The collection of the Sevastopol Art Museum named after Mikhail Pavlovich Kroshitsky features Karl Friedrich Baudry’s painting “Spinning Woman” made by the artist in 1844.

Karl Friedrich Petrovich Baudry (1812–1894) studied at the Moscow School of Painting and Sculpture; after graduation, he was granted the title of artist. From 1843, he attended the Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg as a non-matriculated student. Subsequently, Baudry lived in Moscow where his most prominent works were created. The artist worked in various genres — portrait, landscape, interior, and genre painting — and, due to his considerable artistry, was awarded the honorary title of Academician in 1860.

In the Russian art of the 1830s–1840s, largely due to changes in the social and political situation in Russia, as well as the creative work of Alexeу Venetsianov, one of the founders of the genre art in Russian painting, stronger democratic tendencies were observed, as well as a keen interest in folk life and national traditions. New characters — “common folks” — emerged in the paintings. “Spinning Woman” was created by the artist while still studying at the Academy and is in many ways opposite to the works of Alexeу Venetsianov and his school, which sought to overcome the canons of academic painting. Here, Baudry created an idealized image of peasant life. While reproducing quite carefully the elegant peasant costume, everyday details, and tools, he avoided showing the daily work as hard and exhausting labor. According to academic requirements, the artist paid great attention to “composing” the picture — the construction of the composition, drawing, juxtaposition of bright local colors, and the organization of lighting. He managed to combine a natural depiction of space with a static figure of a peasant woman posing as if on purpose. The woman’s serene gaze, as was typical for most characters of the popular, somewhat idyllic “Italian genre”, is directed at the viewer, probably with the hope of achieving immediate understanding.

Karl Friedrich Petrovich Baudry successfully displayed his works at academic exhibitions, at one of which the “Spinning Woman” was purchased. In 1927, it was transferred to the Crimea through the State Tretyakov Gallery and eventually ended up in Sevastopol.