Marie Bashkirtseff was born near Poltava, in what is now Ukraine, into an aristocratic Russian family.
Marie Bashkirtseff was born on November 24, 1858, at the family estate of Havrontsi (Gavronzi), near Poltava, in what is now Ukraine, then part of the Russian Empire. She was born into a wealthy, aristocratic land-owning family; her father, Constantin Bashkirtseff, was a provincial marshal of nobility, and her mother, Maria Babanina, came from a similarly privileged background.
Her parents separated when she was young, and her mother took her on an extended tour of Europe, settling for long periods in Nice, Vienna, Baden-Baden, and eventually Paris. This peripatetic, cosmopolitan upbringing exposed young Marie to multiple languages, high society, and the cultural riches of Western Europe from an early age.
The exact date of her birth has occasionally been the subject of scholarly debate, owing to the transition between the Julian (Old Style) and Gregorian (New Style) calendars used in Russia versus Western Europe at the time, as well as some inconsistencies among early biographers. However, modern reference sources, including the artist's official archival record and major encyclopedic entries, consistently cite November 24, 1858, as her birth date.
This birth would set in motion a short but extraordinarily productive life: Bashkirtseff became one of the most talented painters of her generation and, through her posthumously published diary, one of history's most influential female literary voices, inspiring generations of women writers and artists who followed.
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