Fedot Sychkov depicted the niece of his wife Lydia in the painting ‘Vera with flowers’. That year Vera came to stay in Kochelayevo from Moscow. The artist portrayed a girl in a light blue dress and a scarf of the same color. Two short dark brown pigtails with white bows can be seen from under the scarf. Vera holds a bouquet of wildflowers: cornflowers, daisies, milfoil, and bright peonies.
The painter placed his model in the dense shade of a tree. Behind her back, he painted dark green branches and a light green blurred background. The delicate spots of sunlight illuminate the self-conscious face of a shy girl who was not yet used to posing. It is curious that, although she gazes at the viewer, she stays reserved and there is no communication. ‘Portrait of Verochka’ is one of the few children’s portraits by Fedot Sychkov, which does not have that carefree and joyous tone that distinguished his other paintings.
The artist repeatedly used the image of his young relative from the city. Having no children of his own, Fedot Sychkov was affectionate and caring towards the girl. He even signed her portraits not just with her name, but with the affectionate “Verochka”. In 1913, he painted a watercolor portrait of her with the sad eyes of a grown-up. She also posed for the “Portrait of a Woman” in 1930 and one of the women in the painting “Kolkhozny Bazaar”.
Throughout their lives, the Sychkovs were in correspondence with their relatives from the city: they shared the good news and knew about each other’s problems. When she got married, the young Vera changed her last name from Yerofeyeva to Vlasova. Her husband, Pyotr Vlasov, was a military man and took interest in the work of Fedot Sychkov. He helped the painter cope with a serious illness: when the artist began to have vision problems, Pyotr Vlasov sent him lenses for glasses from the factory of the famous German company Carl Zeiss.
In 1970, Vera Vlasova came to Kochelayevo again. She became one of the honored guests at the opening of the House-Museum and also came to Saransk at the anniversary exhibition dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the artist.
The painter placed his model in the dense shade of a tree. Behind her back, he painted dark green branches and a light green blurred background. The delicate spots of sunlight illuminate the self-conscious face of a shy girl who was not yet used to posing. It is curious that, although she gazes at the viewer, she stays reserved and there is no communication. ‘Portrait of Verochka’ is one of the few children’s portraits by Fedot Sychkov, which does not have that carefree and joyous tone that distinguished his other paintings.
The artist repeatedly used the image of his young relative from the city. Having no children of his own, Fedot Sychkov was affectionate and caring towards the girl. He even signed her portraits not just with her name, but with the affectionate “Verochka”. In 1913, he painted a watercolor portrait of her with the sad eyes of a grown-up. She also posed for the “Portrait of a Woman” in 1930 and one of the women in the painting “Kolkhozny Bazaar”.
Throughout their lives, the Sychkovs were in correspondence with their relatives from the city: they shared the good news and knew about each other’s problems. When she got married, the young Vera changed her last name from Yerofeyeva to Vlasova. Her husband, Pyotr Vlasov, was a military man and took interest in the work of Fedot Sychkov. He helped the painter cope with a serious illness: when the artist began to have vision problems, Pyotr Vlasov sent him lenses for glasses from the factory of the famous German company Carl Zeiss.
In 1970, Vera Vlasova came to Kochelayevo again. She became one of the honored guests at the opening of the House-Museum and also came to Saransk at the anniversary exhibition dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the artist.
