Ge N. N. Portrait of Elena Likhacheva

Ge N. N.

1831, Voronezh - 1894, Ivanovskoe (Chernihiv Province)

Portrait of Elena Likhacheva

1892

Canvas, oil. 103 х 71,5
Ж-4147
Пост. в 1919 из Общества поощрения художеств, Петроград

Location in museum The Mikhailovsky Palace Open the panorama of the hall in the virtual tour
Room 26. Nikolai Ge
Period Late 19th century
CategoryPortrait
Keywords The Epoch of Alexander III (1881-1894) | The Peredvizhniki, Society of Travelling Art Exhibitions | female portrait | writers, poets | female costume | hairstyles | Society for the Encouragement of the Arts | Furniture
Virtual exhibitions and 3d-tours
- Saint-Petersburg. City and Citizens
- Diaghilev. Beginning
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The compositional solution of the portrait of the writer and social activist Elena Likhacheva (1836-1904) is not typical of Ge’s portrait work. Likhacheva is shown in the study at a table. Her small figure in a black dress seems to be lost, surrounded by various objects. Likhacheva's eyes gaze intently at the viewer, showing intellect and spiritual depth.

Even in his younger years, Ge was convinced that "the artist must convey the image of his dear compatriots", doing that not for himself, but "for society." He felt like this while painting the portraits of Alexander Herzen, Nikolai Nekrasov, Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin, and later Leo Tolstoy. The civic-mindedness was a typical feature of the Peredvizhniki’s portraits.

_{«Виртуальный Русский музей» в социальных сетях:}