Portrait of a Woman 1883
Portrait of a Woman is English name of Незнакомка and it is one of the famous painting of Ivan Nikolaevich Kramsky. In the painting of Portrait Of A Woman, we can see the Russian intellectual woman; she sits sideways, looking back on the marble world. She is arrogant and self-esteemed. This posture indicates that the person in the painting is incompatible with the world. She has cold-shouldered look and is unwilling to cooperate with outside, which implies some democracy intellectuals' attitude toward the society at that time. This woman's portrait distributes beauty by the expression of personality traits, in the meantime, the aesthetic appreciation of the painter could be reflected adequately. The woman in front of us doesn't have finery gaudery and the dressing up of fairlady. Instead, she dresses herself properly, which shows the decoration of cultured and literate intellectual woman. With a changing and heavy tone, her indifferent and pretty faces perfectly highlight.
Who is this beautiful woman? Some said that she is Anna Karenina of Tolstoy's novel, while some say that she is the actress in the Bolshoi Theatre. As a matter of fact, no matter who she is, her quality impresses us a lot.
Based on the realistic thoughts, the painter uses classic model in order to mould the perfect image of new woman. He creates a new tone of voice, that is to say, using thematic plot to describe the portrait, and show us a resolute Russian intellectual woman who distributes her vigor at any time. The sketching basis reflects in the painting is so solid, which throws off strong artistic appeal. Незнакомка has become the boutique of European portraiture on modern history.
