Portrait of Anna Bezobrazova

Anna Bezobrazova was a member of a Russian noble family, and this early 1790 portrait represents Borovikovsky's work in the first years of his St. Petersburg career, when he was establishing his reputation by serving the extended network of the Russian noble class. The relative early date places the work before the full development of his characteristic Sentimentalist female portrait style, and comparison with his later work reveals the evolution of his approach over the following decade. The Russian Museum preserves the painting as an early document of a career that would make him the defining portraitist of the Catherinian and Pauline courts.

The 1790 canvas shows Borovikovsky's early technique — competent and confident but not yet fully developed toward the polished warmth of his mature style. The face is modelled with careful attention, and the costume is rendered with the detail expected of society portraiture. The overall composition is somewhat more formal than his later, more relaxed female portraits.