SOFIA KUVSHINNIKOVA (1847-1907) AND ANTONINA RZHEVSKAYA (1861-1934) Early spring by the river signed in Cyrillic and dated 'S. Kuvshinnikova A. L. Rzhevsky 1903' (lower right) oil on board 15.5 х 24 cm painted in 1903 Sofia Petrovna Kuvshinnikova was a Russian landscape painter. For many years she was a pupil and teacher of Isaac Levitan and inspired the main character of Anton Chekhov's short story 'The Grasshopper' in 1892. She travelled with the Peredvizhniki group, and her modest flat became a meeting place for the creative community, including Levitan, Anton Chekhov, Perov, Gogol and others. Antonina Leonardovna Rzhevskaya, also known by her male pseudonym A. L. Rzhevsky, was a Russian painter who painted mainly domestic genre scenes. She was one of only two women to work with the Peredvizhniki and was a friend of Sofia Kuvshinnikova. SOFIA KUVSHINNIKOVA (1847-1907) AND ANTONINA RZHEVSKAYA (1861-1934) Early spring by the river signed in Cyrillic and dated 'S. Kuvshinnikova A. L. Rzhevsky 1903' (lower right) oil on board 15.5 х 24 cm painted in 1903 Sofia Petrovna Kuvshinnikova was a Russian landscape painter. For many years, she was the pupil and the mistress of Isaac Levitan and served as the inspiration for the lead character in a short story by Anton Chekhov 'The Grasshopper, 1892'. She travelled with the Peredvizhniki group, and her modest apartment became a gathering place for the creative community including Levitan, Anton Chekhov, Perov, Gogol and others. Sofia Petrovna Kuvshinnikova also known by masculine pseudonym A. L. Rzhevsky, was a Russian painter, primarily of domestic genre scenes. She was one of the only two women who worked with the Peredvizhniki and friend of Sofia Kuvshinnikova.