Igor Emmanuilovich Grabar was an artist, art historian, art critic, restorer, teacher, museum worker, architect, and director of the Tretyakov Gallery, who also established a restoration center to safeguard ancient Russian art.

He was born on March 25, 1871 in Budapest into the family of a Rusyn public figure Emmanuel Grabar, who was a member of the Hungarian Parliament in the late 1860s. In 1876, Emmanuel Grabar moved to the Russian Empire and settled in Yegoryevsk, Ryazan Governorate. In 1879–1880, his wife and sons moved to the Russian Empire.

“Self-Portrait with Wife” was painted in Moscow, after returning from a dacha in the village of Krylatskoye, which the family rented for summer.

There, at the dacha, at the end of August 1923, he created a large-format study-painting “A Clear Autumn Evening”. According to Igor Grabar, it was one of the most successful paintings he created in the summer of 1923. “A Clear Autumn Evening” framed and partly covered with an oriental carpet is visible in the background of the “Self-Portrait with Wife”.

Igor Emmanuilovich Grabar created the painting “Self-Portrait with Wife” in 1923. “Self-Portrait with Wife” by Pyotr Petrovich Konchalovsky was also painted that same year. The precursor and inspiration for these works was Rembrandt’s “Self-Portrait with Saskia”.

Grabar’s self-portrait is not as obviously close to Rembrandt’s work as Konchalovsky’s painting: Igor Grabar opted for a different compositional solution and a different plot. But with his picturesque generosity and freely happy mood, he echoes Rembrandt’s canvas that inspired many an artist.

In his painting, the viewer sees two welcoming hosts at the entrance to their workshop. These are two openly happy people: an artist who has just finished a painting that clearly turned out to be successful, and his wife, who is always interested in her husband’s creative process and shares this moment of joy, celebrating his creative accomplishment. The inner closeness of these people is so natural, so full and transparent that their mood is contagious.

The portrait was painted just before the artist left for America. Igor Grabar later wrote about this trip as follows, “My paintings were a resounding success, they were published in all newspapers and magazines, and the public was always gathering in front of them. I received several offers to stay in New York…”