Zinaida Yusupova by V.Serov

Serov's 1902 portrait of Zinaida Yusupova in the Russian Museum is distinct from his earlier Hermitage portrait of the same sitter from around 1888, representing a return engagement with one of Russia's most prominent society figures after roughly fourteen years. By 1902 Yusupova was in her forties and her social world had evolved through the intervening years; Serov's mature eye brought a different kind of attention to the sitter than his early portrait. The Russian Museum and Hermitage versions thus function as a fascinating pair: the same woman at different stages of her life as seen by the same artist at different stages of his. Serov's mature portrait style of the early 1900s was more concentrated and psychologically penetrating than his early luminous Impressionism, and this second Yusupova portrait reflects that evolution.

The 1902 canvas shows Serov's mature portrait vocabulary: restrained palette, focused observation of the face, and a confident handling of the figure's surroundings that neither ignores their splendour nor is overwhelmed by it. The technique is surer and more concentrated than his late-1880s work.