Sonia ROUTCHINE (Sonia Markovna ROUTCHINA) is a female painter, engraver, lithographer, illustrator and miniaturist born in Odessa (Imperial Russia) in 1878. Sonia was born into a Jewish family of craftsmen in Odessa. Her father, Marc ROUTCHINE, was a cabinetmaker and his professional qualities had earned him a supplier to His Majesty the Emperor. Sonia became an orphan very young, it was she who brought up her sister Hania, who was to become a famous singer. It seems that it was her desire to become a painter and to study in Paris that prompted her to come to Paris, along with her sister and the rest of her family, at the turn of the century. Sonia entered at the Académie Julian and took classes with Jules ADLER. She also attended Humbert's studio, the first workshop of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts open to women in 1900 (where, by the way, no man was admitted). In 1902, the French state bought one of her paintings, "Les bergères lorraines", which currently adorns the Prefecture of Belfort. Sonia ROUTCHINE develops a refined style, and delivers portraits, genre scenes and still lifes. She met a certain success as a miniaturist and built up a clientele with the financial upper middle class. In 1906, another of her works, "La lecture", was purchased by the French Republic. She exhibited in London in 1912, at the Royal Academy's Summer Exhibition, and a second time in 1914, where her "Portrait de jeune femme en turban rouge" (Portrait of a Young Woman in a Red Turban) was noticed. During the 1914 war, she did not return to Russia and remained in France, where she continued to paint. During the Roaring Twenties, Sonia ROUTCHINE's sought-after style was in harmony with the lines of the time and her talent was increasingly recognized. She now signs ROUTCHINE-VITRY, appending her husband's name to hers. In 1923, her sister Hania married Roland DORGELES. Sonia exhibited at the Salon des Artistes Français in 1924 and received a silver medal. She entered the Salon d'Automne in 1926. In 1929, the Salon awarded her a new silver medal. Sonia ROUTCHINE-VITRY died in Paris in 1931, at the age of 53, in full success. Her works are among others present at the Louvre (department of graphic arts for her miniatures) as well as at the Museum of Fine Arts in Rouen.