Ivan Kramskoi
The Mermaids
From $80
This painting is dark velvet, fur and pale winter light, and a cheap copy turns it flat and muddy. Our Kramskoi Unknown Woman print is made from the museum’s own photograph, unretouched, so the velvet keeps its depth.
Canvas, framed or paper
Stretched canvas. Printed on cotton canvas and stretched taut over a frame. The edges are mirror-wrapped, so the picture continues around the sides and none of it is lost to the fold.
Framed canvas. The same canvas, set in a black, white, natural wood or dark wood frame 0.83 in deep. The frame gives the work a finished edge and a little more presence on the wall.
Framed print. Printed on fine art matte paper and framed in solid pine, behind shatterproof plexiglass, in black, white, natural wood or dark wood. It arrives ready to hang. Framed sizes are measured on the outside of the frame.
Fine art print. Printed on 310gsm fine art matte paper, for framing your own way. It travels rolled and protected. From 18x24 inch.
Sizes
16x12 inch, 20x16 inch, 24x18 inch, 30x24 inch. Framed sizes are measured on the outside of the frame, so the visible painting is a little smaller.
On your wall
Its wide shape suits a living room, a study or the wall above a sofa. The blues, golds and soft whites look rich with cream, charcoal and walnut, and a gold or black frame suits it.
About the painting
Portrait of an Unknown Woman by Ivan Kramskoi
A rebel realist
Ivan Kramskoi, a clerk’s son who began by retouching photographs, led fourteen students out of the Russian Academy in 1863 and helped found the Wanderers.
A mystery
A young woman in velvet and fur rides in an open carriage along Nevsky Prospekt in St Petersburg. Kramskoi never said who she was.
The collector who said no
In 1883 critics were shocked by her. Pavel Tretyakov refused to buy it. Today it is one of the best-known paintings in Russia.
Read the story
A young woman rides in an open carriage through the winter streets of St Petersburg. She wears a dark velvet coat trimmed with fur, a fur hat with a white feather, and leather gloves. She turns her head and looks down at us, calm and a little proud.
Behind her, through the frosty air, you can see the pavilions of the Anichkov Palace on Nevsky Prospekt, the grandest street in the city.
Who is she? Nobody knows. Ivan Kramskoi painted her in 1883, called the painting simply Unknown, and never mentioned her in any letter or diary.
When it was first shown, many critics were shocked. They decided she must be a kept woman, a coquette in a carriage. Kramskoi answered: Some people say it is not known who this woman is. Is she respectable, or does she sell herself? But within her is a whole epoch.
Even the great Moscow collector Pavel Tretyakov, who bought other paintings by Kramskoi, refused to buy this one. It only came to the Tretyakov Gallery in 1925.
Since then she has become one of the most famous faces in Russian art. She has even appeared on the cover of Anna Karenina.
Portrait of an Unknown Woman. Ivan Kramskoi, 1883.
How each piece is brought to life
Faithful to the original, and made to be felt on your wall.
Graded against the original
We compare every work with the original as we grade it, keeping the artist’s colours true while bringing back their depth and glow. Every mark stays the artist’s own.
Printed for you
Printed to order on cotton canvas or fine art paper, then framed if you chose a frame, in 1 to 3 business days.
On your wall
It arrives 5 to 12 business days later, tracked and free anywhere in the US. Framed pieces come ready to hang.
Questions
Is this the original painting?
No. The original hangs in a museum. What you receive is a fine art reproduction, remastered from the original and printed for you, with every mark where the artist left it.
Will the colour look flat?
This is where most reproductions disappoint, and it is where we spend the most time. Each work is graded side by side with the original: faithful to the artist’s colours, with the depth and warmth brought back, so it moves you on the wall the way it was meant to. Canvas reads a touch softer than a backlit screen, and every screen shows colour a little differently.
Will the edges be cropped?
Each size is a standard frame size, so we fit the painting by trimming a little from its edges. We never stretch or squash it, and we check every size by eye so no face, figure or signature is cut. On canvas the edges are mirror-wrapped, which keeps the whole picture on the front.
Which size is right for my wall?
Aim for about two-thirds the width of the furniture beneath it. Over a sofa or a sideboard, one of the two largest sizes will hold the wall. The size guide lists every size in inches and centimetres, with the kind of wall each one suits.
How long does it take?
Your piece is printed in 1–3 business days, then spends 5–12 business days in transit, tracked all the way. Delivery is free anywhere in the US. We are unable to deliver to PO boxes.
What if it arrives damaged?
Send us a photograph and we will remake it and send it again. There is nothing to return.
Can I return it?
Yes, within 30 days of delivery. Our returns policy has the details.
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Printed to order
Graded against the original, then printed for you on cotton canvas or fine art paper in 1–3 business days.
The whole painting
Every mark is the artist’s own, and canvas edges are mirror-wrapped so the whole picture stays on the front.
Free US shipping
On every order, tracked, 5–12 business days in transit.
30-day returns
Returns and exchanges within 30 days of delivery.
