Portrait of a lady with dark eyes

Boris Grigor'ev turned his attention to portraiture in the middle of the 1910s; the genre was to become his forté over the coming years. His style, characterised during this period by sharp unbroken lines and stylised contours, simultaneously created a powerfully graphic image and emphasised the spiritual depth of the sitter. This effect was heightened by the similarities between his portraits and icon painting.
The present work is a striking example of Grigor'ev's portraiture; the confident pose and piercing eyes of the sitter capture the viewer and suggest the woman's force of personality. The vibrant blue background, used in Grigor'ev's portraits of Nikolai Roerich (1917, Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow) and his wife, E. G. Grigor'ev (1917, Lvov Museum), highlights the pale features of the sitter, investing her with an almost ethereal quality.