In their childhood, many Russian girls reading or listening to fairy tales or watching cartoons dreamed of becoming a princess or Vasilisa the Beautiful. Perhaps, when I became an adult, the paintings of Russian young ladies by Konstantin Makovsky began to bring me back to my childhood, to those memories when I drew patterns on album sheets fixing them on my child's head with hairpins, standing in front of a mirror, I hang all the beads that were in the apartment on my neck. And then, somehow, with a very important look, sticking out my belly and putting my hands on hips, I came to my mother or grandmother in the kitchen, making it clear to everyone that princesses can do anything — they are not obliged to eat porridge, put the toys in their place and to take care of their younger brother.

I love this artist very much. His narrative paintings and portraits of village girls, and of course his famous portraits of Russian noble young ladies. I think that even the luxury of all of these Russian female ornaments could not overshadow the temper, character and beauty of the Russian soul.

Lady looking into a mirror

The boyar's daughter in a kokoshnik

Russian beauty in a kokoshnik

Russian beauty

Drinking tea

Young bride

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Portrait einer jungen Frau in russischer Tracht.

Boyar

Boyar's daughter

Portrait of the Princess Zinaida Nikolaevna Yusupova in a Russian costume

Boyar

Boyar's daughter

Portrait of a boyar in a kokoshnik

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Young married boyar

Alyonushka

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Honey pot

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Boyar's daughter

SKISS FÖR POSTKORT.

Boyar

Vasilisa the Wise

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Boyar at a window

Boyar at a window with a spinning wheel

At a village fence

Spinning wheel (a portrait of his daughter Olga)

Boyar's daughter

Boyar with a tray

Boyar at a window

Black-eyed princess

Russian beauty and a cat