Departure of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna 1916

Eugene Lanceray made this small painting of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna somehow, and you can just feel him feeling it out as he went along. The colours are icy, wintery blues and reds, all layered in thin washes. I can imagine Lanceray standing at his easel, trying to capture the scene before him. The challenge of painting such a complex composition in motion must have been immense. There are so many textures here – the fur trim of the Empress's coat, the crisp snow, the bark of the trees, the blue of her dress. It feels as though Lanceray has captured the moment in a flash. The Empress is regal and poised, while the figure next to her has a wary expression. The red of his coat really pops against the muted background. I can imagine him thinking about his fellow painters, like Valentin Serov, and how they managed to capture the spirit of a person in paint. All painters are in conversation with one another. I'm so drawn to the ambiguity of it all. We’re all just trying to figure things out as we go along.