Portrait of an Aristocrat

Napoleon Iłłakowicz (1811–1861), a famous 19th-century artist born in Biržai and a graduate of the Vilnius Art School, spent most of his life in exile, which he entered after the 1831 uprising, and only returned to his homeland in 1857. Studies of this artist's creative legacy are complicated by the fact that his works are scattered across various countries, many of them are kept in private collections, and researchers in Lithuania usually only have access to them when they appear at auction. Ylakavičius' "Portrait of an Aristocrat," now in a private collection in Vilnius, was purchased from a private collection in France. Based on the year of creation indicated in the signature, it can be assumed that the portrait was painted in Paris, where the artist arrived from Bordeaux in 1852, as he moved to London at the end of that same year.
The portrait depicts an unknown young woman or girl, looking at the viewer with large eyes. She is wearing a black dress with a fashionable cut, through the neckline of which a decorative, embroidered white blouse can be seen. The outfit is complemented by modest but tasteful jewelry.