The mysterious image of a beauty in an oval frame is one of the best in the museum collection. The portrait has a mysterious provenance (origin): it was received in 1938 from the seized property of Melikov. The date suggests Stalinist purges. Nikita Andreevich Melikov, an oil industrialist, was exiled to Murom from Leningrad in 1935, then sentenced to ten years in prison, and died in the camp. His brother Ivan Andreevich Melikov was a famous industrialist, he emigrated, and was buried in Paris. He is mentioned as a booklover and collector of books and prints.
Oral museum tradition attributed the portrait to Rokotov’s circle, but this is a clear discrepancy. A number of features suggest Levitsky’s authorship. A characteristic foreshortening is the body is almost in profile, and the face is three-quarters. This master should have posed only while standing. Our model is standing because it keeps a rigid posture. It is possible to note a number of favorite techniques inherent in Levitsky, and visible to the naked eye: a blurry spot of light at the left shoulder; the most prominent areas of the face are highlighted; a light glare on the tip of the nose; bleachery in the pupils; shaded blush on the cheeks and on the forehead, chin, nose, and the nose itself and the convex parts are comprehensively painted, but without sharp shadows. There are transparent shadows in the corners of the lips and eyes. Nina Mikhailovna Moleva, an experienced art critic, author of a monograph on Levitsky agrees with this attribution.
The portrait was in restoration, but even before the preservation was good enough: the paint layer does not crumble, there are no blub. This indicates that the primers are professionally and carefully executed, high-quality paints are used. Good preservation also indicates that it was not in the hands of random indifferent people. If the picture was in the hands of collectors even before Melikov, it would certainly have entered some exhibitions and catalogs. It is not represented anywhere. It could be kept by the heirs of the lady from the portrait. Let’s assume that Melikov bought it in Murom, and in the 1930s he could buy it for pennies. In this case, we are looking for an unknown lady first of all among the Uvarov ancestors.
It seems an amazing coincidence that our unknown woman is strikingly similar to the portraits of Countess Varvara Petrovna Sheremeteva (married Razumovskaya). Even the eyes slightly squint. The daughter of Pyotr Borisovich and the granddaughter of Field Marshal Boris Sheremetev, she was the richest bride in Russia in the second half of the XVIII century. In 1774, she was married to Alexei Kirilovich Razumovsky (1748-1822). This marriage is known as the most unhappy of that era. The beautiful wife brought him 44 thousand peasants, by the way, and the estate of Karacharovo near Murom. She bore two sons and two daughters. However, in 1785, Alexey Razumovsky separated from his wife and took away his children. According to contemporaries, she was a simple and timid woman, helpless and indecisive. This is exactly what can be said about the young lady from the unknown portrait.
These are all just assumptions until it is impossible to rely on at least some documentary evidence and thorough technical and technological expertise. Moreover, Levitsky’s works are registered, the painting techniques are well known. The famous master had a lot of students.
Oral museum tradition attributed the portrait to Rokotov’s circle, but this is a clear discrepancy. A number of features suggest Levitsky’s authorship. A characteristic foreshortening is the body is almost in profile, and the face is three-quarters. This master should have posed only while standing. Our model is standing because it keeps a rigid posture. It is possible to note a number of favorite techniques inherent in Levitsky, and visible to the naked eye: a blurry spot of light at the left shoulder; the most prominent areas of the face are highlighted; a light glare on the tip of the nose; bleachery in the pupils; shaded blush on the cheeks and on the forehead, chin, nose, and the nose itself and the convex parts are comprehensively painted, but without sharp shadows. There are transparent shadows in the corners of the lips and eyes. Nina Mikhailovna Moleva, an experienced art critic, author of a monograph on Levitsky agrees with this attribution.
The portrait was in restoration, but even before the preservation was good enough: the paint layer does not crumble, there are no blub. This indicates that the primers are professionally and carefully executed, high-quality paints are used. Good preservation also indicates that it was not in the hands of random indifferent people. If the picture was in the hands of collectors even before Melikov, it would certainly have entered some exhibitions and catalogs. It is not represented anywhere. It could be kept by the heirs of the lady from the portrait. Let’s assume that Melikov bought it in Murom, and in the 1930s he could buy it for pennies. In this case, we are looking for an unknown lady first of all among the Uvarov ancestors.
It seems an amazing coincidence that our unknown woman is strikingly similar to the portraits of Countess Varvara Petrovna Sheremeteva (married Razumovskaya). Even the eyes slightly squint. The daughter of Pyotr Borisovich and the granddaughter of Field Marshal Boris Sheremetev, she was the richest bride in Russia in the second half of the XVIII century. In 1774, she was married to Alexei Kirilovich Razumovsky (1748-1822). This marriage is known as the most unhappy of that era. The beautiful wife brought him 44 thousand peasants, by the way, and the estate of Karacharovo near Murom. She bore two sons and two daughters. However, in 1785, Alexey Razumovsky separated from his wife and took away his children. According to contemporaries, she was a simple and timid woman, helpless and indecisive. This is exactly what can be said about the young lady from the unknown portrait.
These are all just assumptions until it is impossible to rely on at least some documentary evidence and thorough technical and technological expertise. Moreover, Levitsky’s works are registered, the painting techniques are well known. The famous master had a lot of students.
