Russian Art
Briullov, K. P.
"Countess Julia Pavlovna Samoilova and Daughter, Detail". 1842 (or ear
Notes: Detail from "Portrait of Countess Julia Pavlovna Samoilova, born Countess Palen (1803-1875), withdrawing from a ball with Amacilia Paccini, her adopted daughter"
This famous work by Briullov depicts his patron and lover, countess Julia Samoilova, whom the artist originally met in Rome in 1827. In this double portrait set at a Masquerade and probably painted at least a decade after their meeting, the Countess is posed with her adopted daughter, Amacilia Paccini.
Struck by Samoilova's beauty at their first encounter, Briullov painted her many times. An immensely wealthy woman, she welcomed such talents as Rossini, Bellini, and Donizetti to her salons. The personal affection of Samoilova, a noblewoman, for Briullov, a painter, was not unusual in this period. The qualities of originality, creativity, and refined sensibility attributed to artists during the Romantic era increased their stature and made them attractive to the aristocracy.
