For Art Itself-- Acclaim the splendid art of Alexie Harlamoff (1848-1925)

In his early career, Harlamoff painted many military, genre and religious subjects, learning his skills by copying Old Master paintings such as Rembrandt’s Anatomy Lesson in the Mauritshuis in The Hague. He also became a respected portrait painter, with such important sitters as Tsar Alexander II, Prince Demidoff-San Domato and Ivan Tourgueneff. Perhaps Harlamoff's most beloved subjects were informal portraits of peasant girls. These sitters were painted for their beauty and innocence rather than their fame. Harlamoff eloquently evoked the symbolism of the flower representing the short-lived innocence of youth so popular with artists of the end of the nineteenth century, while capturing a uniquely Russian ambience in the details of dress and facial features, his art is enchanting for its good taste, unique charm, infallible instinct for a wide range of hues of color and simply for art in itself.