- Year
- 1975
- Technique
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 44×58 cm
- Status
- In the Artist's Estate
The portrait depicts the artist's wife, Praskovya Maltseva (Milanko), whose presence played a decisive yet often unseen role in the life of the Chuhuiv Children's Art School. While the artist stood at its creative forefront, much of the institutional work - documentation, schedules, and educational organization - rested on her shoulders.
Shown with an open book, she appears not as a ceremonial figure but as a person immersed in reflection. The restrained pose and concentrated gaze emphasize intellect and inner discipline rather than outward emotion. Maltsev presents her as both educator and thinker - a woman who taught mathematics, technical drawing, and art history within a single life devoted to education.
The warm red background reinforces a sense of quiet strength and determination, transforming the portrait into more than a likeness. It becomes an acknowledgment of a conscious choice - she set aside a career in science to support her husband's artistic path, taking on the institutional, organizational, and educational work that allowed him to focus entirely on painting and teaching. A mathematician with three degrees earned with distinction, she brought the same precision and devotion to everything she did.
