A.Smirnova-Rosset

Kiprensky's portrait of Alexandra Smirnova-Rosset, dated to around 1830 and of unknown collection, depicts one of the most celebrated women in the literary world of early nineteenth-century Russia. Smirnova-Rosset was a maid of honour at the Russian imperial court and a close friend of both Alexander Pushkin and Nikolai Gogol, both of whom wrote extensively about her in their correspondence; Pushkin described her as having beautiful dark eyes and exceptional intelligence. She was known for the literary salon she maintained and for the close personal relationships she cultivated with the leading writers and poets of her age. Kiprensky's portrait, made at the height of his powers, captures a woman who was herself an acute observer of character — a subject who would have been a demanding judge of his work.

Oil on canvas, the portrait uses Kiprensky's mature command of female portraiture — warm flesh tones, soft directional lighting, and the quality of direct but intimate presence that he achieved most consistently in his Roman-period and late works. The sitter's celebrated dark eyes are likely the compositional and expressive centre of the work.