Konstantin Somov (1869-1939)

According to the list of works archived in the Manuscripts Department at the State Russian Museum, Somov sold an Ex Libris Woman and devil to E. P. Nosova in December 1912 for 400 roubles. Another list of Somov’s works from the archive of the Mikhailov family in St Petersburg details that a similar, unfinished silhouette with erotic features was acquired from Somov by another artist, D. I. Mitrokhin. Yet another work, Silhouette Study in Ink (with some erotic details) was given by Somov to artist G.S. Vereiskii in 1920.
The present work has many similarities to a composition entitled Woman and a Beast (silhouette), 1912, housed in the Chuvash National Museum (paper, pencil, tempera, etching, 21.4 x 16 cm as seen; author’s initials ‘K’ and ‘S’ in the lower corners). It appears that both these works initially belonged to D.I. Mitrokhin and G.S. Vereiskii. Provenance research on the present work would identify the earlier of these two owners.
We are grateful to Elena Yakovleva, Doctor of Art History, Senior Researcher of the Russian Institute of Art History, St Petersburg for providing this catalogue note.