companions

Vladimir Borovikovsky [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
1814: a well-to-do, artistic young couple poses with their woolly poodle.  This portrait of A.A. and A.G. Lobonov-Rostovsky - I can't figure out which is which - was painted by Vladimir Borovikovsky (Ukrainian-Russian, 1757-1825).  A popular portrait painter, he grew up in a family of icon illuminators.  I wonder if that has anything to do with the luminosity his portraits often show; those of his sitters who are young and/or beautiful often seem lit from within.  In this case that even extends to the dog:

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