Artist Argunov Ivan Petrovich: biography, date and place of birth, interesting facts from life, creativity

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

Being a serf and not having a special art education, Ivan Argunov was able to build a remarkable career as an outstanding and insightful master, worthy of attention and the highest marks to this day.

Short biography of the artist Ivan Petrovich Argunov

Ivan Argunov is one of the founders of ceremonial portrait art in Russia. A talented student of the court master of the imperial court - Georg Christopher Groot. The heyday of Ivan Petrovich's work came in the middle of the 18th century. During the formative years of magnificent architectural structures, the development of sculpture and painting. Known as the author of portraits of famous noblemen and Empress Catherine II, he also proved to be an excellent mentor for his students. Subsequently, he was appointed a member of the serf college in the house of Count Sheremetyev.

Early years

Artist ArgunovIvanPetrovich was born in 1729 into a serf family. The Argunovs were serfs of Prince Alexei Cherkassky, and later went into the service of Count Peter Sheremetiev, who married the daughter of Prince Varvara Cherkasskaya. He was brought up in St. Petersburg, in the family of his uncle, who served as a butler for the princes Cherkassky, and later for the Sheremetevs in the Million House, which got its name from the street of the same name on which it was located. In this house, Ivan Petrovich spent a lot of time, being brought up with his cousin Fyodor, whose talents were developed a lot of time. Subsequently, Fedor Argunov became known as an outstanding architect, and as for the biography of the artist Argunov, it is full of outstanding and still relevant works.

The beginning of creative activity

Argunov is an artist of the 18th century. The heyday of his work came in the 1740s, just at the time when Elizabeth Petrovna ascended the throne. During the years of her reign, Russian culture developed tremendously: architecture, theatrical art, decorative sculpture flourished, and with it painting, which greatly attracted foreign artists. One of the foreign artists was Georg Christopher Groot, who later became Ivan Petrovich's teacher.

Thanks to his mentor, Argunov mastered the European style of writing and learned how to skillfully use it, applying it to convey the original appearance of a Russian person, which makes his work most unique. Icons became joint works,written by them in 1747 for the church of the Great Tsarskoye Selo Palace. Already at this stage of his creative activity, the artist Argunov manifests himself in a peculiar and talented way in portrait art, which will later become his main direction.

Flourishing creativity

One of the first works that have survived to this day, fall on the beginning of the 1750s. The works of this period are the most diverse: there are portraits, icons, and decorative painting. One of these works is a painting called "The Dying Cleopatra", painted by the artist Ivan Argunov in the classical rococo style in 1750. Subsequent works are created by Argunov in the style of a ceremonial portrait, in all its splendor and the image of noble persons in exquisite outfits against the backdrop of chic apartments. One of these works is a magnificent portrait of Pyotr Sheremetyev with a dog, painted in 1753.

In general, the Sheremetev couple was the most popular in his paintings, because the artist spent most of his time in their house and was soon appointed manager there. In the 1760s, Ivan Petrovich created a whole gallery of portraits of this family, absolutely realistic, stylized and devoid of idealization. A few years earlier, Argunov, without knowing it, created a new direction in Russian painting called "intimate portrait". The most outstanding work in this area was a paired portrait of Kozma Khripunov with his wife, who, like Ivan Petrovich, served in the Sheremetevs' house.

During this period, the artist has a lot of timedevotes to commissioned works, the main difference of which is the ability of the artist to capture the essence of the personality, accompanied by the modesty of the palette. In 1762, the glory of the artist Argunov reaches the walls of the imperial court, and Argunov receives an honorary commission for a portrait of Her Imperial Majesty Catherine II, depicted in a slightly theatrical pose with a haughty look and with a full set of imperial attributes, which she appreciated.

Over the years, the artist's technique becomes more and more perfect and subtle. This can be seen in one of his most outstanding works - a portrait of the Kalmyk girl Annushka, a pupil, already deceased at that time, the wife of Count Sheremetyev. In the painting, she is shown with a portrait of her mistress.

Retirement

As an artist, Argunov by the beginning of the 1770s can already be considered a mature, accomplished painter. During this period, the most striking works are portraits of Rear Admiral Greig, as well as Boris and Pavel Sheremetyev. And in 1785, the aged Ivan Petrovich creates one of his outstanding and brilliant works, which combines the captivating and pure image of a young peasant woman, a painting called “Portrait of an Unknown Woman in Russian Costume”. One gets the impression that this image contains all the best and brightest features of those people who could be observed in all his previous works. Warm shades cause even greater delight in the picture, it seems to breathe from it with youth, freshness and purity of thought, which this look conveys from the picture. This worksignificantly different from the previous ones, there is something unearthly in it, there is no clear copying of the image on the canvas, from which the author apparently got a little tired over the years of his long career.

Pedagogical activity

Artist Ivan Petrovich Argunov also showed himself as a talented teacher. In 1753, by order of Elizabeth Petrovna, three students were sent to him for training. After training under his mentorship, the students were enrolled as apprentices at the Academy of Arts. Along with the position of house manager, he taught his three sons, the future great architect Pavel Ivanovich and two talented artists Nikolai and Yakov Argunov, one of whom became the successor of portrait art, but mainly graphics.

Last years of life

Starting from 1788, Argunov practically did not write, began to devote more time to his direct duties in managing the Sheremetyevs' Million House, was a participant in the creation of the famous palace-theater in Ostankino, designed by his son Pavel Ivanovich. In the same year, Count Sheremetiev appointed him a member of the serf board. Ivan Petrovich died in Moscow at the beginning of 1802.