Russian artists of the 18th century. The best paintings of the 18th century by Russian artists

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

The 18th century is a period in which colossal transformations took place in all spheres: political, social, public. Europe introduces new genres into Russian painting: landscape, historical, everyday life. The realistic direction of painting becomes predominant. A living person is a hero and bearer of the aesthetic ideals of that time.

The 18th century entered the history of art as the time of picturesque portraits. Everyone wanted to have their own portrait: from the queen to an ordinary official from the provinces.

European trends in Russian painting

Famous Russian artists of the 18th century were forced to follow Western fashion at the behest of Peter I, who wanted to Europeanize Russia. He attached great importance to the development of fine arts and even planned to build a specialized educational institution.

Russian artists of the 18th century mastered new techniques of European painting and depicted on their canvases not only kings, but also various boyars, merchants, patriarchs, who tried to keep up with fashion and often commissioned local artists to paint a portrait. AtAt the same time, the artists of that time tried to enrich the portraits with household items, elements of the national costume, nature, and so on. Attention was focused on expensive furniture, large vases, luxurious clothes, interesting poses. The image of people of that time is perceived today as a poetic story by artists about their time.

And yet, the portraits of Russian artists of the 18th century differ from the portraits of invited foreign painters in a striking contrast. It is worth mentioning that artists from other countries were invited to train Russian artists.

Types of portraits

The beginning of the 18th century was marked by the appeal of portrait painters to semi-ceremonial and chamber views of the portrait genre. Portraits of painters of the second half of the 18th century give rise to such types as ceremonial, semi-ceremonial, chamber, intimate.

The front view of the portrait differs from others in the image of a person in full growth. Glitter of luxury - both in clothes and in household items.

Semi-dressy look is an image of a knee-length or waist-length model.

If a person is depicted on a neutral background up to the chest or waist, then this type of portrait is called chamber.

The intimate look of the portrait suggests an appeal to the inner world of the hero of the picture, while the background is ignored.

Portrait Images

Often, Russian artists of the 18th century were forced to embody the customer's idea of himself in a portrait image, but not the actual image. It was important to take into account the public opinion about this or that person. Manyart historians have long concluded that the main rule of that time was to depict a person not so much as he really was, or as he would like to be, but as he could be in his best reflection. That is, in the portraits of any person they tried to portray as an ideal.

First artists

Russian artists of the 18th century, the list of which is generally small, are, in particular, I. N. Nikitin, A. P. Antropov, F. S. Rokotov, I. P. Argunov, V. L. Borovikovsky, D. G. Levitsky.

Among the first painters of the 18th century of the Petrine era - the names of Nikitin, Antropov, Argunov. The role of these first Russian artists of the 18th century was insignificant. It was reduced only to writing a huge number of royal images, portraits of Russian nobles. Russian artists of the 18th century - masters of portraits. Although often they simply helped foreign craftsmen paint the walls of a large number of palaces, make theatrical scenery.

The name of the painter Ivan Nikitich Nikitin can be found in the correspondence of Peter I with his wife. His brush belongs to the portrait of the king himself, Chancellor G. I. Golovin. There is nothing artificial in his portrait of the outdoor hetman. Appearance is not altered by a wig or court attire. The artist showed the hetman as he does in real life. It is in the truth of life that the main advantage of Nikitin's portraits lies.

Antropov's work is preserved in the images of St. Andrew's Cathedral in Kyiv and portraits in the Synod. These works are distinguished by the artist's penchant for yellow, oliveflowers, because he is a painter who studied with the master of icon painting. Among his famous works are portraits of Elizabeth Petrovna, Peter I, Princess Trubetskoy, Ataman F. Krasnoshchekov. Antropov's work combined the traditions of original Russian painting of the 17th century and the canons of the fine arts of the Petrine era.

Ivan Petrovich Argunov is a famous serf portrait painter of Count Sheremetyev. His portraits are graceful, the poses of the people depicted by him are free and mobile, everything in his work is precise and simple. He is the creator of a chamber portrait, which will later become intimate. Significant works of the artist: portraits of Catherine II, the Sheremetyevs, P. B. Sheremetyev in childhood.

You should not think that at that time no other genres existed in Russia, but the great Russian artists of the 18th century created the most significant works in the portrait genre.

The pinnacle of the portrait genre of the 18th century was the work of Rokotov, Levitsky and Borovikovsky. The person in the portraits of artists is worthy of admiration, attention and respect. Humanity of feelings is the hallmark of their portraits.

Fyodor Stepanovich Rokotov (1735–1808)

Almost nothing is known about Fyodor Stepanovich Rokotov, an 18th-century Russian artist from the serfs of Prince I. Repnin. This artist writes portraits of women softly and airily. Inner beauty is felt by Rokotov, and he finds the means to embody it on canvas. Even the oval shape of the portraits only emphasizes the fragile and elegant appearance of women.

The main genre of itcreativity - a half-dress portrait. Among his works are portraits of Grigory Orlov and Peter III, Princess Yusupova and Prince Pavel Petrovich.

Dmitry Grigorievich Levitsky (1735–1822)

The famous Russian artist of the 18th century - Dmitry Grigorievich Levitsky, a student of A. Antropov, was able to sensitively capture and recreate the mental states and characteristics of people in his paintings. Depicting the rich, he remains truthful and unbiased, his portraits exclude obsequiousness and lies. His brush owns a whole gallery of portraits of great people of the 18th century. It is in the ceremonial portrait that Levitsky reveals himself as a master. He finds expressive poses, gestures, showing noble nobles. Russian history in faces - this is how Levitsky's work is often called. Paintings belonging to the artist's brush: portraits of M. A. Lvova, E. I.

Vladimir Lukich Borovikovsky (1757–1825)

Russian artists of the 18th-19th centuries are distinguished by their appeal to the so-called sentimental portrait. The artist Vladimir Lukich Borovikovsky paints pensive girls, who are depicted in his portraits with light colors, they are airy and innocent. His heroines are not only Russian peasant women in traditional dress, but also respected ladies of high society. These are portraits of Naryshkina, Lopukhina, Princess Suvorova, Arsenyeva. The pictures are somewhat similar, but it is impossible to forget them. These portraits are distinguished by the amazing subtlety of the transmitted characters, the almost imperceptible features of emotional experiences and the feeling that unites all the images.tenderness. In his works, Borovikovsky reveals all the beauty of a woman of that time.

Borovikovsky's heritage is very diverse and extensive. There are in his work both ceremonial portraits, as well as miniature and intimate canvases. Among the works of Borovikovsky, the most famous were the portraits of V. A. Zhukovsky, G. R. Derzhavin, A. B. Kurakin and Pavel I.

Paintings by Russian artists

Pictures of the 18th century by Russian artists are painted with love for a person, his inner world and respect for moral virtues. The style of each artist, on the one hand, is very individual, on the other hand, it has several common features with others. This moment defined the very style that emphasizes the character of Russian art in the 18th century.

The most famous paintings of the 18th century by Russian artists:

1. "Young painter". Second half of the 1760s Author Ivan Firsov is the most enigmatic artist of the 18th century. The picture shows a boy in a uniform who paints a portrait of a beautiful little girl.
2. “Farewell of Hector to Andromache”, 1773 Author Anton Pavlovich Losenko. The last painting of the artist. It depicts a scene from the sixth canto of Homer's Iliad.
3. "Stone bridge in Gatchina near Connetable Square", 1799-1801. Author Semyon Fedorovich Shchedrin. The picture shows a landscape view.

And yet

Russian artists of the 18th century still tried to reveal the truth and the true characters of people, despite the conditions of serfdom and the wishes of we althy customers. Portrait genre in the 18th centuryembodied the specific features of the Russian people.

Undoubtedly, it can be said that, no matter how much the art of the 18th century was influenced by European culture, it nevertheless led to the development of national Russian traditions.