The museum houses a portrait of Sophia Tarnovskaya, a member of a wealthy family, painted by Konstantin Makovskiy.

Konstantin Makovskiy is a Russian painter, one of the very first members of the Association of Traveling Art Exhibitions. He went down in history as a fashionable portraitist of the mid-19th century, who developed his own graceful and impressive style. Refined texture, vibrant colors and attention to detail determined the success of Makovskiy’s paintings. His portraits were commissioned by members of the royal family and representatives of the St. Petersburg nobility, such as Yusupovs, Stroganovs, Volkonskys.

The painting entered the museum as “Portrait of an Unknown Woman in a Dark Green Dress”. The research established that the painting depicts Sophia Tarnovskaya — the wife of Vasily Tarnovsky, a Ukrainian public figure and the owner of an old estate in Kachanivka, located on the border of the Poltava and Chernihiv provinces. Tarnovsky was a philanthropist and collector, was fond of theater, literature, music (he even owned his own orchestra) and painting. He invited Konstantin Makovskiy to stay in his estate and paint some paintings for him, which included a portrait of his beloved wife.

His son, Sergey Makovskiy, wrote the following about this period of the artist’s biography: “Kachanivka was an easy and joyful place for him to work…” Sophia Tarnovskaya, the hostess of the estate, graduated with a gold medal from the St. Petersburg School of the Order of St. Catherine and was engaged in charity work. She loved music and had an expressive contralto — the lowest female singing voice. The house enjoyed amateur concerts with romances and serenades.

Makovskiy’s portrait is a ceremonial one. A young woman stands in front of draperies of dark red velvet, reminiscent of backstage. It is quite possible that Sophia Vasiliyevna posed for the artist on the premises of the estate theater. Her dress, shimmering with satin highlights, is decorated with embroidered flowers.