Marie Bashkirtseff, born Maria Bashkirtseva in 1858, was a Ukrainian and French artist, a master of genre painting; sculptor, and writer.

She was born in the village of Havrontsi, Poltava Governorate. She spent her childhood in the village of Chernyakivka. When her parents separated at age 12, she spent most of her youth traveling across Europe with her mother. They stayed for extended periods in Germany and along the Riviera before eventually settling in Paris.

Privately educated and gifted in music from a young age, she lost the opportunity for a singing career when illness damaged her voice. Resolving to pursue art instead, she studied painting at the Robert-Fleury studio and the Académie Julian in France.

Starting around the age of 13, Bashkirtseff began keeping a journal, which is likely what she is most renowned for today. The diary, first published in 1887, was the second diary by a woman ever published in France. Its release was an instant success.

As an artist, Bashkirtseff was influenced by the work of painter Jules Bastien-Lepage. Her talent was immediately recognized; her works won numerous medals and awards at exhibitions, and French newspapers and magazines praised her enthusiastically. Bashkirtseff's art was highly esteemed by Anatole France and Émile Zola. 

Bashkirtseff created an impressive, though relatively conventional, body of work. Her painted and graphic works are mainly genre and portrait pieces that reveal the world of Parisian suburbs, depicting the everyday lives of working women, servants, homeless children, and schoolchildren. A smaller portion includes landscapes, still lifes, and rare works on biblical or historical themes. 

The artist suffered from tuberculosis and died at the age of 25. Her artistic legacy includes over 150 paintings and 200 drawings. Unfortunately, a significant portion of her work was lost during the 1917 Revolution and World War II. In Ukraine, only three of her paintings remain, housed in art museums in Kharkiv, Dnipro, and Sumy.