Description of the picture:
Portrait of G. E. Rasputin – Elena Nikandrovna Klokacheva. 1914. Gray cardboard, colored pencil, pastel. 81,5×56
Little is known about the author of the work, Elena Nikandrovna Klokacheva (1871 – after 1915): she studied at the Imperial Academy of Arts, after which she received the title of artist. Her legacy is known mainly due to the portrait of the “elder”, Grigory Efimovich Rasputin.
Rasputin, coming from the peasants of the Tobolsk province, had unlimited influence on the Empress Alexandra Fedorovna and Nicholas II, as he, having the power of suggestion, was the only one who could ease the suffering of the heir – Tsarevich Alexei. The rampant lifestyle of Rasputin discredited the imperial family, helped reduce its popularity among subjects, and Rasputin’s interference in government affairs led to a conspiracy against him and he was killed on the night of December 18, 1916.
A graphic portrait of Klokacheva’s work, in addition to artistic value, is a rare documentary evidence of the era, because the appearance of Rasputin is known mainly from photographs."
