
Born in the family of Poltava landowner, the girl got excellent education. She spoke several languages fluently, had a great singing voice and played music instruments.
Due to weak health, at the age of 12, Marie and her mom went to France for treatment. There the girl started avidly taking in the European heritage, which in combination with her Ukrainian heart created a talented personality.
After receiving a gold medal from Academie Julian Marie started exhibiting her works in Paris Salons and became one of the first female artists whose works made it to the Louvre collection. Her popularity spurred rumors that the paintings were not her own.
The name of Marie became even more scandalous after the publication of her diary the girl had kept for almost all of her life. The openness of her thoughts and the combination of feminist views and purely feminine interests caused admiration among some and aggression among others.
Marie Bashkirtseff shot across the art landscape like a falling star and disappeared. But the name of Poltava-born Ukrainian is stamped next to Immortality, a sculpture in Luxembourg Palace in Paris, among outstanding French personalities.