‘Portrait of the Naumov Family’ is an example of a relatively rare family portrait in the interior. In the late 19th - early 20th centuries, the painting was in the Naumovs' estate - Pyzhovo (Zaraysk district). According to the revision of 1858, the entire village belonged to the landowner Naumov, at that time there were 53 courtyards and 304 residents. The museum staff managed to contact the descendants of representatives of this noble family, due to which they managed to identify each of the depicted.
The interior of the room depicts the family of retired colonel Pyotr Vasilyevich Naumov. The father of the family is depicted on the left, sitting at a table on the sofa. Next to him are his children. Sons Alexander, Vasily and Alexei are dressed in the uniforms of educational institutions. The youngest son in the foreground does not at all look like a child - he looks like a small adult - the form in which he is dressed, his posture, his facial expression. After 7 years in noble families, the father became the highest authority for boys. It was very important to justify the status of your parent, so in the portrait all the sons are depicted in uniform. In the center of the composition is daughter Lydia in a blue dress, next to her father at the table in a red dress is Sophia. The daughters were entrusted with a completely different function - they should have successfully got married and run the household. In the composition, the girls' dresses are two bright color spots that attract the viewer’s attention.
Visually the depicted divided into two groups: on the left (family) and on the right (probably people close to the family). A portrait of a woman on the far wall is a point of interest. It depicts Ekaterina Vladimirovna Rodzianko, nee Kvashnina-Samarina (1794-1877). She was the maid of honor of two empresses - Maria Feodorovna and Alexandra Feodorovna. This is indicated by the diamonds on the Andreevskaya ribbon located on the left shoulder of hers. Ekaterina Rodzianko lost her husband early and was left alone with three children. However, she did not give up, managed to clear debts left after her husband’s death, and successfully raised her children. At Empress’ Alexandra Feodorovna invitation, Rodzianko became the head of the School of the Order of St. Catherine in St. Petersburg. According to Naumov-Goncharovs’ family legend, Ekaterina Rodzianko gave away the bride at Pyotr Vasilyevich Naumov and Ekaterina Alexandrovna’s wedding. Obviously, she was very close to the Naumov family, so they included her in their family portrait. Ekaterina Rodzianko is depicted under her portrait in her youth - this is an elderly woman in an armchair. It’s reasonable to assume that the maid of honor did not want to see herself portrayed only as an elderly woman and asked the artist to place her portrait in the picture, where she is depicted in a blooming age.
The interior of the room depicts the family of retired colonel Pyotr Vasilyevich Naumov. The father of the family is depicted on the left, sitting at a table on the sofa. Next to him are his children. Sons Alexander, Vasily and Alexei are dressed in the uniforms of educational institutions. The youngest son in the foreground does not at all look like a child - he looks like a small adult - the form in which he is dressed, his posture, his facial expression. After 7 years in noble families, the father became the highest authority for boys. It was very important to justify the status of your parent, so in the portrait all the sons are depicted in uniform. In the center of the composition is daughter Lydia in a blue dress, next to her father at the table in a red dress is Sophia. The daughters were entrusted with a completely different function - they should have successfully got married and run the household. In the composition, the girls' dresses are two bright color spots that attract the viewer’s attention.
Visually the depicted divided into two groups: on the left (family) and on the right (probably people close to the family). A portrait of a woman on the far wall is a point of interest. It depicts Ekaterina Vladimirovna Rodzianko, nee Kvashnina-Samarina (1794-1877). She was the maid of honor of two empresses - Maria Feodorovna and Alexandra Feodorovna. This is indicated by the diamonds on the Andreevskaya ribbon located on the left shoulder of hers. Ekaterina Rodzianko lost her husband early and was left alone with three children. However, she did not give up, managed to clear debts left after her husband’s death, and successfully raised her children. At Empress’ Alexandra Feodorovna invitation, Rodzianko became the head of the School of the Order of St. Catherine in St. Petersburg. According to Naumov-Goncharovs’ family legend, Ekaterina Rodzianko gave away the bride at Pyotr Vasilyevich Naumov and Ekaterina Alexandrovna’s wedding. Obviously, she was very close to the Naumov family, so they included her in their family portrait. Ekaterina Rodzianko is depicted under her portrait in her youth - this is an elderly woman in an armchair. It’s reasonable to assume that the maid of honor did not want to see herself portrayed only as an elderly woman and asked the artist to place her portrait in the picture, where she is depicted in a blooming age.
