Russian portrait painters 19. Abstract: Russian portrait painting of the 19th century. The rise of Russian portraiture

29.06.2020

Introduction

I. Russian portrait painters of the first half of the 19th century century

1.3 Alexey Gavrilovich Venetsianov (1780-1847)

II. Mobile Partnership Art Exhibitions

Conclusion

The purpose of this work is to talk about the importance of portraiture as one of the main genres of art, about its role in the culture and art of that time, to get acquainted with the main works of artists, to learn about Russian portrait painters of the 19th century, about their life and work.

In this work we will look at the art of portraiture in the 19th century:

The greatest masters of Russian art of the 19th century.

Association of Traveling Art Exhibitions.

What is a portrait?

The history of the appearance of the portrait.

First half of the 19th century - the time of the formation of a system of genres in Russian painting. In painting of the second half of the 19th century. the realistic direction prevailed. The character of Russian realism was determined by the young painters who left the Academy of Arts in 1863 and rebelled against what was being enforced at the Academy. classic style and historical and mythological themes. These artists organized in 1870

A traveling exhibition partnership whose mission was to provide members of the partnership with the opportunity to exhibit their work. Thanks to his activities, works of art became more accessible to a wide circle of people. Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov (1832–1898) since 1856 collected works by Russian artists, mainly the Peredvizhniki, and in 1892 donated his collection of paintings along with the collection of his brother S.M. Tretyakov to Moscow. In the genre of portraits, the Wanderers created a gallery of images of outstanding cultural figures of their time: a portrait of Fyodor Dostoevsky (1872) by Vasily Perov (1833–1882), a portrait of Nikolai Nekrasov (1877–1878) by Ivan Kramskoy (1837–1887), a portrait of Modest Mussorgsky (1881) , made by Ilya Repin (1844–1930), a portrait of Leo Tolstoy (1884) by Nikolai Ge (1831–1894) and a number of others. Being in opposition to the Academy and its artistic policy, the Wanderers turned to the so-called. “low” topics; images of peasants and workers appear in their works.

The increase and expansion of artistic understanding and needs is reflected in the emergence of many art societies, schools, a number of private galleries (Tretyakov Gallery) and museums not only in capitals, but also in the provinces, in the introduction to school drawing education.
All this, in connection with the appearance of a number of brilliant works by Russian artists, shows that art took root on Russian soil and became national. The new Russian national art was sharply different in that it clearly and strongly reflected the main trends of Russian social life.

I. Russian portrait painters of the first half of the 19th century.

1.1 Orest Adamovich Kiprensky (1782-1836)

Born on the Nezhinskaya manor (near Koporye, now in the Leningrad region) on March 13 (24), 1782. He was the illegitimate son of the landowner A.S. Dyakonov, registered in the family of his serf Adam Schwalbe. Having received his freedom, he studied at the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts (1788–1803) with G.I. Ugryumov and others. He lived in Moscow (1809), Tver (1811), St. Petersburg (from 1812), and in 1816–1822 and from 1828 - in Rome and Naples.

The first portrait - the adoptive father of A.K. Schwalbe (1804, Russian Museum, St. Petersburg) - stands out for its emotional coloring. Over the years, Kiprensky’s skill, manifested in the ability to create not only social and spiritual types (predominant in Russian art of the Enlightenment), but also unique individual images, has been improved. It is natural that it is customary to begin the history of romanticism in Russian with Kiprensky’s paintings. fine arts.

Russian artist, outstanding master Russian fine art of romanticism, known as a wonderful portrait painter. Kiprensky's portraits are imbued with special cordiality, special simplicity, they are filled with his lofty and poetic love for man. In Kiprensky's portraits the features of his era are always noticeable. This is always invariably inherent in each of his portraits - and romantic image young V.A. Zhukovsky, and the wise E.P. Rostopchin (1809), portraits: D.N. Khvostov (1814 Tretyakov Gallery), the boy Chelishchev (1809 Tretyakov Gallery), E.V. Davydov (1809 State Russian Museum).

An invaluable part of Kiprensky’s work are graphic portraits, made mainly in pencil with coloring in pastels, watercolors, and colored pencils. He portrays General E.I. Chaplitsa (Tretyakov Gallery), P.A. Venison (GTG). In these images we see Russia, the Russian intelligentsia from Patriotic War 1812 until the December uprising.

Kiprensky's portraits appear before us as complex, thoughtful, and changeable in mood. Revealing different facets of human character and spiritual world Kiprensky always used different painting possibilities in his early romantic portraits. His masterpieces are like one of the best lifetime portraits Pushkin (1827 Tretyakov Gallery), portrait of Avdulina (1822 State Russian Museum). The sadness and thoughtfulness of Kiprensky’s characters is sublime and lyrical.

"Favorite of light-winged fashion,

Although not British, not French,

You created again, dear wizard,

Me, the pet of pure muses. –

And I laugh at my grave

Left forever from mortal bonds.

I see myself as in a mirror,

But this mirror flatters me.

It says that I will not humiliate

The passions of important aonides.

From now on my appearance will be known, -

Pushkin wrote to Kiprensky in gratitude for his portrait. Pushkin treasured his portrait and this portrait hung in his office.

A special section consists of Kiprensky’s self-portraits (with tassels behind the ear, ca. 1808, Tretyakov Gallery; etc.), imbued with the pathos of creativity. He also owns the soulful images of Russian poets: K.N. Batyushkov (1815, drawing, Museum of the Institute of Russian Literature of the Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg; V.A. Zhukovsky (1816). The master was also a virtuoso graphic artist; working mainly with an Italian pencil, he created a number of remarkable everyday characters (like the Blind Musician, 1809, Russian Museum). Kiprensky died in Rome on October 17, 1836.

1.2 Vasily Andreevich Tropinin (1776-1857)

Representative of romanticism in Russian fine art, master of portrait painting. Born in the village of Karpovka (Novgorod province) on March 19 (30), 1776 in the family of serfs of Count A.S. Minich; later he was sent to the disposal of Count I.I. Morkov as a dowry for Minich’s daughter. He showed ability to draw as a boy, but his master sent him to St. Petersburg to study as a pastry chef. He attended classes at the Academy of Arts, first furtively, and from 1799 with Morkov’s permission; During his studies, he met O.A. Kiprensky. In 1804, the owner summoned the young artist to his place, and from then on he alternately lived in Ukraine, in the new carrot estate of Kukavka, and then in Moscow, in the position of a serf painter, obliged to simultaneously carry out the economic orders of the landowner. In 1823 he received his freedom and the title of academician, but, abandoning his career in St. Petersburg, he remained in Moscow.

An artist from serfs, who with his creativity brought a lot of new things into Russian painting of the first half of the 19th century. Received the title of academician and became the most famous artist Moscow portrait school of the 20-30s. Later, the color of Tropinin’s painting becomes more interesting, the volumes are usually sculpted more clearly and sculpturally, but most importantly, the purely romantic feeling of the moving element of life insinuatingly grows, Tropinin is the creator of a special type of portrait - a painting. Portraits that introduce features of the genre, images with a specific plot: “Lacemaker”, “Spinner”, “Guitar Player”, “Gold Seamstress”.

The best of Tropinin's portraits, such as the portrait of his son Arseny (1818 Tretyakov Gallery), Bulakhov (1823 Tretyakov Gallery). Tropinin in his work follows the path of clarity and balance with simple compositions of portrait images. As a rule, the image is presented against a neutral background with a minimum of accessories. This is exactly how A.S. Tropinin portrayed it. Pushkin (1827) - sitting at the table in a free pose, dressed in a house dress, which emphasizes the naturalness of his appearance.

Early works Tropinin are restrained in color and classically static in composition (family portraits of the Morkovs, 1813 and 1815; both works are in the Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow). During this period, the master also created expressive local, Little Russian image-types of the Ukrainian, (1810s, Russian Museum, St. Petersburg). Bulakov, 1823; K.G.Ravich, 1823; both portraits in the Tretyakov Gallery).

Over the years, the role of the spiritual atmosphere - expressed by the background, significant details - only increases. The best example may serve as Self-Portrait with Brushes and Palette 1846, where the artist presented himself against the backdrop of a window with a spectacular view of the Kremlin. Whole line Tropinin dedicates his works to fellow artists depicted at work or in contemplation (I.P. Vitali, ca. 1833; K.P. Bryullov, 1836; both portraits in the Tretyakov Gallery; etc.). At the same time, Tropinin’s style is invariably characterized by a specifically intimate, homely flavor. In the popular Woman in the Window (based on M.Yu. Lermontov's poem Treasurer, 1841), this laid-back sincerity takes on an erotic flavor. Later works masters (Servant with Damask Counting Money, 1850s, ibid.) testify to the fading of coloristic mastery, anticipating, however, the keen interest in dramatic everyday life characteristic of the Wanderers. An important area of Tropinin’s creativity is also his sharp pencil sketches. Tropinin died in Moscow on May 3 (15), 1857.

Russian artist, representative of romanticism (known primarily for his rural genres). Born in Moscow on February 7 (18), 1780 merchant family. In his youth he served as an official. He studied art largely on his own, copying paintings from the Hermitage. In 1807–1811 he took painting lessons from V.L. Borovikovsky. Considered the founder of Russian printed caricature. A land surveyor by training, he left the service for painting. In the genre of portraiture, he created amazingly poetic, lyrical, romantic images in pastel, pencil, and oil - a portrait of V.S. Putyatina (Tretyakov Gallery). Among his most beautiful works of this kind is his own portrait (Museum Alexandra III), painted lushly and boldly, in pleasant, thick gray-yellow and yellow-black tones, as well as a portrait he painted of the old painter Golovochesky (Imperial Academy of Arts).

Venetsianov is a first-class master and an extraordinary person; which Russia should be quite proud of. He zealously sought out young talents directly from the people, mainly among painters, and attracted them to himself. The number of his students was over 60 people.

During the Patriotic War of 1812 he created a series of propaganda and satirical pictures on the theme of popular resistance to the French occupiers.

He painted portraits, usually small in format, marked by subtle lyrical inspiration (M.A. Venetsianova, the artist’s wife, late 1820s, Russian Museum, St. Petersburg; Self-portrait, 1811, Tretyakov Gallery). In 1819 he left the capital and since then lived in the village of Safonkovo (Tver province), which he bought, inspired by the surrounding landscape and rural life. The best of Venetsianov’s paintings are classic in their own way, showing this nature in a state of idealized, enlightened harmony; on the other hand, the romantic element obviously prevails in them, the charm not of ideals, but of simple natural feelings against the backdrop of native nature and everyday life. His peasant portraits (Zakharka, 1825; or Peasant Woman with Cornflowers, 1839) appear as fragments of the same enlightened-natural, classical-romantic idyll.

New creative searches were interrupted by the death of the artist: Venetsianov died in the Tver village of Poddubye on December 4 (16), 1847 from injuries - he was thrown out of a wagon when the horses skidded on a slippery winter road. The master’s pedagogical system fosters a love of simple nature (around 1824 he created his own art school), became the basis of a special Venetsian school, the most characteristic and original of all personal schools of Russian art of the 19th century.

1.4 Karl Pavlovich Bryullov (1799-1852)

Born on November 29 (December 10), 1798 in the family of the artist P.I. Bryullov, brother of the painter K.P. Bryullov. He received his primary education from his father, a master of decorative carving, and then studied at the Academy of Arts (1810–1821). In the summer of 1822, he and his brother were sent abroad at the expense of the Society for the Encouragement of the Arts. Having visited Germany, France, Italy, England and Switzerland, in 1830 he returned to St. Petersburg. Since 1831 - professor at the Academy of Arts. A man of a remarkable destiny, instructive and original. Since childhood, he has been surrounded by impressions of Russian reality. Only in Russia did he feel at home, he strove for her, and yearned for her in a foreign land. Bryullov worked with inspiration, success, and passion. In his workshop, in two to three months, such masterpieces of portraiture appeared as portraits of Semenova, Doctor Orlov, Nestor and Platon the Puppeteer. In Bryullov’s portraits, executed with merciless truth and exceptionally high skill, one can see the era in which he lived, the desire for true realism, the diversity, naturalness and simplicity of the person depicted.

Leaving from historical painting Bryullov's interests lay in the direction of portraiture, in which he showed all his creative temperament and brilliance of skill. His brilliant decorative canvas “Horsewoman” (1832 Tretyakov Gallery), which depicts the pupil of Countess Yu.P. Samoilova Giovanina Paccini. Portrait of Samoilova herself with another pupil, Amatsilia (1839, Russian Museum). In the person of the writer Strugovshchikov (1840 Tretyakov Gallery) one can read the tension of inner life. Self-portrait (1848 Tretyakov Gallery) - a sadly thin face with a penetrating gaze. A very life-like portrait of Prince Golitsin, resting on an armchair in his office.

Bryullov possessing a powerful imagination, a keen eye and a faithful hand. He gave birth to living creations consistent with the canons of academicism.

Having departed relatively early from practical work, the master was actively involved in teaching at the Academy of Arts (from 1831 - professor). He also left a rich graphic heritage: numerous portraits (E.P. Bakunina, 1830–1832; N.N. Pushkina, the wife of the great poet; A.A. Perovsky, 1834; all in watercolor; etc.), illustrations, etc. .d.; here the romantic traits of his talent manifested themselves even more directly than in architecture. Died on January 9 (21), 1887 in St. Petersburg.

An inspiring example for the partnership was the “St. Petersburg Artel of Artists,” which was founded in 1863 by participants in the “revolt of the fourteen” (I.N. Kramskoy, A.I. Korzukhin, K.E. Makovsky, etc.) - graduates of the Academy of Arts, who defiantly left it after the Academy’s council prohibited them from writing a competition picture on a free plot instead of the officially proposed theme from Scandinavian mythology. Standing up for the ideological and economic freedom of creativity, the “artel workers” began to organize their own exhibitions, but by the turn of the 1860s–1870s their activities practically came to naught. A new incentive was the appeal to the Artel (in 1869). With proper permission, in all cities of the empire there will be traveling art exhibitions in the following forms: a) providing residents of the provinces with the opportunity to get acquainted with Russian art and follow its successes; b) developing love for art in society; and c) making it easier for artists to market their works.” Thus, for the first time in the fine arts of Russia (except for the Artel), a powerful art group arose, not just a friendly circle or a private school, but a large community of like-minded people, which intended (contrary to the dictates of the Academy of Arts) not only to express, but also independently determine the development process artistic culture countrywide.

Theoretical origin creative ideas“Itinerants” (expressed in their correspondence, as well as in the criticism of that time - primarily in the texts of Kramskoy and the speeches of V.V. Stasov) was the aesthetics of philosophical romanticism. New art, liberated from the canons of academic classics. In fact, open the very course of history, thereby effectively preparing the future in your images. The “Wanderers” presented such an artistic and historical “mirror” primarily to modernity: the central place in the exhibitions was occupied by genre and everyday motifs, Russia in its many-sided everyday life. The genre principle set the tone for portraits, landscapes, and even images of the past, as close as possible to the spiritual needs of society. In the later tradition, including the Soviet one, which tendentiously distorted the concept of “peredvizhnik realism,” the matter came down to social-critical, revolutionary-democratic subjects, of which there were indeed many. It is more important to keep in mind the unprecedented analytical and even visionary role that was given here not so much to the notorious social issues, but to art as such, creating its own sovereign judgment over society and thereby separating itself into its own, ideally self-sufficient artistic kingdom. Such aesthetic sovereignty, which grew over the years, became the immediate threshold of Russian symbolism and modernity.

At regular exhibitions (48 in total), which were shown first in St. Petersburg and Moscow, and then in many other cities of the empire, from Warsaw to Kazan and from Novgorod to Astrakhan, over the years one could see more and more examples of not only romantic-realistic, but also modernist stylistics. Difficult relations with the Academy eventually ended in a compromise, since by the end of the 19th century. (following the wish of Alexander III to “stop the division between artists”) a significant part of the most authoritative Peredvizhniki were included in the academic teaching staff. At the beginning of the 20th century. In the Partnership, friction between innovators and traditionalists intensified; the Peredvizhniki no longer represented, as they themselves were accustomed to believe, all that was artistically advanced in Russia. Society was rapidly losing its influence. In 1909 his provincial exhibitions ceased. The last, significant surge of activity took place in 1922, when the society adopted a new declaration, expressing its desire to reflect the way of life modern Russia.

Chapter III. Russian portrait painters of the second half of the 19th century

3.1 Nikolai Nikolaevich Ge (1831-1894)

Russian artist. Born in Voronezh on February 15 (27), 1831 in the family of a landowner. He studied at the mathematical departments of Kyiv and St. Petersburg universities (1847–1850), then entered the Academy of Arts, from which he graduated in 1857. He was greatly influenced by K.P. Bryullov and A.A. Ivanov. He lived in Rome and Florence (1857–1869), in St. Petersburg, and from 1876 - on the Ivanovsky farm in the Chernigov province. He was one of the founders of the Association of Itinerants (1870). I did a lot of portrait painting. He began working on portraits while still studying at the Academy of Arts. Behind long years creativity he wrote many of his contemporaries. These were mostly leading cultural figures. M.E. Saltykov – Shchedrin, M.M. Antokolsky, L.N. Tolstoy and others. Ge owns one of the best portraits of A.I. Herzen (1867, Tretyakov Gallery) - the image of a Russian revolutionary, a fiery fighter against autocracy and serfdom. But the transfer external resemblance The artist’s intention is not at all limited. Herzen’s face, as if snatched from the twilight, reflected his thoughts and the unshakable determination of a fighter for social justice. Ge captured in this portrait a spiritual historical figure, embodied the experience of her entire life, full of struggle and anxiety.

His works differ from Kramskoy’s in their emotionality and drama. Portrait of the historian N.I. Kostomarov (1870, Tretyakov Gallery) is written extraordinarily beautifully, temperamentally, freshly, freely. The self-portrait was painted shortly before his death (1892-1893, KMRI); the master’s face is illuminated with creative inspiration. The portrait of N. I. Petrunkevich (1893) was painted by the artist at the end of his life. The girl is depicted almost in full growth near the open window. She is immersed in reading. Her face in profile, the tilt of her head, and her posture express a state of thoughtfulness. Like never before, Ge paid great attention to the background. Color harmony testifies to the artist’s unspent powers.

Since the 1880s, Ge became a close friend and follower of Leo Tolstoy. In an effort to emphasize the human content of the gospel sermon, Ge moves to an increasingly freer style of writing, sharpening color and light contrasts to the limit. The master painted wonderful portraits, full of inner spirituality, including a portrait of Leo Tolstoy at his desk (1884). In the image of N.I. Petrunkevich against the background of a window open to the garden (1893; both portraits in the Tretyakov Gallery). Ge died on the Ivanovsky farm (Chernigov province) June 1 (13), 1894.

3.2 Vasily Grigorievich Perov (1834-1882)

Born in Tobolsk on December 21 or 23, 1833 (January 2 or 4, 1834). He was the illegitimate son of the local prosecutor, Baron G.K. Kridener, and the surname “Perov” was given to the future artist as a nickname by his literacy teacher, an ordinary sexton. He studied at the Arzamas School of Painting (1846–1849) and the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture (1853–1861), where one of his mentors was S.K. Zaryanko. He was particularly influenced by P.A. Fedotov, a master of magazine satirical graphics, and among foreign masters - W. Hogarth and the genre painters of the Düsseldorf school. Lived in Moscow. He was one of the founding members of the Association of Itinerants (1870).

The best portrait works of the master date back to the turn of the 60-70s: F.M. Dostoevsky (1872, Tretyakov Gallery) A.N. Ostrovsky (1871, Tretyakov Gallery), I.S. Turgenev (1872, Russian Museum). Dostoevsky is especially expressive, completely lost in painful thoughts, nervously clasping his hands on his knee, an image of the highest intellect and spirituality. Sincere genre romance turns into symbolism, permeated with a mournful sense of frailty. Portraits by the master (V.I. Dal, A.N. Maikov, M.P. Pogodin, all portraits - 1872), reaching a spiritual intensity unprecedented for Russian painting. It is not without reason that the portrait of F.M. Dostoevsky (1872) is rightfully considered the best in the iconography of the great writer.

In the last decades of his life, the artist discovered the extraordinary talent of a writer and essayist (stories Aunt Marya, 1875; Under the Cross, 1881; and others; the latest edition - Stories of the Artist, M., 1960). In 1871–1882, Perov taught at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, where among his students were N.A. Kasatkin, S.A. Korovin, M.V. Nesterov, A.P. Ryabushkin. Perov died in the village of Kuzminki (in those years - near Moscow) on May 29 (June 10), 1882.

3.3 Nikolai Alexandrovich Yaroshenko (1846-1898)

Born in Poltava on December 1 (13), 1846 in a military family. He graduated from the Mikhailovsky Artillery Academy in St. Petersburg (1870), served in the Arsenal, and retired in 1892 with the rank of major general. He studied painting at the Drawing School of the Society for the Encouragement of Arts under I.N. Kramskoy and at the Academy of Arts (1867–1874). Traveled a lot - in the countries of Western Europe, the Near and Middle East, the Urals, Volga, Caucasus and Crimea. He was a member (since 1876) and one of the leaders of the Association of Itinerants. Lived mainly in St. Petersburg and Kislovodsk.

His works can be called portraits - such as “Stoker” and “Prisoner” (1878, Tretyakov Gallery). “Stoker” is the first image of a worker in Russian painting. “Prisoner” is a relevant image during the years of turbulent populist revolutionary movement. “Student” (1880, Russian Russian Museum) a young girl with books walks along the wet St. Petersburg pavement. In this image, the entire era of women’s struggle for independent spiritual life found expression.

Yaroshenko was a military engineer, highly educated with strong character. The Peredvizhniki artist served revolutionary and democratic ideals with his art. Master social genre and a portrait in the spirit of the “Itinerants”. The island has made a name for itself with its expressive pictorial compositions, appealing to sympathy for the world of socially outcasts. A special kind of anxious, “conscientious” expression gives life to the best portraits by Yaroshenko (P.A. Strepetova, 1884, ibid; G.I. Uspensky, 1884, Art Gallery, Yekaterinburg; N.N.Ge, 1890, Russian Museum, St. Petersburg ). Yaroshenko died in Kislovodsk on June 25 (July 7), 1898.

3.4 Ivan Nikolaevich Kramskoy (1837-1887)

Born in the Voronezh province into the family of a minor official. Since childhood, I have been interested in art and literature. After graduating from the district school in 1850, he served as a scribe, then as a retoucher for a photographer. In 1857 he ended up in St. Petersburg and worked in a photo studio. In the autumn of the same year he entered the Academy of Arts.

Predominant area artistic achievements remained a portrait for Kramskoy. Kramskoy in the portrait genre is occupied by an exalted, highly spiritual personality. He created a whole gallery of images of major figures of Russian culture - portraits of Saltykov - Shchedrin (1879, Tretyakov Gallery), N.A. Nekrasova (1877, Tretyakov Gallery), L.N. Tolstoy (1873, Tretyakov Gallery), P.M. Tretyakov (1876, Tretyakov Gallery), I.I. Shishkina (1880, Russian Museum), D.V. Grigorovich (1876, Tretyakov Gallery).

For artistic manner Kramskoy is characterized by a certain protocol dryness, monotony of compositional forms and schemes, since the portrait shows the features of working as a retoucher in his youth. The portrait of A.G. is different. Litovchenko (1878, Tretyakov Gallery) with its picturesque richness and beauty of brown and olive tones. Collective works by peasants were also created: “Forester” (1874, Tretyakov Gallery), “Mina Moiseev” (1882, Russian Museum), “Peasant with a bridle” (1883, KMRI). Kramskoy repeatedly turned to a form of painting in which two genres came into contact - portraiture and everyday life. For example, works of the 80s: “Unknown” (1883, Tretyakov Gallery), “Inconsolable Grief” (1884, Tretyakov Gallery). One of the peaks of Kramskoy’s creativity is the portrait of Nekrasov, Self-Portrait (1867, Tretyakov Gallery) and the portrait of the agronomist Vyunnikov (1868, Museum of the BSSR).

In 1863-1868, Kramskoy taught at the Drawing School of the Society for the Encouragement of Artists. In 1870, Kramskoy became one of the founders of the TPHV. When painting a portrait, Kramskoy more often resorted to graphic techniques (using wort, whitewash and pencil). This is how portraits of artists A.I. were made. Morozova (1868), G.G. Myasoedov (1861) – State Russian Museum. Kramskoy is an artist of great creative temperament, a deep and original thinker. He always fought for advanced realistic art, for its ideological and democratic content. He worked fruitfully as a teacher (at the Drawing School of the Society for the Encouragement of the Arts, 1863–1868). Kramskoy died in St. Petersburg on March 24 (April 5), 1887.

3.5 Ilya Efimovich Repin (1844-1930)

Born in Chuguev in the Kharkov province in the family of a military settler. He received his initial artistic training at the school of typographers and from local artists I.M. Bunakova and L.I. Persanova. In 1863 he came to St. Petersburg and studied at the Drawing School of the Society for the Encouragement of Artists under R.K. Zhukovsky and I.N. Kramskoy, then was admitted to the Academy of Arts in 1864.

Repin is one of the best portrait painters of the era. A whole gallery of images of his contemporaries was created by him. With what skill and strength they are captured on his canvases. In Repin's portraits everything is thought out down to the last fold, every feature is expressive. Repin had the greatest ability of an artist to penetrate into the very essence of psychological characteristics, continuing the traditions of Perov, Kramskoy, and Ge, he left images of famous writers, composers, and actors who glorified Russian culture. In each individual case, he found different compositional and coloristic solutions with which he could most expressively reveal the image of the person depicted in the portrait. How sharply the surgeon Pirogov squints. The mournfully beautiful eyes of the artist Strepetova (1882, Tretyakov Gallery) dart, and how the sharp, intelligent face of the artist Myasoedov, the thoughtful Tretyakov, is painted. He wrote “Protodeacon” (church minister 1877, Russian Russian Museum) with merciless truth. Written with warmth by the sick M.P. Mussorgsky (1881, Tretyakov Gallery), a few days before the composer’s death. The portraits of the young Gorky, the wise Stasov (1883, State Russian Museum) and others are heartfeltly executed. “Autumn Bouquet” (1892, Tretyakov Gallery) is a portrait of Vera’s daughter, how sunny the face of the artist’s daughter shines in the warm shadow of a straw hat. With great love, Repin conveyed a face that was attractive with its youth, cheerfulness, and health. The expanses of fields, still blooming, but touched by the yellowness of the grass, green trees, and the transparency of the air bring an invigorating mood to the work.

The portrait was not only the leading genre, but also the basis of Repin’s work in general. When working on large canvases, he systematically turned to portrait sketches to determine the appearance and characteristics of the characters. This is the Hunchback portrait associated with the painting “Religious procession in the Kursk province” (1880-1883, Tretyakov Gallery). From the hunchback, Repin persistently emphasized the prosaic nature, the squalor of the hunchback’s clothes and his entire appearance, the ordinariness of the figure more than its tragedy and loneliness.

The significance of Repin in the history of Russian Art is enormous. His portraits especially reflected his closeness to the great masters of the past. In portraits Repin achieved highest point its pictorial power.

Repin's portraits are surprisingly lyrically attractive. He creates poignant folk types, numerous perfect images of cultural figures, graceful social portraits(Baroness V.I. Ikskul von Hildebrandt, 1889). The images of the artist’s relatives are especially colorful and sincere: a whole series of paintings with Repin’s wife N.I. Nordman-Severova. His purely graphic portraits, executed in graphite pencil or charcoal, are also masterful (E. Duse, 1891; Princess M.K. Tenisheva, 1898; V.A. Serov, 1901). Repin also proved himself to be an outstanding teacher: he was a professor-head of the workshop (1894–1907) and rector (1898–1899) of the Academy of Arts, and at the same time taught at Tenisheva’s school-workshop.

After the October Revolution of 1917, the artist found himself separated from Russia, when Finland gained independence, he never moved to his homeland, although he maintained contacts with friends living there (in particular, with K.I. Chukovsky). Repin died on September 29, 1930. In 1937, Chukovsky published a collection of his memoirs and articles on art (Far Close), which was then republished several times.

3.6 Valentin Aleksandrovich Serov (1865-1911)

Born in St. Petersburg in the family of composer A.N. Serova. Since childhood, V.A. Serov was surrounded by art. The teacher was Repin. Serov worked near Repin from early childhood and very soon discovered talent and independence. Repin sends him to the Academy of Arts to P.P. Chistyakov. The young artist won respect, and his talent aroused admiration. Serov wrote “Girl with Peaches”. Serov's first major work. Despite its small size, the picture seems very simple. It is written in pink and gold tones. He received an award from the Moscow Society of Art Lovers for this painting. The next year, Serov painted a portrait of his sister Maria Simonovich and subsequently called it “Girl Illuminated by the Sun” (1888). The girl sits in the shade, and the rays of the morning sun illuminate the clearing in the background.

Serov became a fashionable portrait painter. They posed in front of him famous writers, aristocrats, artists, artists, entrepreneurs and even kings. In adulthood, Serov continued to write relatives and friends: Mamontov, Levitan, Ostroukhov, Chaliapin, Stanislavsky, Moskvin, Lensky. Serov carried out the orders of the crowned Alexander III and Nicholas II. The Emperor is depicted in a simple jacket of the Preobrazhensky Regiment; this painting (destroyed in 1917, but preserved in the author's replica of the same year; Tretyakov Gallery) is often considered the best portrait the last Romanov. The master painted both titled officials and businessmen. Serov worked on each portrait to the point of exhaustion, with complete dedication, as if the work he started was his last work. The impression of spontaneous, light artistry was enhanced in Serov’s images because he worked freely in a wide variety of techniques (watercolor, gouache, pastel) , reducing to a minimum or completely eliminating the difference between a sketch and a painting. An equal form of creativity was constantly with the master and black and white drawing(the intrinsic value of the latter has been entrenched in his work since 1895, when Serov performed a series of sketches of animals, working on illustrating I.A. Krylov’s fables).

At the turn of the 19th–20th centuries. Serov becomes perhaps the first portrait painter in Russia, if he is inferior to anyone in this regard, then only to Repin. It seems that he works best with intimate and lyrical images, women’s and children’s (N.Ya. Derviz with a child, 1888–1889; Mika Morozov, 1901; both portraits – Tretyakov Gallery) or images of creative people (A. Masini, 1890; K.A.Korovin, 1891; F.Tamagno, 1891; N.A.Leskov, 1894; all in the same place), where the colorful impression and free brushstroke reflect state of mind models. But even more official, secular portraits organically combine subtle artistry with the no less subtle gift of an artist-psychologist. Among the masterpieces of the “secular” Serov are Count F.F. Sumarokov-Elston (later Prince Yusupov), 1903, Russian Museum; G.L. Girshman, 1907; V.O.Girshman, 1911; I.A.Morozov, 1910; Princess O.K. Orlova, 1911; everything is there).

In the portraits of the master in these years, Art Nouveau completely dominated with its cult of a strong and flexible line, monumental, catchy gesture and pose (M. Gorky, 1904, A.M. Gorky Museum, Moscow; M.N. Ermolova, 1905; F.I. .Chaliapin, charcoal, chalk, 1905; both portraits - in the Tretyakov Gallery; Ida Rubinstein, tempera, charcoal, 1910, Russian Museum). Serov left a grateful memory of himself as a teacher (in 1897–1909 he taught at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, where his students included K.F. Yuon, N.N. Sapunov, P.V. Kuznetsov, M. S. Saryan, K. S. Petrov-Vodkin). Serov died in Moscow on November 22 (December 5), 1911.

chapter. The art of portraiture

Portrait is a significant and important genre in art. The word “portrait” itself goes back to the old French word “pourtrait”, which means: a picture of a feature; it also goes back to the Latin verb “protrahere” - that is, “to draw out”, “to discover”; later - “depict”, “portrait”. In Russian, the word “portrait” corresponds to the word “similar”.

In fine art, to which this term originally belongs, a portrait means an image of a specific person or group of people, in which the individual appearance of a person is conveyed and reproduced, his inner world, the essence of his character are revealed.

The image of a person is the main theme of painting. Studying it begins with studies of the head. All formal paintings are subordinated to the creation of an image, the transmission of a person’s psychological state. In painting, the depiction of a human head from life must correspond to our usual three-dimensional vision and understanding of the world around us.

The techniques of painting the head in the Russian academic school of the first half of the 19th century continue the tradition of sculpting the form with the help of strong and hot shadows. We can judge academic methods by considering the works of O. Kiprensky, K. Bryullov, A. Ivanov. Academic techniques cannot be considered the same for all artists, but what is common to the academy’s students is the discipline of form.

A portrait can be considered quite satisfactory when the intimate and personal traits of the depicted person are conveyed, when the original is reproduced exactly, with all the features of his appearance and internal individual character, in his most familiar pose, with his most characteristic expression. Satisfying this requirement is part of the scope of the tasks of art and can lead to highly artistic results if performed by gifted craftsmen who put their personal taste and sense of nature into the reproduction of reality.

Painting is, first of all, an image of form and volume. Therefore, the shape is often pre-worked out in one color with exactly all the details. Then the lights were painted cold, thick, textured; shadows are hot, transparent, using varnishes, oils, resins. All this applies to oil painting. Watercolors of that time were only tinted drawings, and tempera was used for church paintings, which were far from working from life.

Great importance in academic painting there was a sequence of work, a system. Glazes, dry and wet, gave the head its final shape, color, and expression. But probably some heads of K.P. Bryullov painted at once, while maintaining strict modeling, cold lights and hot shadows. The same hot shadows lie on the portraits of I. N. Kramskoy. Their redness is softened by the usually diffused museum light. But if a ray of sun falls on the portrait, you are amazed at the relative brightness of the red shadows.

The impressionists paid the greatest attention to the importance of warm and cold lights in the sculpting of a living head. Either the lights are cold and the shadows are warm, or vice versa. In each model, the conditions of the situation are selected based on the complexion and clothing of the general appearance. To create interesting lighting, screens are used - cardboard, canvas, paper. The screen can darken part of the background or clothing, which will make your face stand out better.

Preserving the preparatory sketch of M. A. Vrubel for the portrait of N. I. Zabela - Vrubel, where the boundaries of all color changes are drawn in pencil. The surface of the face is divided into very small areas, like a mosaic. If you fill each of them with the appropriate color, the portrait will be ready.

The portrait image reflects not only the model, but also the artist himself. Therefore, the author is recognized by his works. The same person looks completely different in portraits different artists. After all, each of them brings into the portrait his own attitude towards the model, towards the world, his own feelings and thoughts, his own way of seeing and feeling, his own mental make-up, his own worldview. The artist not only copies the model, not only reproduces her appearance - he communicates his impressions of her, conveys, expresses his idea of her.

belonged to the portrait genre great place in the system of academic education, since teachers of the early nineteenth century saw precisely in the depiction of a person the way of the artist’s direct appeal to nature.

As democratic tendencies develop and become established in Russian art in the process of solving common creative problems, there is a convergence of searches in different genres and especially in portraiture.

Working on a portrait brings the artist into close contact with representatives of various social strata modern society, and working from life significantly expands and deepens the understanding of the psychology of the embodied images in the picture. Portraiture is enriched with typical folk images. The psychological characteristics of the person depicted in the portrait, his moral and social understanding are deepened. In the portrait, one can especially feel the critical attitude towards life characteristic of the Wanderers, but also the search for a positive image, which manifests itself most forcefully in the images of representatives of the intelligentsia.

Russian art has a rich tradition of realistic portraiture dating back to the 18th century, which left a significant legacy. They developed fruitfully in the first half of the 19th century. In these eras, it was the portrait, relatively free from the power of the canons, that, in terms of the realistic completeness of its images, went ahead of both subject-historical and everyday painting, which was taking only its first steps in Russian art.

The best portrait painters of the 18th century and the first half of the 19th century convey to us the typical features of their contemporaries. But the tasks of typing while preserving the individual in human form These portraits came into conflict with the dominant classical concept, in which the typical was understood as abstract from the individual. In the Itinerant portrait, we encounter the opposite understanding of the typical: the deeper the penetration into a person’s individuality, the more specific and vividly his image is recreated, the more clearly they appear in his portrait common features, formed under the influence of certain living conditions.

Bibliography

1. Aleshina L.S. Russian art of the 19th – early 20th centuries – M., “Iskusstvo” 1972.

2. Benoit A. History of Russian painting in the 19th century - M., “Republic” 1999.

3. Gomberg - Verzhbitskaya E.P. The Peredvizhniki: a book about the masters of Russian realistic painting from Perov to Levitan - M., 1961.

4. Ilyina T.V. History of art. Domestic art - M., " graduate School", 2005.

5. The art of portraiture. Collection - M., 1928.

6. A brief dictionary of fine art terms.

7. Likhachev D.S. Russian art from antiquity to the avant-garde - M., “Iskusstvo”, 1992.

8. Matafonov S.M. Three centuries of Russian painting – Sib., “Kitezh” 1994.

9. Pushkin A.S. Complete works in one volume - M., 1938.

10. Roginskaya F.S. Peredvizhniki - M., 1997.

11. Shchulgin V.S., Koshman L.V., Zezina M.Z. Culture of Russia 9th – 20th centuries. uch. manual – M., “Prostor” 1996.

12. Yakovlev V.M. About the great Russian artists - M., “Publishing House of the Academy of Artists of the USSR” 1952.

Pushkin A.S. Complete works in one volume. M., 1983, P.9.

Shulgin V.S., Koshman L.V., Zezina M.Z., Culture of Russia 9th – 20th centuries. uch. manual – M. “Prostor”, 1996 P. 205

The art of portraiture. Collection. M., 1928 P.77.

A brief dictionary of fine art terms. M., 1959 P.126.

Gomberg – Verzhbitskaya E.P. The Peredvizhniki: a book about the masters of Russian realistic painting from Perov to Levitan - M., 1961. P. 44.

Introduction

I. Russian portrait painters of the first half of the 19th century

1.3 Alexey Gavrilovich Venetsianov (1780-1847)

1.4 Karl Pavlovich Bryullov (1799-1852)

II. Association of Traveling Art Exhibitions

Chapter III. Russian portrait painters of the second half of the 19th century

3.1 Nikolai Nikolaevich Ge (1831-1894)

3.2 Vasily Grigorievich Perov (1834-1882)

3.3 Nikolai Alexandrovich Yaroshenko (1846-1898)

3.4 Ivan Nikolaevich Kramskoy (1837-1887)

3.5 Ilya Efimovich Repin (1844-1930)

3.6 Valentin Aleksandrovich Serov (1865-1911)

Chapter IV. The art of portraiture

Conclusion

In this work we will look at the art of portraiture in the 19th century:

The greatest masters of Russian art of the 19th century.

Association of Traveling Art Exhibitions.

What is a portrait?

The history of the appearance of the portrait.

First half of the 19th century - the time of the formation of a system of genres in Russian painting. In painting of the second half of the 19th century. the realistic direction prevailed. The character of Russian realism was determined by the young painters who left the Academy of Arts in 1863, who rebelled against the classical style and historical and mythological themes that were being implanted at the academy. These artists organized in 1870

A traveling exhibition partnership whose mission was to provide members of the partnership with the opportunity to exhibit their work. Thanks to his activities, works of art became available to a wider circle of people. Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov (1832–1898) since 1856 collected works by Russian artists, mainly the Peredvizhniki, and in 1892 donated his collection of paintings along with the collection of his brother S.M. Tretyakov to Moscow. In the genre of portraits, the Wanderers created a gallery of images of outstanding cultural figures of their time: a portrait of Fyodor Dostoevsky (1872) by Vasily Perov (1833–1882), a portrait of Nikolai Nekrasov (1877–1878) by Ivan Kramskoy (1837–1887), a portrait of Modest Mussorgsky (1881) , made by Ilya Repin (1844–1930), a portrait of Leo Tolstoy (1884) by Nikolai Ge (1831–1894) and a number of others. Being in opposition to the Academy and its artistic policy, the Wanderers turned to the so-called. “low” topics; images of peasants and workers appear in their works.

I. Russian portrait painters of the first half XIX century.

1.1 Orest Adamovich Kiprensky (1782-1836)

The Russian artist, an outstanding master of Russian fine art of romanticism, is known as a wonderful portrait painter. Kiprensky's portraits are imbued with special cordiality, special simplicity, they are filled with his lofty and poetic love for man. In Kiprensky's portraits the features of his era are always noticeable. This is always invariably inherent in each of his portraits - and in the romantic image of young V.A. Zhukovsky, and the wise E.P. Rostopchin (1809), portraits: D.N. Khvostov (1814 Tretyakov Gallery), the boy Chelishchev (1809 Tretyakov Gallery), E.V. Davydov (1809 State Russian Museum).

Kiprensky's portraits appear before us as complex, thoughtful, and changeable in mood. Discovering various facets of human character and the spiritual world of man, Kiprensky each time used different painting possibilities in his early romantic portraits. His masterpieces, such as one of the best lifetime portraits of Pushkin (1827 Tretyakov Gallery), a portrait of Avdulina (1822 State Russian Museum). The sadness and thoughtfulness of Kiprensky’s characters is sublime and lyrical.

"Favorite of light-winged fashion,

Although not British, not French,

You created again, dear wizard,

Me, the pet of pure muses. –

And I laugh at my grave

Left forever from mortal bonds.

I see myself as in a mirror,

But this mirror flatters me.

It says that I will not humiliate

The passions of important aonides.

From now on my appearance will be known, -

Pushkin wrote to Kiprensky in gratitude for his portrait. Pushkin treasured his portrait and this portrait hung in his office.

1.2 Vasily Andreevich Tropinin (1776-1857)

An artist from serfs, who with his creativity brought a lot of new things into Russian painting of the first half of the 19th century. He received the title of academician and became the most famous artist of the Moscow portrait school of the 20-30s. Later, the color of Tropinin’s painting becomes more interesting, the volumes are usually sculpted more clearly and sculpturally, but most importantly, the purely romantic feeling of the moving element of life insinuatingly grows, Tropinin is the creator of a special type of portrait - a painting. Portraits that introduce features of the genre, images with a specific plot: “Lacemaker”, “Spinner”, “Guitar Player”, “Gold Seamstress”.

Tropinin's early works are restrained in color and classically static in composition (family portraits of the Morkovs, 1813 and 1815; both works are in the Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow). During this period, the master also created expressive local, Little Russian image-types of the Ukrainian, (1810s, Russian Museum, St. Petersburg). Bulakov, 1823; K.G.Ravich, 1823; both portraits in the Tretyakov Gallery).

Over the years, the role of the spiritual atmosphere - expressed by the background, significant details - only increases. The best example is Self-Portrait with Brushes and Palette 1846, where the artist presented himself against the backdrop of a window with a spectacular view of the Kremlin. Tropinin dedicated a number of works to fellow artists depicted at work or in contemplation (I.P. Vitali, ca. 1833; K.P. Bryullov, 1836; both portraits in the Tretyakov Gallery; etc.). At the same time, Tropinin’s style is invariably characterized by a specifically intimate, homely flavor. In the popular Woman in the Window (based on M.Yu. Lermontov's poem Treasurer, 1841), this laid-back sincerity takes on an erotic flavor. The master's later works (Servant with Damask Counting Money, 1850s, ibid.) indicate the decline of coloristic mastery, anticipating, however, the keen interest in dramatic everyday life characteristic of the Wanderers. An important area of Tropinin’s creativity is also his sharp pencil sketches. Tropinin died in Moscow on May 3 (15), 1857.

The 19th century left indelible marks on all forms of art. This is a time of changing social norms and requirements, colossal progress in architecture, construction and industry. Reforms and revolutions are being actively carried out in Europe, banking and government organizations are being created, and all these changes directly affected artists. Foreign artists of the 19th century took painting to a new, more modern level, gradually introducing such trends as impressionism and romanticism, which had to go through many tests before becoming recognized by society. Artists of past centuries were in no hurry to endow their characters with violent emotions, but depicted them as more or less restrained. But impressionism had in its features an unbridled and bold fantasy world, which was vividly combined with romantic mystery. In the 19th century, artists began to think outside the box, completely rejecting accepted patterns, and this fortitude is conveyed in the mood of their works. During this period, many artists worked, whose names we still consider great and their works inimitable.

France

Pierre Auguste Renoir. Renoir achieved success and recognition through great perseverance and work, which other artists could envy. He created new masterpieces until his death, despite the fact that he was very ill, and every stroke of his brush brought him suffering. Collectors and museum representatives are still chasing his works to this day, since the work of this great artist is an invaluable gift to humanity.

Paul Cezanne. Being an extraordinary and original person, Paul Cezanne went through hellish tests. But amid persecution and cruel ridicule, he worked tirelessly to develop his talent. His magnificent works have several genres - portraits, landscapes, still lifes, which can safely be considered fundamental sources initial development post-impressionism.

Eugene Delacroix. A bold search for something new and a passionate interest in modernity were characteristic of the works of the great artist. He mainly loved to depict battles and fights, but even in portraits the incompatible is combined - beauty and struggle. Delacroix's romanticism stems from his equally extraordinary personality, which simultaneously fights for freedom and shines with spiritual beauty.

Spain

The Iberian Peninsula also gave us many famous names, including:

Netherlands

Vincent Van Gogh is one of the most prominent Dutchmen. As everyone knows, Van Gogh suffered from severe mental illness, but this did not affect his inner genius. Executed in unusual technique, his paintings became popular only after the artist's death. The most famous: " Starlight Night", "Irises", "Sunflowers" are included in the list of the most expensive works art all over the world, although Van Gogh did not have any special art education.

Norway

Edvard Munch is a native of Norway, famous for his painting. The work of Edvard Munch is sharply distinguished by melancholicity and a certain recklessness. Death of mother and sister even in childhood, dysfunctional relationships with ladies greatly influenced the artist’s painting style. For example, everyone famous work“Scream” and the equally popular “Sick Girl” carry pain, suffering and oppression.

USA

Kent Rockwell is one of the famous American landscape painters. His works combine realism and romanticism, which very accurately conveys the mood of the person depicted. You can look at his landscapes for hours and interpret the symbols differently each time. Few artists have been able to depict winter nature in such a way that people looking at it truly feel the cold. Color saturation and contrast are Rockwell’s recognizable style.

The 19th century is rich in brilliant creators who made enormous contributions to art. Foreign artists of the 19th century opened the doors to several new movements, such as post-impressionism and romanticism, which, in fact, turned out to be a difficult task. Most of them tirelessly proved to society that their creativity has the right to exist, but many succeeded, unfortunately, only after death. Their unbridled character, courage and readiness to fight are combined with exceptional talent and ease of perception, which gives them every right to occupy a significant and significant cell.

Painted directly from nature, in live communication with the model, through direct study and observation, a portrait is the basis of realistic art. The development of realism begins with the portrait. In Russia, the portrait appeared later than in Europe. It was only at the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries that the Russian portrait finally took shape as an independent genre.

Russian portraiture developed surprisingly quickly - from the parsuns of the late 17th century to the portraits of Rokotov, Shubin, Levitsky, Borovikovsky in the 18th century, which can rightfully be placed on a par with the best examples of contemporary European portrait art. This unusually fast and fruitful development is explained to a large extent by the fact that Russian artists knew Western masters well, learned from them, never blindly imitating them, preserving their national identity.

Humanism, special attention to people and warmth constitute one of the main features of Russian portrait art. Russian enlightenment, which developed a high idea of value human personality, had a great and fruitful influence on portrait art. It developed successfully in the first half of the 19th century, reaching its peak in Bryullov’s portraits, striking with the emotionality of the images and the beauty of the plastic form.

The second half of the 19th century was the heyday of Russian realistic portrait art. It clearly reflects a new idea of the value of the human person, whose activities and creative power are aimed at serving the people. At this time, the range of models changed dramatically - portraits of leading figures of national culture predominated. Artists have always very objectively assessed a person, his social significance and place in the life of Russian society. But the stamp of the historical era and the clear lines of nationality did not drown out the brightness of individual characteristics. The realistic portrait art of democratic artists resolutely opposed the emasculated, flattering salon portraits of academic and court painters.

In the 19th century, no country in Europe had such a brilliant constellation of portrait artists as Russia, where such masters as N. Ge, V. Perov, I. Kramskoy, N. Yaroshenko, I. Repin worked almost simultaneously. The names of V. Vasnetsov and V. Surikov should deservedly be added to them. These artists are the main creators and creators of not only the brightest portrait characteristics outstanding Russian people, but also typical representatives of the people themselves. It was they, and above all in the portrait, who understood the beauty and spiritual value of the Russian person. Russian art has always had a common, main basis of its existence. And this basis is high humanism, nationalism, permeating Russian historical and genre painting and clearly manifested in the portrait. The Russian portrait impresses with its emotional power, its ability to deeply express the inner world of a person in all its completeness and significance.

The trend of truthful, direct reflection in painting modern life with its social contrasts, interest and desire to express a deep inner world human soul, to reveal ethical values with the inhumanity of the bourgeois social order - all this acquired a fundamental character in the work of artists of the democratic Russian school of the second half of the 19th century.

Second half XIX century in Russian painting was a time of brilliant flowering of democratic realism. The decisive change that came in literature and art in the 40-60s of the 19th century consisted, first of all, in the fact that Russian writers, poets, musicians and artists turned to the people, their thoughts and aspirations. The life of the people became the main content of their works. The consequence of this was the widespread and intensive development of genre painting with its specific subjects from the life of the city and countryside. Most genre artists also practiced portraiture.

Never before has such a significant number of portraits of outstanding progressive figures of the era appeared in painting, and in each of these portraits one can see not only a vivid expression of the individual appearance of a writer or scientist, musician or artist, but the stamp of a historical era and clear features of nationality. These are undoubtedly Russian people. And in portraits ordinary people artists noted the most valuable and vibrant aspects of the national character.

The main type of portraiture became the easel portrait, but mostly semi-figured: the structure and position of the hands, even those not gesturing, always enhances the characteristics of the model. At this time, official ceremonial portraits, so often encountered in the 18th and first half of the 19th centuries, almost completely disappeared, as well as paired marital portraits (which opened up the possibility of an expressive contrast of characters). Now the artist's attention focused only on one individual. In addition, during the entire second half of the century, not a single group portrait was created, with the exception of a few family portraits.

Russian artists, representatives of democratic culture, sought to capture in a picturesque image a reliable portrait of their contemporary, distinguished by a convincing similarity.

The number of portraits of socially significant personalities clearly prevails. Here it is appropriate to note the activities of P.M. Tretyakov, who, having started collecting a collection of portraits of Russian cultural figures, assumed that this collection should be part of the national gallery he had planned.

By the end of the 70s, the Tretyakov Gallery, which was constantly replenished, had almost all the best that had been created and was being created again at that time by Russian realistic art.

The second half of the 19th century was the heyday of Russian democratic art, opposing the reactionary art of the ruling classes. Russian painting, which is an important part of culture, has acquired a definitely democratic character.

It is completely natural for democratic artists to turn to portraiture. In the era of the 60-90s, the portrait acquired unprecedented significance. Advanced artists, like other progressive figures of that era, understood the full significance and value of the human personality, whose activities and creative power are aimed at serving the people.

A portrait in its essence is not a simple image of a person, and fundamentally involves not only the transfer of the external, but also the transfer of the internal, the expression of the properties, essence, soul of a person, and not just the image of his appearance, his external manifestations.

It was only at the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries that the Russian portrait finally took shape as an independent genre. Further, having gone a long way from a sign of social superiority, it successfully developed in the first half of the 19th century, reaching its peak in portraits of the second half of the 19th century, striking with the emotionality of the images and the beauty of the plastic form. Humanism, special attention to people is one of the main features of Russian portrait art. Thanks to these qualities, which recognize the value of the individual, the portrait receives particularly wide development in Russian art.

“You can only trust those portraits
In which the model is almost invisible,
But the Artist is very clearly visible.”
Oscar Wilde.
The first half of the 19th century in the life of Russian society was dramatic at first, but also romantic later. The events of the War of 1812, the defeat of the Russian army and the seizure of territories by Napoleon at the beginning of the century, the victorious march across Europe and the surge national identity became the basis for the subsequent emergence and development of interest in knowing a particular person at important moments in his life, in his inner world and experiences. A little earlier, these trends appeared in Europe and gave rise to artromanticism,which in Russia acquired its own peculiarity: at the beginning of the century it was heroic, associated with interest in national culture and history, to domestic talents. And this led to outstanding achievements in portraiture, which directly connected the artist with society and with outstanding contemporaries.
One of the most famous portrait artists of the time wasOrest Kiprensky (1782-1836) , in the art of which even one periodreflected both the features of classicism and romanticism.

Kiprensky lived a stormy life, in which he had everything: illegitimacy from a serf mother, an invented surname, studying from the age of 6 at a school at the Academy of Arts under the leadership of Levitsky, charges of fraud when a 22-year-old artist presented a portrait of his adoptive father in Italy (there they initially considered this work of an unknown masterpiece by Rubens or Rembrandt).

He was extraordinarily handsome and mad in passion, had a frenzied temperament and impressionability, and experienced a rise in fame in Italy and Russia (where he was called the “Russian Van Dyck”). And then everything went downhill: rumors about the murder of his model, the adoption of Catholicism and an unnecessary marriage, drunkenness, poverty and death far from the homeland.

His tombstone in Rome reads: “In memory of Orest Kiprensky, the most famous among Russian artists.” (You can read more about his biography here:http://art19.info/kiprenskiy/biography.html )
Another outstanding painter of that time,Alexey Venetsianov (1780-1847) The main place in the work was occupied by the depiction of the work and life of peasants, somewhat idealized and smoothed out.

Venetsianov began his journey in art with drawing lessons given to him by his “uncle” (tutor), a capable draftsman. At that time, as we remember, the main genre was the portrait, and the young self-taught man, having painted a portrait of his mother, decided to devote himself to painting, went to St. Petersburg and worked as a draftsman in the postal department.

A happy accident made him a student of Borovikovsky, he gradually gained some fame and was able to devote himself entirely to painting. Soon after his marriage, Venetsianov bought a small estate and completely immersed himself in a new direction for Russian painting - portraits and genre scenes from peasant life. At the same time, he discovered a second calling in himself - to teach capable peasant children painting, and he even bought some who were serfs himself. He raised more than 70 capable students in his “Venetsianov School”.

“Venetsianov’s early poetic realism, which became a much-needed stage in the development of Russian painting, also colored his portrait work, thereby enriching the entire Russian portrait of this period.”
(http://www.artprojekt.ru/gallery/russian/60.html ) The last years of his life were difficult: his wife died of cholera, there were not enough funds, his daughters could not get married, many students betrayed his ideals and painted implausible happy scenes of peasant life and embellished portraits. The artist died in an absurd and terrible way: the horses in the cart ran away, and his hands got entangled in the reins, and for several kilometers his body, thrown out of the cart, rushed after it over the stones. (A detailed biography of the artist can be read here:http://art19.info/venetsianov/biography.html )
Another outstanding artist of the first half of the 19th centuryAlexandra Ivanova (1806-1858)

the portrait, as a rule, was not the main thing in the work; it was an auxiliary sketch for creating a historical or historical-religious large canvas. Do you remember a whole room of portraits of various sizes and sketches in the Tretyakov Gallery, written by the artist for the main painting of his life - “The Appearance of Christ to the People”? Some art critics believe that the sketches outweighed the value of the painting itself, which turned out to be huge (5.4 m x 7.5 m), inspiring respect, painted over 20 years, but not touching the soul, in my opinion. But each sketch for it can be considered a complete painting, look at this head, it’s a portrait of Gogol, only with a beard and long curly hair.

From the age of 25 until almost the end of his life, the artist lived in Italy, practically in poverty and sometimes even starving, without starting a family, although he had great love for the beautiful Italian Vittoria Caldoni, who preferred his friend, the artist Lapchenko. (This is interestingly written about here:http://nearyou.ru/ivanov/0vittoria.html .

He had no luck with women. For about eight years he lived with some Teresa (there is a mention of her in his correspondence), she always made scenes for him and stole from him more than once. There was another woman with whom he was in love, Countess Apraksina, but she was given in marriage to someone else. Returning to Russia, Ivanov becomes infected with cholera a month later and dies.
A special place in portraiture is occupied by the work of another Russian artist, who often introduced genre details into his portrait paintings. This is aboutPavle Fedotov (1815-1852) ,

career military, guards captain, who left the service and devoted himself to art on the orders of NicholasI, who learned about the great abilities of the “drawing officer.” And he began to draw as a battle painter; he was attracted to scenes of large-scale battles, as well as caricatures and caricatures of his comrades in the cadet corps. Leave military service Fedotov had been preparing even before the tsar’s order; the fabulist Krylov, who saw his work and advised him to “expose the badness of Russian life and thereby contribute to its improvement,” called him to this. You all know his famous genre scenes, which enjoyed great interest from the viewer, but in portraits he showed himself to be an extraordinary artist, observant and frank.

Sometimes he could walk half the city behind some type he liked in order to better see him in motion, and then portray him in one of his planned scenes. He lived very modestly with his orderly, sometimes he even lived in poverty, but he helped his family - his father and sisters.

The end of his short life was terrible - he died in a mental hospital, in the department for the violently insane from pleurisy, only his faithful orderly buried him, his friends were not even notified. (A detailed biography can be found here:http://art19.info/fedotov/biography.html ).
A brilliant painter, a magnificent portrait painter, a talented monumentalist, an excellent watercolorist, a classicist and a romantic - all these epithets are not an exaggeration when we talk aboutthis artist.

God himself ordered him to become an artist, deigning to be born into the family of an artist and teacher at the Academy of Arts of St. Petersburg, Pavel Brullo. Already at the age of 10, he entered the Academy and surprised teachers with his talent and technique, ease of writing and efficiency. In 1822, adding a “v” to his last name, Bryullov and his brother went on a tour of Europe on behalf of the Society for the Encouragement of Artists. His works, written in Italy, were a great success and received the praise of Nicholas himself I . He writes on orders a large number of portraits using a variety of artistic techniques and styles from Baroque to Realism, introducing household details and furnishings.

Returning to his homeland as a well-known artist, he becomes in demand in high society a portrait painter, many nobles, politicians, and writers consider it an honor to have their own portrait painted by Bryullov.

In 1847, after a severe cold, Bryullov’s rheumatism worsened and his work had worsened since he had a heart condition since childhood; at the insistence of doctors, he spent seven months in bed, but continued to work.

At the request of the same doctors, in 1849 Bryullov moved to the island of Madeira, then to a small place near Rome, painted several portraits, but this was already difficult for him, and in 1852 the artist died, leaving many unfinished works and sketches in the studio. (You can read the full biography here: (http://art19.info/brullov/biography.html ).
We gradually approached the middle of the 19th century, when in Russian art in general, and in painting in particular, big changes associated with changes in the situation in the country and mood in society. “National realistic art was born, whose task was to reflect the life of society and the people...” (http://art19.info/russkaja-zhivopis/articles.html). Although I do not like such definitions, since I consider them far-fetched, I am of the opinion that painting (and art in general) is not obliged to “set itself the task” of reflecting anything, but this is not the place for this conversation.
One of the first Russian artists who felt and managed to convey society’s need for change, called it to insight, drew its attention to the life of the people, “exposing,” as critics put it, injustice and oppression, wasVasily Perov (1834-1882) .

His surname was at first a nickname given to him by a grammar teacher for his good “skill with a pen,” which later became the only one. He was the illegitimate son of Baron Kridener, who raised him in his family. Perov is mainly known for his genre paintings, some of which are clearly revealing (for example, “Troika,” familiar to many from the Soviet textbook “Native Speech”), but we are interested in portraits, many of which are considered masterpieces of the genre.

“This portrait is not only the best portrait of Perov, but also one of the best portraits of the Russian school in general. Everything is in it strengths The artist is evident: character, power of expression, enormous relief.” This is how Ivan Kramskoy described this work. Perov paints a whole series of portraits of Russian writers and musicians, among them magnificent portraits of Turgenev, Rubinstein, Ostrovsky.

The artist Nesterov said wonderfully about his portraits of that period: “...Expressed with such old-fashioned colors and simple designs, Perov’s portraits will live for a long time and will not go out of fashion just like the portraits of Luke Cranach and ancient sculptural portraits.”
Creation recent years His short life is considered not very successful, and his life itself was tragic: the death of his wife, the loss of two older children, and contracting consumption. The long, severe and incurable illness at that time was aggravated by typhoid and pneumonia, the artist died at the age of 48 and was buried in the Donskoy Monastery cemetery. (More details here:http://www.art-portrets.ru/vasiliy-perov.html )
One of the most brilliant artists of that time, who tried his hand at both everyday and historical genres, but became famous mainly thanks to portraits of his contemporaries, wasIvan Kramskoy (1837-1887).

His whole life is a complete contradiction: he was an academician and at the same time a fighter against academicism, was an ardent admirer of Chernyshevsky, but painted portraits of members of the royal family. Having become famous for his virtuoso painting of portraits, the artist, however, considered this type of painting to be a burden, a duty, “not real art”, which makes it possible to support his family, but distracts him from what he would like to do - “searching for a goal.” human existence and solving socio-political problems through painting.”

And we, descendants, were lucky that in order to maintain the standard of living of the family, the artist had to accept orders for a large number of portraits, thanks to which we have the opportunity to see the faces of many outstanding people of that time.

Kramskoy met his future wife when he was 22 years old; she was the kept woman of a little-known artist, and when he went abroad, she became Kramskoy’s wife, bore him 6 children, two of whom survived, and was his assistant and support not only in everyday life, but also in the activities of the “Artel of Artists” led by her husband.

The last years of the artist’s life were overshadowed by the endless pursuit of income, forced, boring work on portraits to order, the impossibility of the desire to devote himself to other subjects, poor health and heartaches, which he tried to suppress with morphine. He died before he was 50 years old while working on another the last portrait(Doctor Rauchfus) from a ruptured aortic aneurysm, it was impossible to help him.
And about another painter of French origin and an unusual zigzag fate,Nicolae Ge (Gay) (1831-1894) ,

who began his work with gospel scenes, first became famous for his paintings historical topics, who, together with Myasoedov, took an active part in the creation of the Association of Traveling Exhibitions, went into the wilderness to do farming, became friends with Leo Tolstoy and left us portraits of many of his great contemporaries. Interesting biographical fact: Ge met Herzen in Italy,

painted his magnificent portrait, and was able to deliver it to Russia only under the guise of the prophet Moses, since Herzen lived in exile and the portrait of “this rebel” could be destroyed by the gendarmes at the border. Since the 1880s, Ge has become not only a follower of Leo Tolstoy, but also his friend,

is experiencing a spiritual renaissance, declares that one must live only by honest work, and “art cannot be traded.” At the end of his life the artist was occupied with the theme last days Christ. He said: “I will shake all their brains with the suffering of Christ.” But his new style, which anticipated the advent of expressionism, was not accepted by the public and critics. His sudden death at the age of 63 interrupted his search for new means of expression; his contemporaries did not understand what a “grand breakthrough the artist had made.”19th century to the painful aesthetics of the next century." (Anna Yesterday.