Portraits - what is it? The meaning of the word "portraits". Samples

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

In order to understand the meaning of the word "portraits", let us first recall that this expression was borrowed by us from the French language. The French words "portrait" (image, depict) meant a detailed description of individual real-life people or their group by means of literature or fine art. At the same time, along with external resemblance, the portrait should also capture the spiritual world of the individual.

What are the portraits

In our culture, portraits are a separate form of fine art. Depending on what size the picture should be, the portrait can be full-length, that is, the person on it is depicted in full growth, bust, half-length or generational. Portrait images also differ in the pose and turn of the human figure. There are full-face portraits, when the face is turned directly at the viewer; three quarters - here the head and figure are turned slightly to the right or left side; and, of course,profile pictures.

And there are also so-called ceremonial portraits, which, as a rule, depict people with high social status in formal clothes and solemn poses, or portraits in which you can see people in their usual home or work environment. Graphic portraits are drawn by artists with pencils, charcoal, sanguine, and pastels. A picturesque portrait is painted in oil on canvas or with other paints (watercolor, gouache, tempera, acrylic paints) on paper or cardboard.

There are also self-portraits, photographic portraits, as well as literary portraits. We will talk about them separately.

Famous Russian portrait painters

Not every talented artist can draw the figures and faces of people, and even more so be able to convey portrait resemblance well. For example, the great landscape painter Levitan did not have the talent of a portrait painter at all. He always painted only nature. But such Russian artists as I. E. Repin or V. A. Serov had a universal talent that allowed them to freely paint both people and nature.

Famous Repin portraits are "Portrait of Chaliapin", paintings "In the Sun" (which depicts Nadezhda Ilyinichna Repina), "Autumn Bouquet", "Dragonfly" (here the painter captured the image of his daughter) and many other works of the great artist. In Russian art, there is a whole gallery of beautiful examples of portrait art. I. P. Argunov, D. G. Levitsky, F. S. Rokotov, V. L. Borovikovsky, K. P. Bryullov and other masters.

Self-portraits

Self-portraits - this genre of fine art deserves special attention. Such portraits are the artist's image of himself, as he sees himself as if from the outside. Not every person is able to impartially and truthfully draw his own reflection. Psychologists say that people tend to see their own image in the mirror in a slightly different way than those around them. But geniuses can look at themselves impartially. Some famous painters constantly painted their own portraits. For example, the impressionist painter Wag Gogh. 35 of his self-portraits, written in different years of his life, have survived to this day.

Albrecht Dürer (50 paintings) is another record holder in terms of images of himself. But the absolute leader in the number of self-portraits belongs to the great Flemish Rembrandt. There are as many as 90 paintings on which there is his image, written by himself. Self-portraits were also painted by Leonardo da Vinci, Sandro Botticelli, Durer and Gauguin. In recent years, some art critics are even inclined to the version that the famous Gioconda is nothing more than a veiled self-portrait of da Vinci. This version, although controversial, is certainly very interesting.

Literary portraits

Literary portraits are very interesting. In a picturesque picture, even the most talented artist cannot display all the traits of a person’s character, his habits, etc. But a portrait book cangreat for such a task. Thanks to the literary portraits of great people, which were created by writers after a thorough study of historical sources and eyewitness accounts, we can now imagine the images of L. N. Tolstoy, A. S. Pushkin, N. V. Gogol and many other great writers, in the smallest details, artists and historical figures.

Often detailed literary portraits are described in artistic memoirs. The person on the pages of the book talks about his life, about the historical era in which it fell, and certainly mentions the people who were nearby, about the stories that happened to them. An example of such a genre is T. A. Kuzminskaya's book "My Life in Yasnaya Polyana", where she tells not only her own life story, but also masterfully tells the story of the life of Leo Tolstoy and his family.

Photo portraits

Well, finally, we got to the photo portraits. At the end of the 30s of the XIX century. Photography was invented by the Frenchman Louis Daguerre. Since then, people have had a great opportunity to imprint their displays quickly and in any quantities. The services of artists at all times were very expensive, so that earlier only rich and famous people could afford to have their own portraits. But with the advent of the photographic method, everything changed. Now everyone could leave their image to posterity as a keepsake. Photographic portrait is a separate genre. The camera has no emotions and captures the features of a person most truthfully, at the same time it is able to capture emotions, a person’s character and hisspirit world.

Thanks to photography, today we can judge the appearance of people who have long gone from us. There are wonderful photo portraits of Sergei Yesenin, Vladimir Mayakovsky, Albert Einstein, Leo Tolstoy and other famous talented people who have made a huge contribution to the development of the artistic and scientific values of our civilization.