Kazimir Malevich, Maria Dzhagupova and a Contested Portrait of Elizaveta Iakovleva

This essay examines the painting known as Portrait of Elizaveta Iakovleva, which has long been attributed to Kazimir Malevich, using close analysis of the painting materials and techniques, as well as newly discovered archival evidence. It reconstructs part of the work’s provenance, places it within Malevich’s late Leningrad circle, and explores Maria Dzhagupova’s and Elizaveta Iakovleva’s roles in relation to the artist. By comparing the portrait with Malevich’s late portraits and works by Dzhagupova, the study revisits authorship and sitter identity. It argues for a more nuanced understanding of the complex exchanges between Malevich and his students and situates the work more precisely within his late portrait practice and artistic milieu of the 1930s.