Her Life in Art is a social history of the life of female artists in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The authors analyze Russian art by exploring memoirs, personal documents, and self-portraits, which show how the artists perceived themselves and their position in society.
The book offers a detailed description of the context in which female artists began to become professionals, and the historical transformations that took place in professional education and the social status of women. The authors also analyze gendered aspects such as background, marital status, childbearing, and domestic life, all of which had a direct influence on a female artist’s career. The reader is presented with a different—female—perspective on the history of Russian art. There are no geniuses, stories of spiritual torment or great works and achievements, but there is the everyday struggle for the right to be a female artist, something which is invisible within the great narratives.
