Russian art culture the origins of which began with classicism, which acquired a powerful folk sound, like high classicism, which was reflected in the painting of the 19th century, gradually moved from romanticism to realism in Russian fine arts. The contemporaries of that time especially appreciated the direction of Russian artists, in which the historical genre prevailed with an emphasis on national themes.

But at the same time, there were no particular changes in the art of the historical direction compared to the masters of the second half of the 18th century and from the very beginning of the history of Russian portraiture. Often in their works, many masters dedicated to true heroes ancient Russia whose exploits inspired the writing of historical canvases. Russian painters of that time approved their own principle of describing a portrait, paintings, having developed their own directions in depicting a person, nature, indicating a completely independent figurative concept.

Russian artists in their paintings reflected various ideals of national upsurge, gradually abandoning the strict principles of classicism imposed by academic principles. The 19th century was marked by the high flourishing of Russian painting, in which the painters of Russia left an indelible mark on the history of Russian art for posterity. visual arts imbued with the spirit of a comprehensive reflection of the life of the people.

The largest researchers of Russian painting of the 19th century as a whole note an outstanding role in the high flowering of the work of the great Russian masters and fine arts. Unique works created by domestic masters have always enriched Russian culture.

Famous artists of the 19th century

(1782-1836) Superbly and subtly painted portraits of Kiprensky brought him fame and true recognition among his contemporaries. His works Self-portrait, A. R. Tomilova, I. V. Kusova, A. I. Korsakov 1808 Portrait of a boy Chelishchev, Golitsina A. M. 1809 Portrait of Denis Davydov, 1819 Girl with a wreath of poppies, the most successful 1827 portrait of A. S. Pushkin and others. His portraits reflect the beauty of excitement, sophisticated inner world images and states of mind. Contemporaries compared his work with the genres of lyric poetry, poetic dedication to friends. (1791-1830) Master of Russian landscape romanticism and lyrical comprehension of nature. In more than forty of his paintings, Shchedrin depicted views of the Sorento. Among them are paintings of the Sorrento neighborhood. Evening, New Rome "Castle of the Holy Angel", the Mergellina Embankment in Naples, the Grand Harbor on the island of Capri, etc.

Completely surrendering to the romance of the landscape and the natural environment of perception, Shchedrin, as it were, replenishes with his paintings, the fallen interest of his fellow tribesmen of that time in the landscape. Shchedrin knew the dawn of his creativity and recognition.

(1776-1857) A remarkable Russian portrait painter, a native of serfs. His famous painting works: The Lacemaker, also Portrait of Pushkin A.S., engraver E.O. Skotnikova, An old man - a beggar, characterized by a light color Portrait of a son, 1826 Spinner, Goldsmith, these works especially attracted the attention of contemporaries. 1846 Tropinin developed his own figurative style of portraiture, characterizing a specific Moscow genre of painting. At that time, Tropinin became the central figure of the Moscow beau monde.

(1780-1847) The founder of the peasant everyday genre, His famous portrait of the Reaper, painting > Reapers, Girl in a headscarf, Spring on arable land, Peasant woman with cornflowers, Zakharka and others. It can be especially emphasized about the painting Gumno, which attracted the attention of Emperor Alexander 1, he was touched by the vivid images of the peasants, truthfully conveyed by the author. He loved ordinary people, finding a certain lyric in this, this was reflected in his paintings showing the difficult peasant life. his best works were created in the 20s. (1799-1852) Master of Historical Paintings, The Last Day of Pompeii in a flurry of doomed inhabitants flee from the fury of Mount Vesuvius. The picture made a stunning impression on his contemporaries. He masterfully writes secular paintings, using the Horsewoman and portraits in bright coloristic moments in the composition of the picture, Countess Yu. P. Samoilova. His paintings and portraits are composed of contrasts of light and shadow. . Under the influence of traditional academic classicism, Karl Bryullov endowed his paintings with historical authenticity, romantic spirit and psychological truth. (1806-1858) Magnificent master historical genre. For about two decades, Ivanov worked on his main picture The appearance of Christ to the people, emphasizing their passionate desire to depict the coming to earth of Jesus Christ. At the initial stage, these are the paintings of Apollo, Hyacinth and Cypress 1831-1833, the Appearance of Christ to Mary Magdalene after the resurrection of 1835. During his short life, Ivanov created many works, for each painting he paints many sketches of landscapes, portraits. Ivanov, a man of extraordinary intelligence, always sought to show in his works the elements of popular movements. (1815-1852) Master of the satirical direction, who laid the foundation for critical realism in the domestic genre. The Fresh Cavalier 1847 and The Picky Bride 1847,

Russian portrait has its own history of development and its wonderful portrait painters.

In general terms, we will talk about how the portrait genre developed in Russia. In general - because this topic is immense for one article.

History of the Russian portrait

In the Middle Ages, the Russian portrait differed from the understanding of this genre at a later time: the individual features of a particular person were almost not reflected in his image. In a medieval portrait, it was a timeless image. Individuality was manifested only in the image of his social position, or rather, the ideal that corresponded to representatives of a certain level in the feudal hierarchy. Naturally, only noble people, church leaders and other dignitaries of their time were depicted in the portraits.

Miniature from the "Izbornik Svyatoslav" in 1073 "Svyatoslav with his family." Svyatoslav is on the far right. Svyatoslav is the third son of Yaroslav the Wise and Ingegerda of Sweden.

And here is a group portrait of the "Daughter of Yaroslav the Wise." Here we see some individualization of images, although it is not the main criterion in this portrait, it was more important for the artist to show the princely dignity of the girls.
Some iconographic images of Dionysius are distinguished by features of individual characteristics. For example, the icon of Joseph Volotsky.

Dionysius. Icon of Joseph Volotsky

Dionysius (c. 1440-1502) is a famous Moscow icon painter, a successor to the traditions of Andrei Rublev.
In the XVI century. in Russia, a secular portrait is being born. The Stoglavy Cathedral of 1551 legalized the possibility of writing kings, princes and people on icons, a little later it was allowed to write parables on icons along with ordinary plots - this made it possible to insert everyday motifs into icons. Then, by decision of the Stoglavy Cathedral, in the lower row of icons (lower) could appear kings, and princes, and saints, and peoples who are alive in existence.
And Ivan the Terrible himself demanded to be displayed in art historical events and their deeds. Under him, the royal workshop chamber was created, which in the 17th century. became the basis of the school of royal iconographers of the Armory.
In the Russian kingdom of that period, the portrait genre was called "parsuna" - a distorted transcription of the Latin word "persona" - "personality", "person". Parsons of the 17th century, with rare exceptions, do not have the signatures of the authors and indicate the time of writing. And although the portrait resemblance in the parsun is transmitted rather conditionally, and the signature helps to determine the identity of the depicted person, but, nevertheless, this was already a step towards further development Russian pictorial portrait.

Parsuna of the 17th century "Portrait of Tsarevich Peter Alekseevich". Russia, late 17th-early 18th centuries. Unknown artist. Canvas, oil.
By the 16th century include lifetime images of Ivan the Terrible and many other historical figures of that time.

Parsuna of Ivan the Terrible
In the 17th century the portrait genre continues to develop, the icon-painting face is increasingly beginning to approach the individual face, the artists depict not only kings, but also boyars, stolniks, merchants. It is especially important that the similarity with the model becomes mandatory. The innovators in the field of creating a realistic portrait image were the artists of the Armory Iosif Vladimirov and Simon Ushakov. Vladimirov creates an image the way he sees it in life. Their work is close to realism. Ushakov worked a lot on the image of a human face. He created new iconic images with anatomically correct, three-dimensionally modeled faces, a real rendering of the shape of the eyes and the brilliance of the pupils. But these were only separate steps towards a realistic portrait.
18th century made his achievements in the portrait genre: artists introduce a direct perspective, depth and three-dimensionality of the image on the plane; comprehend the relationship of light and color, the role of light as a means of constructing volume and space.
The central theme of the art of the Petrine era is the person, and the main genre is the portrait. At this time, the transition from the parsuna to the portrait was made. By the middle of the XVIII century. original and talented portrait painters have already appeared. The native school of portraiture was represented by artists Ivan Nikitin, Andrey Matveev, Ivan Vishnyakov, Alexei Antropov, Ivan Argunov. Let's look at the work of at least one of them.

Ivan Petrovich Argunov (1729-1802)

I.P. Argunov was a serf of the Sheremetevs. Studied portraiture with his cousin Fedor Leontievich Argunov, as well as from foreign masters. Under the guidance of his teacher Georg Christopher Groot, he created icons for the church of the Catherine Palace in Tsarskoe Selo.

I. Argunov "Self-portrait"
He is the author of excellent ceremonial and chamber portraits. Fame Argunov brought portraits of St. Petersburg nobility, for example, P. B. Sheremetev. In 1762, Argunov received an order to create a portrait of Empress Catherine II.

I. Argunov "Portrait of Catherine II" (1762)
The portrait was painted in the tradition of a formal portrait. The Empress is depicted in an emphatically theatrical pose, her gaze directed at the viewer from top to bottom. Details are carefully written out: a fragment of a column, luxurious draperies, gilded furniture details, regalia.
A special place in the work of I. Argunov is occupied by portraits of children and youth. One of the artist's most famous portraits is "Portrait of an Unknown Peasant Woman in Russian Costume".

I. Argunov "Portrait of an unknown peasant woman in a Russian costume" (1784)
In this portrait, he managed to show the natural beauty and dignity of a person, regardless of his class affiliation. Soft facial features, a friendly smile and a calm pose - all this emphasizes the modesty, openness and kindness of a woman from the people.
It should not be forgotten that foreign artists also worked in Russia during the time of Peter the Great, who also contributed to the development of the portrait genre. Thanks to them, this genre began to develop in a new quality. To designate Western European artists who worked in Russia, there is a special term - "Russian". Some of the names are: Georg Christopher Groot, John Wedekind, Louis Caravaque, Alexander Roslin, Pietro Rotary, Stefano Torelli and many others.

L. Caravak "Portrait of princesses Anna Petrovna and Elizaveta Petrovna"
In the works of the portrait genre, composition, color, style are developed.

I.G. Tannauer "Portrait of Peter I"
The next new step in the portrait genre was made by the artists of the 18th century. F. Rokotov, D. Levitsky, V. Borovikovsky. Read about them. By the end of the XVIII century. Russian portrait in its high level of quality caught up with contemporary world samples. Levitsky and Rokotov are moving from a formal portrait to a chamber one. Their portraits are characterized by delicacy, thoughtfulness, restrained attentiveness.
In the genre of official portrait at the end of the 18th century. S. Shchukin (1762-1828), a student of D. Levitsky, was considered an indisputable authority. The well-known portrait painters Vasily Tropinin and Alexander Varnek were the students of S. Schukin himself.

S. Schukin "Paul I in the Maltese crown" (1799). Hermitage, Petersburg
For this portrait, S. Shchukin was awarded the title of academician.
By the end of the XVIII century. Russian portrait art began to develop in accordance with the pan-European stylistic trends of baroque, rococo, classicism, and sentimentalism.

The heyday of Russian portraiture

With the advent of the era of romanticism in early XIX in. the portrait genre received a new development. The most famous masters of this period were Orest Kiprensky, V. Tropinin, K. Bryullov, Alexander Varnek.

Alexander Grigorievich Varnek (1782-1843)

A. Varnek "Self-portrait"
A graduate and later a teacher at the Academy of Arts, a master of portraiture. The main theme of his work were portraits. They note his ability to grasp the similarity, choose the lighting, depict the model truthfully and without embellishment. Many portraits of his contemporaries belong to his brush. For example, a portrait of M.M. Speransky, a Russian public and statesman, a reformer who participated in the upbringing of Tsarevich Alexander Nikolaevich.

A. Varnek "Portrait of Mikhail Mikhailovich Speransky" (1824). Canvas, oil. Irkutsk Regional Art Museum them. V. P. Sukacheva
From the middle of the XIX century. the best examples of the realistic portrait genre are created by the itinerant artists Vasily Perov, Ivan Kramskoy, Nikolai Ge, Nikolai Yaroshenko, Valentin Serov, Ilya Repin. They created portraits of representatives of the intelligentsia of this era, many of which were made directly by order of P.M. Tretyakov, a well-known philanthropist and art collector.

I. Kramskoy "Self-portrait"
Ivan Nikolaevich Kramskoy created a number of portraits of prominent Russian writers, artists and public figures: L.N. Tolstoy (1873), I.I. Shishkin (1873), P.M. Tretyakov (1876), M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin (1879), A.S. Griboyedov, V. Solovyov, Emperor Alexander III and many others.

I. Kramskoy "Portrait of Emperor Alexander III" (1886)
A portrait is also widely introduced into paintings of the everyday and historical genre, for example, in the paintings of V. Surikov.
Valentin Aleksandrovich Serov (1865-1911) is a Russian portrait master.

V. Serov "Self-portrait"
His most famous portrait is "Girl with Peaches".

V. Serov "Girl with peaches" (1887). Oil on canvas, 91 x 85 cm. Tretyakov Gallery(Moscow)
This portrait was painted in the Abramtsevo estate of Savva Ivanovich Mamontov, a Russian businessman and philanthropist. And the portrait depicts Mamontov's daughter, 12-year-old Vera. Her spontaneity, lively mind and curiosity are skillfully conveyed by the artist. Although the portrait was created for almost 2 months, and all this time the girl posed for the artist, there is no sense of stability on the canvas. It seems that Vera just ran into the dining room for a minute to eat a peach, and will immediately run about her business again. By the way, peaches were grown in the Mamontovs' greenhouse.
V. Serov created a portrait gallery of the "highest persons", including portraits of Grand Duke Georgy Mikhailovich, Emperor Alexander III, Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich, the coronation portrait of Nicholas II, etc.

V. Serov "Portrait of Nicholas II"

Portrait painters of the Silver Age

The portrait genre continued its development in the works of Mikhail Vrubel, Sergey Malyutin, Abram Arkhipov, Boris Kustodiev, Malyavin.
These artists created portraits-types of people from the people. Their works are mostly colorful, full of optimism, color and freshness of perception.

A. Arkhipov "A woman in red" (1910)
Viktor Borisov-Musatov, Konstantin Somov, Zinaida Serebryakova have more lyrical portraits. K. Somov, for example, created a gallery of portraits of his contemporaries (A. Blok, E. Lansere, S. Rachmaninov, V. Ivanov, M. Dobuzhinsky, etc.)

K. Somov "Portrait of S. Rachmaninoff"
As you know, the Silver Age is the time of the search for a new artistic language, and this search is reflected in the portraits of that time. Portrait painters silver age People: Kazimir Malevich, Ilya Mashkov, Pyotr Konchalovsky, Aristarkh Lentulov, Alexander Osmerkin, Robert Falk, Natan Altman and others.

P.P. Konchalovsky "Portrait of V. E. Meyerhold" (1938). Oil on canvas, 211 x 233 cm. The State Tretyakov Gallery
The famous director is depicted in the portrait shortly before his arrest and death. The conflict of the individual with the surrounding reality is emphasized. The composition of the portrait plays an important role, to some extent it is allegorical: it seems that the canvas depicts a dreamer whose dreams are embodied in color patterns that cover the entire wall and the sofa to the floor. But at the same time, we see a person immersed in his thoughts, as if detached from the outside world. The image is revealed through contrast: a bright ornament, and against its background - a monochrome figure, as if lost and tangled in countless curves of patterns.

N. Altman "Portrait of A. A. Akhmatova" (1914). State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
The portrait of A. Akhmatova was painted in the cubist style.
An outstanding graphic artist of this period is Yuri Annenkov. He created a large gallery of pictorial and graphic portraits of many figures of Russian culture: Akhmatova A. A., Benois A. N., Gorky A. M., Zamyatin E. I., Lunacharsky A. V., Pasternak B. L. and others .

Y. Annenkov "Portrait of B. Pasternak" (1921)

By the 30s of the XX century. in the Russian portrait genre, realism again became in demand, it was now called "socialist realism". The image of a contemporary was also in demand. But this image had to be ideologically correct. “The main content of the Soviet portrait is the image of a new man, the builder of communism, the bearer of such spiritual qualities as collectivism, socialist humanism, internationalism, revolutionary purposefulness. The main character of the Soviet portrait becomes the representative of the people ”(Great Soviet Encyclopedia). New types of portraits and portraits-paintings appear, reflecting the everyday life of Soviet people and their heroic deeds (artists Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin, Georgy Ryazhsky, Alexander Deineka, Sergei Gerasimov, Semyon Chuikov).

A. Deineka "Runners" (1934)
Entire pictorial cycles were created dedicated to the leaders of the revolution and the Soviet state (Leninian, Stalinian).

One of the most famous paintings about the war was the "Mother of the Partisan" by the artist S. Gerasimov.

S. Gerasimov "Mother of a partisan" (1943-1950). Oil on canvas, 184 x 229 cm. State Tretyakov Gallery (Moscow)
The theme of his painting is the heroism of a simple Soviet man during the war years. In the center of the picture stands the partisan's mother with her head held high. S. Gerasimov said this about the idea of ​​this picture: "I wanted to show in her image all the mothers who sent their sons to war." A woman cannot be intimidated by the German invaders. Behind her back is her native land. In the face - the embodiment of popular anger, which even the Nazis feel: against the background of this heroic Russian woman, the German officer seems pathetic.
In the second half of the XX century. the genre of Russian pictorial portraiture was enriched by artists of a new generation: Nikolai Andronov, Viktor Popkov, Tair Salakhov, Boris Korneev, Lev Rusov, Evsey Moiseenko, Oleg Lomakin, as well as Dmitry Zhilinsky, Alexander Shilov (works in the manner of "photorealism"), Ilya Glazunov.
T. Salakhov created a gallery of images of cultural figures: composers D. D. Shostakovich, Kara Karaev, F. M. D. Amirov, artist R. Rauschenberg, actor M. Shell, writers Rasul Rza, G. Hesse, M. Ibragimbekov, cellist M. L. Rostropovich and others.

T. Salakhov "Portrait of M. Rostropovich"

Group portrait of D. Zhilinsky "Spring Art Theater» (1988)
Look closely at the faces of the characters and you will find many familiar faces.
D. Zhilinsky created portraits of people close to him in spirit.

D. Zhilinsky "Richter is playing"
In the portrait gallery of I. Glazunov - his contemporaries: from a simple rural carpenter to heads of state. He created a series of portraits of Soviet and foreign political and public figures, writers, artists. The artist has created many artistic images historical characters.

I. Glazunov "Portrait of the writer Valentin Rasputin" (1987). Canvas, oil. 121 x 90 cm

I. Glazunov "Kiss of Judas" (1985). Canvas, oil

We see how diverse the creative searches of portrait painters of the 20th century are.

Modern Russian portrait

The Russian portrait continues to develop. Now he is no longer bound by any ideological conditions, although formal portrait preserved - customers exist at all times.
The most famous authors of this genre are Alexander Shilov, Nikas Safronov, the Leningrad artist Sergei Pavlenko, who lives in London and received two commissions for portraits of the British Royal Family, including Queen Elizabeth. He works in line with the school of Korovin and Nesterov.

S. Pavlenko "Portrait of Elizabeth II", 250 x 210 cm

S. Pavlenko "Olga". Oil, 163 x 95 cm
Natalya Tsarkova, a graduate of the I. Glazunov studio and the Surikov School, is the official court portrait painter at the court of Pope Benedict XVI. But Tsarkova paints portraits of dads from photographs, since dad
not allowed to pose. Natalia Tsarkova is the only woman in the world who painted portraits of four popes.

N. Tsarkova "The Last Supper" (2002)
Here is how the artist herself explains this work: “In fact, I did not change anything in this well-known evangelical story, I just “came in” with reverse side. Jesus sits at a table opposite the apostles and looks half-turned from the back directly at the viewer. In the corner of the canvas, in the form of a maid, I depicted myself looking through the ajar door. This is also incompatible with the traditional canons of the Supper, but in this way I wanted to emphasize the connection with today. This is a view from the third millennium.
A large white canvas lay in my studio for a whole year before the solution to the painting arose. Ideas appeared spontaneously, like insights, in the process of work. Many of the details I redid several times. And in the role of the apostles, I decided to portray my Italian friends and acquaintances. For example, the person who posed for Christ for me is Count Pippi Morja, a light designer by profession.”
Portrait painter Ivan Slavinsky is popular in France, Georgy Shishkin is an artist of Monaco.

It is obvious that Russian contemporary realist artists are in demand and successful in the world. Why? Are there really few talented artists? Of course they are. But classical art school no longer exists in Europe. And the European aristocracy prefers to have their images for posterity in a classic recognizable manner. Therefore, among the court artists of our time there are many Russian names.

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

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

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

The second half of the 19th century was at times the heyday of Russian realistic portraiture. It clearly reflects a new idea of ​​the value of the human person, whose activity and creative power are aimed at serving the people. At this time, the circle of models changed decisively - portraits of leading figures of national culture predominate. Artists have always given a very objective assessment of a person, his social significance and place in the life of Russian society. But the seal of the historical era and the clear features of nationality did not drown out the brightness of individual characteristics. The realistic portraiture of the democratic painters 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 painters 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 deservedly should 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 the people themselves. It was they, and above all in the portrait, who understood the beauty and spiritual value of the Russian people. Russian art always had a common, main basis of its being. And this basis is high humanism, nationality, penetrating Russian historical and genre painting and clearly manifested in the portrait. The Russian portrait impresses with its emotional power, the ability to deeply express the inner world of a person in all its fullness 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 has acquired a fundamental character in the work of artists of the democratic Russian school of the second half of XIX century.

The second half of the 19th century in Russian painting was a time of brilliant flowering of democratic realism. The decisive change that took place 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 a wide and intensive development of genre painting with its specific subjects from the life of the city and the countryside. Most genre painters were also engaged in 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 seal of a historical era and clear features of nationality. These are undoubtedly Russian people. And in the portraits of ordinary people, the artists noted the most valuable and striking aspects of the national character.

The main type of portrait painting has become an easel portrait, but for the most part semi-figured: the structure and position of the hands, even without gesticulating, always enhances the characteristics of the model. At this time, official ceremonial portraits, which were so common 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 was focused on only one individuality. In addition, for 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 a democratic culture, strove to capture in a pictorial image a reliable portrait of their contemporary, distinguished by a convincing resemblance.

The number of portraits of socially significant personalities clearly prevails. Here it is appropriate to note the activity of P.M. Tretyakov, who, having begun to collect a collection of portraits of figures of Russian culture, assumed that this collection should be part of the national gallery he had conceived.

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

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

Quite naturally, the appeal of democratic artists to portraiture. The portrait in the era of the 60-90s acquired an unprecedented value. Advanced artists, like other progressive figures of that era, understood the full significance and value of the human person, whose activity and creative power are aimed at serving the people.

A portrait, in its essence, is not a simple image of a person, and basically 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.

The Russian portrait only at the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries finally took shape in an independent genre. Further passing long haul from a sign of social superiority, successfully developed in the first half of the 19th century, reaching the top in portraits of the second half of the 19th century, striking in the emotionality of the images and the beauty of the plastic form. Humanism, special attention to the person is one of the main features of Russian portrait art. Thanks to these qualities, which recognize the value of the individual, the portrait is especially widely developed in Russian art.

The majestic and diverse Russian painting always pleases the audience with its inconstancy and perfection. art forms. This is the peculiarity of the works famous masters art. They always surprised with their unusual approach to work, reverent attitude to the feelings and sensations of each person. Perhaps that is why Russian artists so often depicted portrait compositions that vividly combined emotional images and epicly calm motifs. No wonder Maxim Gorky once said that an artist is the heart of his country, the voice of the entire era. Indeed, the majestic and elegant paintings of Russian artists vividly convey the inspiration of their time. Like the aspirations of the famous author Anton Chekhov, many sought to bring into Russian paintings the unique flavor of their people, as well as the unquenchable dream of beauty. It is difficult to underestimate the extraordinary canvases of these masters of majestic art, because truly extraordinary works of various genres were born under their brush. academic painting, portrait, historical picture, landscape, works of romanticism, modernity or symbolism - all of them still bring joy and inspiration to their viewers. Everyone finds in them something more than colorful colors, graceful lines and inimitable genres of world art. Perhaps such an abundance of forms and images that Russian painting surprises with is connected with the huge potential of the surrounding world of artists. Levitan also said that in every note of lush nature there is a majestic and unusual palette of colors. With such a beginning, a magnificent expanse appears for the artist's brush. Therefore, all Russian paintings are distinguished by their exquisite severity and attractive beauty, from which it is so difficult to break away.

Russian painting is rightly singled out from the world art. The fact is that until the seventeenth century, domestic painting was associated exclusively with a religious theme. The situation changed with the coming to power of the tsar-reformer - Peter the Great. Thanks to his reforms, Russian masters began to engage in secular painting, and icon painting separated as a separate direction. The seventeenth century is the time of such artists as Simon Ushakov and Iosif Vladimirov. Then, in Russian the art world The portrait was born and quickly became popular. In the eighteenth century, the first artists appeared who switched from portraiture to landscape painting. The pronounced sympathy of the masters for winter panoramas is noticeable. The eighteenth century was also remembered for the birth of everyday painting. In the nineteenth century, three trends gained popularity in Russia: romanticism, realism and classicism. As before, Russian artists continued to turn to the portrait genre. It was then that world-famous portraits and self-portraits of O. Kiprensky and V. Tropinin appeared. In the second half of the nineteenth century, artists more and more often depict the simple Russian people in their oppressed state. Realism becomes the central trend of painting of this period. It was then that the Wanderers appeared, depicting only real, real life. Well, the twentieth century is, of course, the avant-garde. The artists of that time significantly influenced both their followers in Russia and around the world. Their paintings became the forerunners of abstractionism. Russian painting is a huge wonderful world talented artists who glorified Russia with their creations

Introduction

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

1.1 Orest Adamovich Kiprensky (1782-1836)

1.2 Vasily Andreevich Tropinin (1776-1857)

1.3 Alexei 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 Aleksandrovich Yaroshenko (1846-1898)

3.4 Ivan Nikolaevich Kramskoy (1837-1887)

3.5 Ilya Efimovich Repin (1844-1930)

3.6 Valentin Alexandrovich Serov (1865-1911)

Chapter IV. The Art of Portraiture

Conclusion

Bibliography

Introduction

The purpose of this work is to tell about the importance of the portrait 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 consider 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 addition in Russian painting of the system of genres. In painting of the second half of the 19th century. the realist direction prevailed. The nature of Russian realism was determined by young painters who left the Academy of Arts in 1863 and rebelled against the classical style and historical and mythological themes that had been implanted in the academy. These artists organized in 1870

Association of traveling exhibitions, whose task was to provide members of the association with the opportunity to exhibit their work. Thanks to his activities, works of art became available to a wider range of people. Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov (1832–1898) from 1856 collected works by Russian artists, mainly the Wanderers, and in 1892 he donated his collection of paintings, along with the collection of his brother S.M. Tretyakov, to Moscow. In the portrait genre, the Wanderers created a gallery of images of prominent 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 growth and expansion of artistic understanding and needs is reflected in the emergence of many art societies, schools, a number of private galleries (the Tretyakov Gallery) and museums not only in the capitals, but also in the provinces, in the introduction to school education in drawing. 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 differed sharply in that it clearly and strongly reflected the main currents of Russian social life.

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

1.1 Orest Adamovich Kiprensky (1782-1836)

Born at the Nezhinskaya manor (near Koporye, now in the Leningrad region) on March 13 (24), 1782. He was the natural son of the landowner A.S. Dyakonov, recorded 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. Rome and Naples.

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

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

An invaluable part of Kiprensky's work is graphic portraits, made mainly in pencil with tinted pastels, watercolors, and colored pencils. He portrays General E.I. Chaplitsa (TG), P.A. Olenina (TG). In these images we have before us Russia, the Russian intelligentsia from patriotic war 1812 to the December uprising.

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

"Favorite of light-winged fashion,

Though not British, not French,

You created again, dear wizard,

Me, a pet of pure muses. -

And I laugh at the grave

Gone forever from the bonds of death.

I see myself as in a mirror

But this mirror flatters me.

It says that I will not humiliate

The passions of important aonids.

So Rome, Dresden, Paris

From now on, my appearance will be known, - 1

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

A special section is made up of Kiprensky's self-portraits (with tassels behind his ear, c. 1808, Tretyakov Gallery; and others), 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). a number of remarkable everyday characters (like the Blind Musician, 1809, Russian Museum) Kiprensky died in Rome on October 17, 1836.