Sonia Routchine

SONIA ROUTCHINE-VITRY (Ukraine, 1879- 1931).
"Portrait of a lady".
Gouache on vellum.
Signed in the lower right area.
Measurements. 16 x 12 cm; 21 x 17 cm (frame).
Sonia Routchine (Sonia Markovna Routchina), born in 1878 in Odessa, then part of the Russian Empire, was an outstanding painter, engraver, lithographer, illustrator and miniaturist. From a Jewish family of artisans, her father, Marc Routchine, was a cabinetmaker and supplier to the imperial court. She was orphaned at a very young age and it was she who raised her sister Hania, a future renowned singer.
Driven by her dream of becoming a painter and studying in Paris, Sonia emigrated to France at the beginning of the 20th century with her family. There she entered the Académie Julian and took classes with Jules Adler, in addition to training at the Humbert workshop, the first space of the École des Beaux-Arts open exclusively to women. In 1902, the French State acquired one of her works, Les bergères lorraines, which today decorates the Prefecture of Belfort, and in 1906 another piece, La lecture, was also purchased by the French Republic.
Sonia developed a refined style, focusing on portraits, genre scenes and still lifes. Her talent as a miniaturist earned her recognition and a clientele of the upper middle class. He took part in important exhibitions, with his exhibitions at the Royal Academy in London in 1912 and 1914, where his Portrait of a Young Woman in a Red Turban attracted attention.
During the First World War she remained in France, where she continued to consolidate her style, which in the Roaring Twenties fitted in perfectly with the artistic trends of the time. She adopted her husband's surname, signing her works as Routchine-Vitry. In 1924 she received a silver medal at the Salon des Artistes Français and in 1929 she repeated her award at the Salon d'Automne.
Sonia Routchine-Vitry died at the age of 53, at the height of her artistic maturity and success. Her legacy remains in important collections, such as the Louvre and the Museum of Fine Arts in Rouen.