Portrait of a Girl with Suzani

V. Kovinin. Portrait of a Girl. 1971. State Museum of Art of Uzbekistan.

This is a beautiful portrait. I think the girl is not Uzbek, but Gypsy - they are called "luli" here.  She is rather dark, and the features are more typical of these Central Asian gypsies. Her coral dress perfectly suits her colors, and her headpiece is quite unusual. The girl's eyebrows are colored with the juice of arugula  or rugola sap which is the traditional treatment for eyebrows and eyelids in Uzbekistan.

...Note the gorgeous suzani in the background - I told you, they used to be everywhere. Not so much now, thought - they are being replaced by faceless acrylic rugs.

I love the picture, its rich colors and warm atmosphere. I hope that the girl has lived a happy life, and is still living somewhere with her family. I wonder if she knows about her portrait in the museum or has long forgotten about those sessions.