The artist, Nikolai Yaroshenk, was part of the Perdvizhniki or the Wanderers, a group of artists who believed in realism and in painting the world around them. They also held that art belonged to the people, therefore many of their paintings were based on the people of the peasant class. They aimed to show the reality of the working class and the beauty of rural Russia. As a result many of Yaroshenk's works are of beautiful sceneries, portraits and of the people of Russia.
This is one such work where he has painted Anna Konstantinovna Chertkova, who was a children's book author and publicist. She is shown here as a woman experiencing shock after the passing of her two year old daughter. She is wistful and her gaze is melancholy as she attempts to wrap her mind around her loss. Her mourning completely takes us away from the beautiful garden she is sitting in and it becomes a mere afterthought. However, once we pull away the Russian countryside and the Sosnovka mountains in the back come into view. The colour palette is vivid and bright for a painting with such a sad backstory, but this adds to the beauty of the image. Creating the contrast between the somber mood of the painting and the majestic scenery is where the artist's mastery lies.
The painting shows a contrast between human suffering and the beauty of nature. The woman sits alone wearing clothes while she is surrounded by green hills, flowers and warm sunlight. Her pale face and faraway look show sadness, sickness or emotional loneliness. Even though she is, in an calm place she does not seem to be enjoying it. The bright environment stands for life, hope and a new beginning while her dark clothes stand for pain and being alone. The painting shows that outside beauty and comfort do not always help with pain.
