Before us is a portrait of Ekaterina Mozhina, a model with striking individuality. Her large, almost hypnotic eyes and sharp features are combined with a touch of irony and a candid, tomboyish spontaneity. The painting was created in the artist’s studio during a teaching session. Observing Katya as she posed for students, the artist himself took up the brush, turning an academic exercise into a personal painterly dialogue. The image is built on a tense interplay of charm and danger. Katya embodies both vulnerability and strength, playfulness and a subtle sense of threat. The artist deliberately emphasizes this duality. The warm red neckline of her dress highlights femininity, while the contrast of dark hair and the cold gleam in her eyes adds drama. Stylistically, the work draws on the Russian portrait tradition of the late nineteenth century, though interpreted with freedom. Broad impasto strokes coexist with transparent glazes, allowing the surface to “breathe.” The main focus rests on the head: the structure of the skull, the expressive gaze, the living reflections on the skin. Secondary details are simplified and generalized so as not to distract from the psychological core of the image. The texture shifts from dense, almost sculptural layers of paint to light touches of the brush. This variation creates rhythm and conveys the movement of inner energy. Katya is not merely a portrait of a beautiful young woman; it is an attempt to capture the fragile line between outward aesthetics and complex character, between the sitter’s contemporary presence and the classical drama of her features.