Russian portrait painters
The visual arts were slowly developing in Russia. The
18th and early 19th centuries did not produce any great
Russian painters, with the exception of the portraitists
Rokotov (17357-1801), Levitsky (1735-1822) and
Borovikovsky (1757-1825). They asserted the significance
of human personality with the complex
spiritual world.
Fyodor Rokotov is considered to be the portraitist of
man's alter ego. He used colour to provide his images
with unique feelings. Rokotov tried to render the
richness of the spiritual life of his models. He endowed
them with the nobility of the human countenance and
form. His portraits of Alexandra Struiskaya (1772), and
Prince Baryatinsky, of the early 1780s, are examples of
this.
Dmitry Levitsky's portraits are full of life and
emotion. The rich beauty of his bright paintings have
much in common with Gavriil Derzhavin's poetry. They are
united by optimistic perception of life, and admiration
for the variety of its forms. Levitsky befriended with
the most outstanding personalities of his day. He was
Nikolay Novikov's "dear friend". He was close to the
famous circle of Derzhavin. At that time Levitsky
created his best portraits, among them is the portrait
of Countess Ursula Mniszek, of 1782. The painter managed
to render the shimmer of light over the satin fabrics,
powdered hair, extremely delicate lace and the beautiful
face. Exquisite white and blue tones create an elegant
image of the society beauty.
Vladimir Borovikovsky, the last of the great Russian
portraitists of that epoch, entered the upper cultural
circles of Russia as well. His favourite genre was
portrait with its harmony and contour rhythm.
Borovikovsky's work coincided with the development of
Sentimentalism in Russian culture. Fascinated with the
idea of the ideal delicate female soul, Borovikovsky
endowed his figures with his own ideals and created
romantic images. The portrait of Princesses Gagarin, of
1802, is one of his best-known works. In his remarkable
works of art Borovikovsky envisioned the romantic ill
painting of the nineteenth century.
Literature: Book "Russian art" A.P. Minyar-Belorucheva |
