Russian portrait painters and their works

Russian portrait painters appeared in the early 14th century AD. Wizards of that time had limited means, so they often resorted to stylized drawings. This could not be called surrealism, but the pictures certainly suffered from insufficient detailing. Later, Russian portrait painters and their works were reoriented to design temples. Masters of painting of a sacred character painted the walls and ceilings of churches and cathedrals.

Early Portrait Art

Russian portrait painters and their paintings had their own distinctive features, they were recognizable - each artist had his own style of work, besides, he was revered by both priests and parishioners.

The most vivid representative of that time was Andrey Rublev (1370-1428), who left after himself incorruptible works: "The Savior Almighty", "Archangel Michael", "Trinity", "The Apostle Paul" and other masterpieces of icon painting.

Contemporary Rublev was the famous iconographer Theophanes the Greek (1340-1410). For a long time they worked together. In the 90s of the 14th century the artists painted the Annunciation Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. Other Russian portrait painters also participated in the work. The amount of work was quite large. The main icons of the Deesis Tier were written by Theophanes the Greek, and the "prophetic" and part of the upper "prathetic" series belong to the brush of Andey Rublev. Reliable data confirming that they were written with the hallmarks of large icons of the lower row, no, but the hand of a talented icon-painter is recognizable in these works.

Early masters of portraiture

At the beginning of the 14th century, the technique of oil painting was somewhat improved by the appearance of fine-grained paints.

Russian portrait painters of a later time:

• Dionysius (1440-1502), the favorite of Tsar Ivan III. The monarch used to instruct the artist to paint a temple, and then periodically visited the icon painter and watched the work.
• Zubov Alexey (1682-1750) - the largest master of Russian engraving art of the era of Peter the Great. Worked together with his father, an outstanding icon painter Fedor Zubov. Together they painted the Armory Chamber of the Moscow Kremlin.
• Nikitin Ivan (1680-1742) - Russian artist, one of the first Russian masters of portraiture, educated in Europe. Was in a special arrangement with Peter the Great. The most famous works of the artist are the portraits of the Polish King Augustus II and the Duke of Mecklenburg.

Russian portrait painters of the 18th century

Masters of the brush of past centuries, as a rule, were engaged in church painting. However, the 18th century was the time of the emergence of portrait art in its pure form, when the painter reflects on the canvas the image of a particular person. Russian portrait painters At that time they adhered to the classical school of fine arts, which presupposes the exact reproduction of the smallest details. In portrait painting, this technique perfectly suited the tasks set for the performer - to achieve such an image that it had all the features of an artistic style and was as reliable as possible. The work was quite painstaking and responsible. Nevertheless, well-known Russian portrait painters Superbly coped with it. Orders were more than enough, the whole court nobility, as well as members of the merchant guilds, vied with each other to order portraits for themselves and their loved ones.

Wealthy people preferred to invite painters to their homes, because in this case the whole family could observe the process, and this was considered a good form. Russian portrait painter usually lived poorly, so he tried to take as many orders as possible. If, at the end of the work, the image of the head of the family was liked by all household members, then the painter received the next order in the same house. Thus, the Russian portrait painter Was in high demand in the high society and did not remain without work. The most successful masters were invited to the tsarist quarters to perform especially important assignments.

The heyday of portraiture

When the Renaissance came into being in the art of painting, many talented masters appeared in Russia.

Russian portrait painters of the 18th century:

• Antropov Alexei (1716-1795) - a famous Russian portrait painter, participated in the decorative design of the Winter Palace in 1744 and Tsarskoselsky in 1749. Under his guidance, artists painted the St. Andrew's Church in Kiev. Since 1761, Antropov was introduced into the Orthodox Synod as the chief overseer of icon-painting works. In the history of Russian art, the artist entered as a talented portraitist of the Petrine period.
• Borovikovsky Vladimir (1757-1825) was born in Mirgorod. Became famous after a meeting with Catherine II, who drove to the Crimea in 1787. The artist painted one of the palaces on the path of the Empress and was noticed by her. Catherine expressed her admiration and awarded Borovikovsky money, which he later went to Petersburg.
• Venetsianov Alexey (1780-1847) - Russian artist, the founder of the plot of everyday genre in portrait painting. His fame was brought to the work "Portrait of a Mother", written in 1801. He studied art of drawing from the artist Borovikovsky.
• Kiprensky Orestes (1782-1836) - an outstanding artist, made his debut in 1804 with a portrait of AK Valbe, which was written in the manner of Rembrandt. The well-known work "EV Davydov", created in 1809, strengthened the artist's reputation. Many canvases of Kiprensky are kept in the Tretyakov Gallery.
• Tropinin Vasily (1776-1857) - Russian artist, who became famous after he painted a portrait of A.S. Pushkin was commissioned by the poet himself. The painting was intended for SA Sobolevsky, a friend of Alexander Sergeevich. The portrait became a classic depiction of the great poet for all time.

Portrait art in the 19th century

Russian portrait painters of the 19th century are a galaxy of talented painters who have turned to the genre of depicting the human face. The most famous of them are:

• Neff Timothy (1805-1876) - a follower of the academic style in art, a historical portraitist. He studied painting at the Dresden Art School. In 1826 he moved to St. Petersburg, where he immediately gained fame by writing a series of portraits of famous people. In 1837 he went on a long trip across Russia to get acquainted with the folkloric depths and life of the common people. After returning, he painted the church of the Winter Palace, among these works was the famous "Last Supper". He received a professorship for painting the St. Isaac's Cathedral, and at the same time became the curator of the gallery of the Hermitage painting.
• Zakharov Peter (1816-1846) - Russian portrait painter with a difficult fate. A three-year-old boy was found in the abandoned Chechen aul Dadi-yurt. The Russian General Yermolov took the child for education. Noticing the ability of his adopted son to paint, he gave little Petia for training to portrait painter Lev Volkov. In 1836, Zakharov graduated from the course at the Academy of Arts and received the title of free artist.
• Makarov Ivan (1822-1897) - Russian painter, for a long creative life wrote many pictures. The artist's works, and portraits, including those created by him at different times, are in the Tretyakov Gallery, the Russian Museum, the Academy of Arts and exhibition halls throughout Russia. In 1844, Makarov moved to St. Petersburg, where he won the recognition of the capital's public.

Painter-portraitist Tyranov

Russian portraitist (1808-1859), was engaged in icon painting. In 1824 he got acquainted with the artist Venetsianov, who identified the young man in his school of painting, and when he finished his studies, he arranged Tyranov as a listener for the Academy of Arts. The further fate of the young painter has developed successfully, he received a small gold medal from the Academy, in 1836 he became a pupil of the venerable Karl Bryullov. For her work "The Girl with the Tambourine" was awarded the title of academician. Being in Rome, he wrote his main paintings: "A girl squeezing water out of her hair," "An angel with an olive branch," "Mother of Moses on the banks of the Nile." Then, upon the return of the artist to Petersburg, the artist suffered a series of failures, and he turned into a beggar. The orphanage found a brother in the house of Kashin in the house. There Tyranov died at the age of 51.

Unsurpassed technique of portrait

Zaryanko Sergei (1818-1870) - a wonderful Russian portrait painter, famous for his inexpressible play of light and shadow on his canvases. The technique of the artist is so pronounced that the inner world of a person depicted on canvas, as it were, is lost in a wealth of shades and semitones. In total Zaryanko wrote about a hundred portraits, most of which are dedicated to the emperor, his family and the highest court nobility.

The pupil of the master

Zhodeyko Leonid (1827-1879) - Russian portrait painter, pupil of the Moscow artist Zaryanka and St. Petersburg master Markov, teacher of the Academy of Arts. He painted mostly female portraits. Received the title of academician for the painting "The girl is washing". He was a regular participant of the annual exhibitions held under the aegis of the Academy of Arts of St. Petersburg.

Artist of dramatic style

Kramskoy Ivan Nikolayevich (1837-1887) - an outstanding master of portrait painting, religious wall paintings, genre drawing. The author of paintings with the image of famous writers, artists, artists, among them were: L. N. Tolstoy (year 1883), M. Ye. Saltykov-Shchedrin (year 1879), I. I. Shishkin (year 1873) -th), SP Botkin (the year 1880), PM Tretyakov (the year 1876).

The artist throughout his life adhered to the philosophical and dramatic subtext in his works, especially it is noticeable in portrait paintings: "Unknown", "NA Nekrasov", "Desolate grief", which were created in the period from 1877 to 1884. These masterpieces are in the Tretyakov Gallery.

Artistic portraits in the 20th century

The twentieth century was a difficult period for Russia. Political upheavals, two bloody wars have left their imprint on the development of the country. And yet the art was alive, in the post-war years painting was reviving, including portrait painting. There were not a lot of artists, but they all went through a good school.

Russian artists portraitists of the 20th century:

• Kozlov Engels is a Soviet portrait painter, was born in 1926, graduated from the Yaroslavl Art College, and then entered the painting course of the Leningrad Repin Institute. In 1956 he presented his graduation thesis "Will live!" He is a member of the Union of Artists since 1957. The main themes of Kozlov's work are portraits of contemporaries.
• Lomakin Oleg - a portrait painter of the Soviet period, was born in 1924. He studied at the Leningrad Art School, then at the All-Russian Academy of Arts. In 1942, he was drafted into the Red Army, fought near Kursk, where he was seriously wounded and was expelled from the army ranks. Portraits painted by the artist were exhibited at exhibitions since 1952.
• Nevelstein Samuel (1904-1983) - a portrait painter, graduated from VHUTEMAS. The artist has several dozen works. The main themes of Nevelstein's work were portraits of his contemporaries. The portrait painter held five solo exhibitions, all of them were held in Leningrad, the first show took place in 1944.
• Oreshnikov Victor (1904-1987) - Soviet painter and portraitist. People's Artist of the Soviet Union, laureate of two Stalin Prizes. The creative work was dominated by subjects devoted to achievements in the national economy, and portraits of contemporaries.
• Shilov Alexander - Russian portrait painter, painter, was born in 1943. The creator of unique portraits of historical orientation. Actively participates in public life, a member of the Public Council under the Russian president.

Famous artists of the portrait genre

For six hundred years, since the emergence of pictorial art, has replaced more than one generation of artists. In addition to the painters already mentioned, there were quite a few other masters.

Who are they - Russian portrait painters? A list of them is presented below.

18 century:

• Musikysky Grigory Semenovich, a court painter-portraitist.
• Gzel Georg, a Swiss painter, worked for a long time in Russia.
• Nikitin Ivan Nikitich, a court painter.
• Vishnyakov Ivan Yakovlevich, portraitist for the aristocracy.
• Bell-makers Mina Lukic, serf artist.
• Matveyev Andrey Matveyevich, court portraitist.

19th century:

• Ugryumov Grigory Ivanovich, a peasant artist.
• Ivanov, Andrei Ivanovich, the portrait painter of the nobility.
• Orlovsky Alexander Osipovich, a nobleman.
• Sokolov Peter Fedorovich, a portraitist for the aristocracy.