Portrait of Chaliapin

The Portrait of Chaliapin is a painting by Boris Kustodiev, created in 1921 in Petrograd (modern day Saint Petersburg).

The upheaval caused by the February and October Revolutions and the Russian Civil War led to desperate conditions in the cities.

The Portrait of Chaliapin is typical of Kustodiev's style, and is set against a background of festivity, specifically the Russian traditions of Maslenitsa.

[3] In the lower left corner of the portrait Kustodiev painted Chaliapin's daughters Mary and Martha, strolling on the festive square, accompanied by a close friend, the secretary of singer I. Dvorictchin.

[5] That same year Kustodiev made a miniature copy of the portrait, which is now displayed in the Russian Museum, Saint Petersburg.