portray an archetype of a modern woman who had discarded the concepts of patriarchy. Many of the artist’s paintings were equipped with frames made according to his own sketches. These include the portrait of Taisiya Sborshchikova-Podolskaya, the artist’s goddaughter.
Thanks to the artist’s family, Taisiya Sborshchikova-Podolskaya was immersed in culture and expanded her knowledge by reading books on art history. The painter, who had studied under the guidance of Ilya Efimovich Repin, became a kind of mentor to her. Later, she began to help the elderly couple with household chores and took care of the artist’s wife after she had become ill.
When creating this
painting, one of his final works, Ivan Goryushkin-Sorokopudov gathered all his
strength and emotions to pour them onto the canvas. In the late 1930s, the
artist’s hands began to tremble, and his vision became blurred. He had begun
some genre scenes but they stood untouched on the easels. After finishing a
portrait of Taisiya Sborshchikova-Podolskaya, he told his closest students,
