In their childhood, many Russian girls reading or listening to fairy tales or watching cartoons dreamed of becoming a princess or Vasilisa the Beautiful. Perhaps, when I became an adult, the paintings of Russian young ladies by Konstantin Makovsky began to bring me back to my childhood, to those memories when I drew patterns on album sheets fixing them on my child's head with hairpins, standing in front of a mirror, I hang all the beads that were in the apartment on my neck. And then, somehow, with a very important look, sticking out my belly and putting my hands on hips, I came to my mother or grandmother in the kitchen, making it clear to everyone that princesses can do anything — they are not obliged to eat porridge, put the toys in their place and to take care of their younger brother.
I love this artist very much. His narrative paintings and portraits of village girls, and of course his famous portraits of Russian noble young ladies. I think that even the luxury of all of these Russian female ornaments could not overshadow the temper, character and beauty of the Russian soul.
Lady looking into a mirror
The boyar's daughter in a kokoshnik
Russian beauty in a kokoshnik
Russian beauty
Drinking tea
Young bride
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Portrait einer jungen Frau in russischer Tracht.
Boyar
Boyar's daughter
Portrait of the Princess Zinaida Nikolaevna Yusupova in a Russian costume
Boyar
Boyar's daughter
Portrait of a boyar in a kokoshnik
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Young married boyar
Alyonushka
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Honey pot
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Boyar's daughter
SKISS FÖR POSTKORT.
Boyar
Vasilisa the Wise
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Boyar at a window
Boyar at a window with a spinning wheel
At a village fence
Spinning wheel (a portrait of his daughter Olga)
Boyar's daughter
Boyar with a tray
Boyar at a window
Black-eyed princess
Russian beauty and a cat