Artwork
Portrait of the Daughters of the Manufacturer Vysotsky
Portrait of the Daughters of the Manufacturer Vysotsky is an oil painting by the Post-Impressionist artist Leonid Pasternak. It dates from 1905 and is held in the collection of the Hermitage Museum.
About this work
Overview
Leonid Pasternak, a Russian painter active in the early twentieth century, completed an oil painting in 1905 that portrays two young girls seated in an interior setting. The work belongs to the post‑impressionist strand of portraiture and is currently held by the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg.
Subject & Meaning
The composition shows two sisters, one with long reddish hair and a blue bow, the other with dark hair and a red bow, both dressed in white garments. One child cradles a doll while the other rests near a blue box, suggesting a quiet domestic scene that invites contemplation of childhood innocence and private reverie.
Technique & Style
Pasternak employs a restrained palette and subtle chiaroscuro to model the figures against a muted gray wall, creating a sense of depth. The handling of light emphasizes the girls’ faces and the textures of their dresses, while the loose brushwork aligns the piece with post‑impressionist concerns for atmosphere over strict realism.
History & Provenance
Created in 1905, the painting entered the collection of the State Hermitage Museum, where it has been displayed as part of the museum’s Russian art holdings. Its acquisition reflects the institution’s effort to represent early twentieth‑century Russian painters alongside European contemporaries.
Context
The work emerges from a period when Russian artists were engaging with Western modernist trends while retaining a focus on domestic subjects. Pasternak’s choice of a private family scene mirrors broader cultural interest in everyday life and the psychological interior of his subjects during the waning years of the Russian Empire.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Leonid Osipovich Pasternak (Russian: Леонид Осипович Пастернак; born Yitzhok-Leib or Isaak Iosifovich Pasternak; 3 April 1862 – 31 May 1945) was a Russian painter. He was the father of the poet and novelist Boris Pasternak.
