PORTRAIT OF MMS GROPLERO OF UDINE

PORTRAIT OF MMS GROPLERO OF UDINE 1940
Tempera, 70 x 49 cm
Artist’s signature and date (bottom right): BORIS GEORGIEV DI VARNA 1940
Inv. N 824
Since 1937 to the end of his life Boris Georgiev often changed the towns he lived in Italy depending on the commissions for portraits he received – Positano, Milan, Rome, San Pellegrino.
The portrait of Mms Groplero of Udine was also commissioned. The background in the
painting – the landscape and the imposing architecture of the house – emotionally add to
the painful expression on the young woman’s face as if the material has subdued the hidden
sufferings of the soul. The natural beauty, the gracious pose, the elegant hands, the expensive attire and ring suggest her aristocratic background. The portrait differs from the typical
saloon portraiture as Boris Georgiev conveyed most truly the atmosphere of a woman
checking her breath when appearing in front of other people.