oil on board
oval, 11.8 x 9 cm (4 5/8 x 3 1/2 in.)
initialed in Cyrillic,VS lower left

PROVENANCE
Collection of V. Frolov, St. Petersburg
Private Collection, U.S.A. (acquired from the above)

LOT NOTES:
The sitter`s features have a strong resemblance to the artist Maria Yakunchikova (1870-1902), whose portrait Valentin Serov is known to have worked on from 1885 to 1888. Elements such as the soft-contours of the sitter`s face, the mole on her right cheek, as well as the pronounced eyebrows, all enhance the resemblance between the young woman depicted in the portrait study and contemporary photographs of the Maria Yakunchikova. Yakunchikova (later Weber) the sister-in-law to Vasili Polenov, was an accomplished painter and graphic artist in her own right.