Many connoisseurs of Harlamoff's work sought his anonymous portrait busts set against neutral backgrounds, such as the present work. In this characteristically compelling work, Harlamoff (1840 - 1925) captures a lovely peasant girl, her thick, auburn hair pulled back and falling across her shoulders, bangs framing her heart-shaped face, with her long eyelashes and full, pink lips. The artist employs brushy, impressionistic strokes of paint to construct the tied lace shawl around her neck, while finer touches create her soft skin texture and wispy strands of hair. Harlamoff's use of light is particularly effective in the present work, as the youthful beauty's pale skin is illuminated, nearly luminescent, while her eyes appear pearlescent.
[Sold for $164,500 at Sotheby’s, New York - Oil on canvas, 44.4 x 31.8 cm]