The portrait was in the study of Prince Sufarokov-Elston’s house of Prince F. F. Yusupov in Bolshoy Kharitonievsky Pereulok in Moscow, reconstructed and decorated in the late 19th century by the architect N. V. Sultanov. Princess, daughter of Prince Nikolai Borisovich Yusupov and Princess Tatyana Alexandrovna, born Countess Ribopier, the last of the Yusupov family. The owner of huge capital, vast lands, palaces and art collections. Married to Count F. F. Sumarokov-Elston.
Since 1891, Zinaida Nikolaevna and her husband received the right to be called the Princes Yusupov Counts Sumarokov-Elston. Z. N. Yusupova was engaged in charitable activities: the Roman Hall of the Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow was built with her money.
Contemporaries noted that the “Marquis of our time” Princess Yusupova was not only a “perfect type of charming secular woman”, but also an ideal expression of national beauty. Princess artistry, developed by amateur charity performances given at the theater in the Arkhangelskoe estate, by court masquerades and costumed receptions in a Moscow house, made a special impression when she was clothed in national attire and performed Russian dance.
Being the maid of honor of Empress Maria Feodorovna, Yusupova wore a court dress in the Russian style, introduced by Emperor Nicholas I, theatrical and masquerade Russian costumes, depicted in photographs of the 1890-1900s. In a stylized Russian costume, she shone at the famous Russian-style masquerade ball on February 13, 1903 in the Winter Palace. “The princess was a very beautiful woman, she possessed such remarkable beauty, which remains a symbol of the epoch,” wrote the Spanish infante Elima.
The Yusupovs left Russia in April 1919 and settled in Rome. In exile, Zinaida Nikolaevna participated in the work of the Red Cross Society: she organized a free canteen for poor compatriots, a “job search bureau” and a seamstress workshop.
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