Born in the Ukraine, Vasilii Tropinin was a serf belonging first to Count A.S. Minich and later to I.I. Morkov. Morkov sent him to St. Petersburg to study confectionery but, realizing that Tropinin's interest was in painting, his owner sent him to the Academy of Arts but, due to the fact that serfs were not allowed to study at the Academy, he was admitted as a foreign student.

Tropinin was regarded at the beginning of the 19th century as one of the best portrait painters in Russia along with Orest Kiprenskii. But due to his position it was only in 1823 at the age of 47 that he was officially accepted by the Academy. In 1824 he was received his manumission and was awarded the title of Academician.

His painting 'The Lacemaker' of 1823 added to his popularity and fame throughout Russia to such an extent that he repeated this composition 18 times.

We are most grateful to Galina Davidovna Kropivnitskaia, director of the Tropinin Museum, and Irina Mikhailovna Sakhargva of the Tret'iakov Gallery for their assistance in preparing the above catalogue entry