“I heard the ringing of approaching spurs, and the sound of heavy footsteps which stopped behi
“I heard the ringing of approaching spurs, and the sound of heavy footsteps which stopped behind me. I carried on working as if I didn’t know who was standing behind my back. I remember…who was posing for us…dressed simply and elegantly with a large pearl necklace as her sole ornament. Her hair was completely grey, which was very becoming…She was like an eighteenth-century marquis who had stepped out of a portrait. It was Princess Yusupova, Countess Sumarokova-Elston. Grand Duke Serge stood behind me for so long that it was becoming quite weird. He was obviously comparing the likeness of my portrait with the real person standing before him…At the next regular exhibition by the Society of Art Lovers this sketch of Yusupova was purchased by Sergei Aleksandrovich- he had obviously ‘compared’ it to his satisfaction!"”- Lenoid Pasternak -- source link
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