Portrait of Princess Belozersky

Close up of Portrait of Princess Belozersky

Realistically rendered half-portrait of a light-skinned young woman, gazing directly at the viewer with a faint smile on her lips. Her dark, curly hair is attractively tousled, secured under a turban-like headdress which matches her gold and blue draped ensemble.
Realistically rendered half-portrait of a light-skinned young woman, gazing directly at the viewer with a faint smile on her lips. Her dark, curly hair is attractively tousled, secured under a turban-like headdress which matches her gold and blue draped ensemble.
Elisabeth Louise Vigée-LeBrun, Portrait of Princess Belozersky, 1798; Oil on canvas, 31 x 26 1/4 in.; National Museum of Women in the Arts, Gift of Rita M. Cushman in memory of George A. Rentschler; Photo by Lee Stalsworth

Élisabeth Louise Vigée-LeBrun was widely known for flattering her sitters, a quality visible in this portrait of Princess Belozersky.

Princess Anna Grigorievna Belosselsky Belozersky was the younger of two daughters of Gregory Vassilievitch Kozitsky, secretary of state to Catherine II. At the time this portrait was executed, during Vigée-LeBrun’s St. Petersburg sojourn, the princess was 26 years old.

Vigée-LeBrun portrays the Russian princess as beautiful and approachable. She wears a faint smile on her moist lips, her curly hair is attractively tousled, and her two-tone shawl and matching fringed headwrap add warmth to her coloring and the portrait as a whole.

The artist has downplayed the luxury of her sitter’s life. The princess wears a simple, long-sleeved, high-waisted dress of the color and type favored by Vigée-LeBrun for both her own wardrobe and the costumes in which she dressed her female subjects. The princess wears little jewelry, only a pair of gold and amber earrings and a necklace that is faintly visible beneath the diaphanous white scarf covering her throat.

Artwork Details

  • Artist

    Élisabeth Louise Vigée-LeBrun

  • Title

    Portrait of Princess Belozersky

  • Date

    1798

  • Medium

    Oil on canvas

  • Dimensions

    31 x 26 1/4 in.

  • Donor Credit

    Gift of Rita M. Cushman in memory of George A. Rentschler

  • Photo Credit

    Lee Stalsworth

  • On Display

    No

The Artist, Élisabeth Louise Vigée-LeBrun

Renowned French artist Élisabeth Louise Vigée-LeBrun was Marie Antoinette's favorite painter for a decade and was elected to art academies in 10 cities.
Wearing a white, gold-trimmed head wrap and matching scarf, a light-skinned woman looks at the viewer, shown in a three-quarter pose against a dark backdrop in a portrait painting. Tousled curls of brown hair rest on her forehead and shoulders.