Artwork
The Beauty
The Beauty is an oil painting by the Realist artist Boris Kustodiev. It dates from 1915 and is held in the collection of the Tretyakov Gallery.
About this work
Overview
The work titled The Beauty (Russian: Красавица, transliterated Krasavitsa) is an oil painting on canvas created in 1915 by Russian painter Boris Kustodiev. It belongs to the early twentieth‑century Russian art scene and exemplifies Kustoviev’s engagement with figurative subjects during the pre‑revolutionary period.
Technique & Style
Executed in oil, the canvas reflects Kustodiev’s characteristic handling of colour and form, combining a relatively flat pictorial surface with a decorative sensibility. The medium allows for nuanced tonal variations while maintaining a bold, graphic outline that was typical of his approach to portraiture and genre scenes at that time.
History & Provenance
The painting emerged in the turbulent year of 1915, amid World War I and the final years of the Russian Empire. While specific ownership details are sparse, the work has been documented in catalogues of Kustodiev’s oeuvre and is referenced in Russian art historical records as a representative piece from his pre‑revolutionary output.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
Artist
Boris Mikhaylovich Kustodiev (Russian: Борис Михайлович Кустодиев; 7 March 1878 – 28 May 1927) was a Russian painter, draughtsman, and stage designer during the Modernist period.
