Porträt der Vera Zubov

Portrait of Vera Zubov, dated 1877, places this painting in the mature phase of Makovsky's career when his society portrait practice was at its peak. The Zubov name is associated with one of the most distinguished families in Russian aristocratic history — Count Platon Zubov was the last favorite of Catherine the Great, and the family subsequently maintained its position in the highest circles of imperial society through the nineteenth century. A portrait of Vera Zubova by Makovsky would represent a commission from within this social world, painted according to the conventions of aristocratic portraiture while reflecting Makovsky's characteristic sensitivity to individual female psychology. The work in an unspecified collection may have passed through private hands before its current location.

Oil paint on canvas with the careful academic preparation and layered execution that characterized Makovsky's approach to important portrait commissions. The work represents his mature technical command at a period when his handling of female portraiture was most assured.