F.S. Rokotov(1732 or 1735 / 6-1808) - an outstanding portrait painter of the 18th century. Early 60s. - Studying at the Academy of Fine Arts. 1765 - assignment of the title of academician. Innovative character Rokotov's works (portraits of Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich in childhood and youth, A.G. Bobrinsky in childhood, poet V.I. Maikov, etc.). The Moscow period (portraits of the Struisky couple, "Unknown in a cocked hat", A.I. Vorontsov, "Unknown in a pink dress", etc.). Poetic spirituality in the portraits of Rokotov in the 80s. (portraits by V.E. Novosiltseva, P.N. Lanskoy, E.V. Santi and others).

Features of Rococo and Classicism in his work.

Great master of Russian portrait painting D.G. Levitsky(1735-1822) - the creator of images of representatives of different strata of Russian society in the 70-80s of the XVIII century. Leadership of the portrait class of the Academy of Arts (1771-1787).

Portraits of the 60s. Most famous portrait of that time - a portrait of A.F. Kokorinov.

"Smolyanki" - the famous suite of seven portraits (F.S. Rzhevskaya and N.M. Davydova, E.I. Nelidova, E.N. Khrushcheva and E.N. Khovanskaya, A.P. Levshina, N.S. Borshcheva, E. I. Molchanova, G. I. Alymova, 1770s).

Portraits of progressive people of the XVIII century - Denis Diderot, P.A. Demidova, N.A. Lvov.

Female portraits of the 80s - Princess P.N. Repnina, E.A. Vorontsova, N.Ya. Levitskaya, A.D. Levitskaya.

Male portraits of the 80s - M.F. Poltoratsky, A.V. Khrapovnitsky, A.D. Lansky.

Creation of ceremonial portraits of the Empress. "Portrait of Catherine II - legislator in the temple of the goddess of justice." The program of this portrait.

Portraits of the 90s - V.I. Mitrofanova and M.A. Mitrofanova; I.I. Gaufa.

Features of classicism in the work of Levitsky.

The most prominent representative of a new stage in the development of portraiture V.L. Borovikovsky (1757-1825).

Early works of the master (portraits of o.F. Filippova, Catherine II).

Lyricism of women's portraits. Portrait of M.I. Lopukhina. The role of accessories in revealing the personality image of a male portrait (portraits of G.R. Derzhavin, D.P. Troshchinsky, F.A. Borovsky).

Work on ceremonial portraits - Paul I, Prince A.B. Kurakin, prince of the Persian Qajar dynasty Murtaza Kuli Khan.

Transfer of friendship and strength of family relations in group portraits. Portraits of Lizynka and Dashenka, sisters of A.G. and I.G. Gagarins.

Features of classicism and sentimentalism in the work of Borovikovsky.

Borovikovsky's participation in early XIX century in work on the iconostasis of the Kazan Cathedral.

Other Russian portrait painters of the second half of the 18th century. P.S. Drozhdin(1745 (?) - 1805). Portrait of the artist A.P. Antropova with her son in front of a portrait of his wife. Portrait of Empress Maria Feodorovna.

L.S. Miropolsky(1744/5-1819). Presumably, he is a student of D.G. Levitsky. Portrait of adjunct rector of the Academy of Arts G.I. Kozlov.

S.S. Schukin(1762-1828) - portrait painter. From 1788 he taught at the portrait painting class of the Academy of Arts. The significance of the portraits of Paul I by Shchukin for revealing the personality of the Russian emperor.

V.Ya. Rodchev(1768-1803). Historical painter and portrait painter. He taught drawing in the class of historical painting. Careful study of the image of the person being portrayed.

S. Pogodin. Portrait of the engraver and miniaturist G.I. Skorodumova.

M.I. Belsky(1753 (?) - 1794 (?)). Portrait of the teacher of history and geography Baudouin with two pupils of the Academy of Arts of the first and third age.

N.I. Argunov(1771 - not earlier than 1829). Portrait painter, miniaturist, decorator. Serf Count N.P. Sheremetev. He painted portraits of serf theater artists, ceremonial portraits of Paul I, N.P. Sheremetev and his wife, former serf actress P.I. Kovaleva-Zhemchugova.

Foreign portrait painters. I.-B. Lumpy Senior(1751-1830) - Austrian painter. Portraits of Empress Catherine II and her favorites.

W. Eriksen(1722-1782) Danish painter. Portraits of Empress Catherine II. "A hundred-year-old woman in Tsarskoye Selo with her family."

J.-L. Veil(1744 - not earlier than 1806) - French painter. Portraits of members of the imperial family (Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich, Grand Duke Alexander Pavlovich, Empress Maria Feodorovna). Portrait of I.P. Yelagin.

A. Roslin(1718-1793) Swedish painter. He painted portraits of members of the imperial family and the highest nobility.

Domestic genre in Russian painting

Second half of the 18th century

Interest in the human personality, in the life of different segments of the population of Russia.

Russian painters I. Firsov(c. 1730 - not earlier than 1785). "Young Painter" Influence on this piece french school painting. M. Shibanov(? - not earlier than 1789). "Peasant Lunch", "Conspiracy".

foreign painters turned to the genre of everyday life. AND I. Mettenleiter(1750-1825) German painter. "Country Dinner", "Peasants and the Pie Dealer".

Landscape in Russian fine art

Second half of the 18th century

Landscape in Russian painting of the second half of the 18th century.

S.F. Shchedrin(1745-1804) - the founder of Russian landscape painting. From 1776 he was the head of the landscape painting class, from 1799 he was the head of the engraving landscape class of the Academy of Arts.

Artist's works: “Noon. (View in the vicinity of Lake Nemi)”, “Landscape with a cow”, “View in the estate of P.G. Demidov Sivoritsy near Petersburg" and others.

F.Ya. Alekseev(1753/4-1824) - one of the founders of the Russian urban landscape. Studying at the Russian Academy of Arts, at the Venetian Academy of Arts. From 1803 he taught at the Academy of Arts in the class of perspective painting.

Italian views in the artist's work. “Internal view of the courtyard with a garden. Loggia in Venice. Copies of works by A. Kanal and B. Belotto.

Russian views in the artist's work. Petersburg: "View Palace embankment from the Peter and Paul Fortress”, “View of the Mikhailovsky Castle in St. Petersburg from the Fontanka”, “View of the Mikhailovsky Castle and Connetable Square”. Moscow: "Red Square", "View of the Moscow Kremlin and the Stone Bridge".

Oriental views in the artist's work. View of the city of Bakhchisarai.

MM. Ivanov(1748-1823) - landscape painter and battle painter. From 1800 he led a class of battle painting, from 1804 a class of landscape painting.

Reporting retirement work. Paired paintings "Milking a cow" and "The shepherd and the shepherdess returning from the flock."

Service in the staff of the governor of the southern provinces of Russia, Prince G.IA. Potemkin. Paintings created by the artist during a trip to Ukraine, Crimea, Georgia, Armenia. "View of Etchmiadzin in Armenia", etc.

The role of landscape painting in the battle works of the master - "Storm of Izmail", "Storm of Ochakov".

F.M. Matveev(1758-1826). Heroic landscape in the style of classicism in the works of Matveev. "View of the city of Tivoli near Rome", "Landscape with figures in antique clothes".

Sculpture of the second half of the 18th century.

Creativity F.I. Shubin

The rise of the national school of sculpture.

The Role of Ancient Heritage in the Works of Russian Sculptors of the Second Half of the 18th Century. Themes and artistic language characteristic of classicism.

M.I. Kozlovsky(1753-1802). Contemporaries in the form of ancient gods. Statue of Catherine II in the image of Minerva, Catherine II in the image of Themis. A.V. Suvorov in the form of Hercules ("Hercules on horseback") and Mars (monument to A.V. Suvorov). mythological, literary and historical heroes sculpture in antiquity: "Apollo", "Sleeping Cupid", "Cupid with an arrow", "Hymeneus" "Narcissus" ("Boy drinking water"); terracotta based on the Iliad; "Vigil of Alexander the Great".

F.F. Shchedrin(1751-1825). Marsyas, Sleeping Endymion, Judgment of Paris, Venus, Diana.

F.G. Gordeev(1744-1810). "Prometheus".

monumental sculpture. Civic ideas and high figurativeness of sculptural monuments of the second half of the 18th century.

EM. Falcone. Monument to Peter I. (Help of the sculptor's student - M.-A. Kallo in the solution of the portrait of the emperor). M.I. Kozlovsky. Monument to A.V. Suvorov.

The second half of the 18th century is the heyday of the main genres of sculpture.

memorial sculpture. Artistic tombstone and memorial theme in Russian art. I.P. Martos(1754-1835). Evolution from the "loquacity" of early tombstones to the simplicity and conciseness of the artistic language of classicism. Tombstone of a statesman, diplomat Count N.I. Panin, tombstone of Princess E.S. Kurakina, tombstone of Princess E.I. Gagarina. Using the experience gained during their creation in the monument to citizen Minin and Prince Pozharsky.

decorative sculpture. Decorative sculpture of Peterhof. F.G. Gordeev. Bas-reliefs of the Grand Peterhof Palace and sculptures for cascades. F.F. Shchedrin. Participation in the creation of the sculptural complex of Peterhof fountains ("Neva"). I.P. Prokofiev (1758-1828). His works for Peterhof fountains are "Shepherd Akid", "Volkhov", "Tritons".

Portrait. Creativity of the sculptor-portraitist F.I. Shubin(1740-1805). Studying at the Academy of Arts and retirement (a relief portrait of I. I. Shuvalov and a bust of F. N. Golitsyn). A cycle of historical portraits - fifty-eight oval marble reliefs for the Chesme Palace.

Portraiture from nature is the main line of the sculptor's work. Busts - Vice-Chancellor Prince A.M. Golitsyn, General-in-Chief of His Serene Highness Prince G.G. Orlov, Field Marshal Count P.A. Rumyantsev-Zadunaisky, Minister of Public Education P.V. Zavadovsky, Field Marshal B.P. Sheremetev, Field Marshal His Serene Highness Prince G.A. Potemkin-Tavrichesky, Field Marshal Prince N.V. Repnin, General of Infantry P.A. Zubov, Admiral V.Ya. Chichagov, Secretary of State and Chief Chamberlain Count A.A. Bezborodko.

Memory work. Portrait of a great countryman - M.V. Lomonosov.

Portraits and statues of Russian emperors. Numerous portraits of Catherine II. Statue "Catherine II - Legislator". The proximity of this work to the picturesque portrait of Levitsky and the program created for this work by the architect Lvov. Uncompromising portraits of Paul I.

Historical painting. In the 18th century, the main historical genre, since only he, according to the concepts of that time, was able to capture heroic images past, the great events of world and Russian history. Therefore, the Academy of Arts took care of the development of this genre and encouraged the work of historical painters. At that time, historical painting was understood as works made on historical, antique, mythological and biblical themes proper.

Russian painters gradually developed compositional principles for constructing a historical picture: they paid great attention to the transfer of character actors, clothing and furnishings. Often the compositions were interpreted as stage theatrical performances, where the main character dominated, as in a drama, pronouncing the words of his role, and focusing all attention on himself. The environment obeyed him - other characters, architecture, landscape. The coloring of such paintings was distinguished by an underlined conventionality of color. At the same time, artists usually tried to deeply convey the inner life of the characters. There was a desire for simplicity and naturalness. Often the best historical works turned out to be associated with artistic awareness of the past of the Fatherland.

Depths and monumentality of incarnation important event Russian history reached M. V. Lomonosov in the mosaic "Battle of Poltava", which, under his leadership, was performed by Russian masters, continuing to develop and enrich the monumental traditions of ancient Russian art. Mosaic outlined a new path for Russian monumental painting.

A. P. Losenko(1737-1773). The greatest historical painter was Anton Pavlovich Losenko. He was born in Ukraine, orphaned early and ended up in St. Petersburg in the court choir, from where at the age of 16 he was sent to study with IP Argunov, and in 1759 to the Academy of Arts. After graduating from the Academy, he was sent to France and Italy. Returning to St. Petersburg in 1769, Losenko became a professor, later director of the Academy of Arts. His drawings and paintings ("The Sacrifice of Abraham", "Cain", "Abel") enjoyed great success among contemporaries, for a long time served as examples of skill and were often copied by students. The artist's talent was most fully revealed in his two latest works- "Vladimir and Rogneda" (1770, ill. 62) and "Farewell of Hector to Andromache" (1773, ill. 63). While working on a painting about Prince Vladimir of Novgorod, who decided to take the Polotsk princess Rogneda away by force, Losenko created a series of natural drawings to depict Russian soldiers. Of course, in the poses of the main characters, their gestures, in the costumes, there is still a lot of conventionality. But the artist has already taken the first step towards the embodiment of human passions in their collision and development by means of painting. The first Russian historical painting on a national theme testified to the maturity of the new Russian painting. In Hector's Farewell to Andromache, Losenko, having chosen an ancient plot, acted as a characteristic master of classicism. He affirms the idea of ​​a person's love of freedom, his patriotism, citizenship, readiness for a feat. This is how Hector, the hero of Homer's Iliad, is shown, saying goodbye to his family and compatriots before the battle for hometown Troy. The picture is imbued with a sense of heroic pathos.

Losenko was not only a talented historical painter, but also an outstanding portrait painter. Some of his paintings of this genre have survived to our time, including an expressive portrait of the first Russian actor F. G. Volkov.

Losenko's pedagogical activity was very fruitful: the largest artists of historical painting came out of his school, senior pupils of all departments of the Academy of Arts studied drawing with him, his authority was high among academic professors. Losenko died early, without having time to realize many of his creative ideas, and the Academy of Arts lost its largest teacher.

Among the students of Losenko stand out I. A. Akimov (1754-1814) - the author of a number historical paintings, a former professor at the Academy of Arts for a long time, and P. I. Sokolov (1753-1791) - one of the best academic draftsmen of the 18th century. Almost all of Sokolov's works are based on themes from ancient mythology, but compared to the teacher's paintings, they are less heroic, their images are distinguished by soft lyricism and poetic beauty.

G. I. Ugryumov(1764-1823). After Losenko, the most famous historical painter of the 18th century was Grigory Ivanovich Ugryumov. After graduating from the Academy of Arts in 1785, he was sent on a pensioner's trip to Italy, and upon his return he performed a series of paintings from Russian history: "The Solemn Entry into Pskov of Alexander Nevsky after his victory over the German knights", "The Capture of Kazan" and "The Election of Mikhail Fedorovich to the kingdom. It was then that his teaching career began. In 1797, he performed a program for the title of academician - "Testing the Strength of Jan Usmar" (ill. 64): Kozhemyaka Jan Usmar, wanting to fight with the Pecheneg hero, demonstrates his strength to Prince Vladimir. The impressive image of this Russian hero, reminiscent of Hercules, is almost sculptural in the plasticity of his athletic figure. Live, full of underlined expression figures of warriors are depicted on the left side of the picture.

In addition to paintings, Ugryumov left behind a number of portraits, psychologically sharp and simple in composition. For more than 20 years he taught at the Academy of Arts. He taught such historical painters of the early 19th century as A. E. Egorov, A. I. Ivanov, V. K. Shebuev, as well as the portrait painter O. A. Kiprensky.

Russian painting of the second half of the 18th century achieved its greatest successes not in the historical picture, but in other genres - primarily in the portrait.

Portrait painting. In the second half of the 18th century, portraiture reached its peak. At this time, the largest painters F. S. Rokotov, D. G. Levitsky and V. L. Borovikovsky created a brilliant gallery of portraits of contemporaries, works that glorify the beauty and nobility of human aspirations. The Russian portrait of that time happily combines great depth and significance in the depiction of the human person. Artists recreated the image of a person using various pictorial means: exquisite color shades, additional colors and reflexes, the richest system of multi-layer overlaying of paints, transparent glazes, subtle and virtuoso use of the texture of the colorful surface. All this determined significant place domestic portrait in contemporary European painting.

F. S. Rokotov(1735 or 1736-1808). Among the largest portrait painters was Fedor Stepanovich Rokotov. While still a young man, he became widely known as a skilled and original painter. His creative heritage is significant, but in the 19th century the artist was almost forgotten, and only at the beginning of the next century did the painstaking collection of the facts of his biography and work begin. Many events in Rokotov's life remain mysterious.

Already in 1760, Rokotov was a teacher at the Academy of Arts. After 5 years, he was awarded the title of academician. After such a brilliantly launched career, he left the Academy of Arts and moved to Moscow. There began a new, creatively very fruitful period of his life.

Rokotov painted mainly chamber portraits. His works reflected the desire of the best, enlightened part of the Russian nobility, characteristic of that time, to follow high moral standards. The artist liked to depict a person without a parade environment, not posing.

Also in early works Rokotov - the portraits of Grand Duke Pavel, the girl E. Yusupova and others are affected by the ability not only to correctly convey the similarity, but also to endow the image with great spirituality.

Rokotov's work flourished in subsequent years, when the artist enriched and complicated the color even more, achieved in his portraits the transfer of an internally significant, elevated image. In later portraits, Rokotov emphasizes the intellectuality and spirituality of his models.

In the portrait of V. I. Maikov (end of 1760-1778), Rokotov appears in all the brilliance and originality of his talent: the artist’s painting becomes especially temperamental here, the brush is free, the color, built on the opposition of red and green, acquires sonority. In the image of the poet, famous for the comic poem "The Ombre Player", the illusion of living life is created not by a petty transfer of appearance, but by the brightness and power of revealing characteristic features.

In the portrait of V. E. Novosiltseva (1780), Rokotov finds the same measure of ideality as in the image of Maikov. In the guise of this young woman, the artist's idea of ​​beauty was personified. No less characteristic, Rokotov's, are the portraits of "Unknown Woman in Pink" (1770s), N. E. Struysky (1772), E. N. Orlova (1779) and E. V. Santi (1785, ill. 67 ). The portrait of V. N. Surovtseva (second half of the 1780s, ill. 66), one of the most expressive canvases of the artist, a charming image of femininity, captivates with artistry and the attractive power of spirituality.

Rokotov usually focuses all his attention on faces. People in his portraits almost always smile a little, often intently, sometimes mysteriously looking at the viewer. They are united by something in common, some kind of deep humanity and spiritual warmth. It is as if the portrayed people are hiding something, hiding something. They seem to be immersed in the mysterious picturesque environment of the background.

The works of the last years of Rokotov's life are almost unknown to us, as well as the fate of the artist in old age.

D. G. Levitsky(1735-1822). When the work of Rokotov flourished, the activity of another major portrait painter Dmitry Grigorievich Levitsky began, who created a series of truthful, deep-characterized portraits. The artist was probably born in Kyiv and initially studied fine arts with his father, a well-known Ukrainian engraver. There, young Levitsky met with Antropov, who supervised the work on decorating St. Andrew's Church. Levitsky was among the students of Antropov in St. Petersburg, his assistant in the execution of portraits of Catherine II for the triumphal arch in Moscow, erected during the coronation.

In 1770, at an exhibition at the Academy of Arts, Levitsky presented a number of portraits, appearing immediately as a mature and major master. For one of them - the architect A.F. Kokorinov (1769, ill. 65) - he was awarded the title of academician. The artist relies here on the tradition of baroque representational portraiture. Kokorinov is depicted in his office at the table, on which lies the plan of the Academy of Arts. Levitsky subtly and carefully paints the calm, serious face of Kokorinov, a figure complex in movement in a ceremonial caftan and camisole, perfectly conveys the plasticity of gesture, various fabrics, sewing, uniting everything with a smoky-lilac tonality of color.

Levitsky most fully and holistically expressed his understanding of the interpretation of the image in the ceremonial portrait in a series of portraits of Smolny women - pupils of the Smolny Institute (1773-1776). The artist depicted each of the pupils of this privileged noble educational institution in a certain plot situation, in a characteristic pose: E. I. Nelidova and N. S. Borshchova are shown dancing, E. N. Khovanskaya and E. N. Khrushchova - playing a pastoral scene, E N. Molchanova with a book in her hands demonstrates experience with an electric machine, G. I. Alymova plays music. Levitsky perfectly conveyed the charm of youth and at the same time characterized the characters in different ways. Portraits are inherently decorative, born from the rich juxtaposition of the colors of clothes, the exquisite beauty of linear contours and silhouettes. The decorative effect is also enhanced by the backstage depicting conditional landscapes or draperies. Levitsky's coloring in this series is clear and cheerful.

The portrait of Catherine II the legislator (1783) is an example of the artist's direct response to the dreams of the noble intelligentsia about an enlightened monarch, a true citizen of his fatherland, who not only issues fair laws, but also obeys them, like all fellow citizens. The plot of this ceremonial portrait Levitsky learned from the circle of G. R. Derzhavin, and it is consonant with Derzhavin's poem "Felitsa".

Chamber portraits of Levitsky during the heyday of his work, which falls on the 1770s - 1780s, represent the pinnacle of the artist's achievements. High intellectuality, spiritual significance is emphasized by the artist in the portrait of the French philosopher Denis Diderot (1773-1774), who visited the Russian capital, depicting him in a dressing gown and without a wig. Filled with grace, femininity M. A. Lvova, nee Dyakova (1778, ill. 68, and 1781), Ursula Mnishek (1782) appears as an empty secular beauty, prudent coquetry is inherent in the prima donna of the Italian comic opera singer A. Davia Bernuzzi (1782).

Levitsky's portraits are very diverse. For the artist, all his models are people with a complex inner life. He did not flatter them, remaining objective in his characteristics. The favorite of Catherine II, the frivolous courtier A. D. Lanskoy (1782), he showed cold and important, doll-like handsome, dressed in an embroidered gold uniform. In a portrait of an old priest (1779) painted in a wide, quick and pasty strokes, he focuses all his attention on the face of a man who has obviously lived a long and hard life. The eyes of the artist's daughter, Agashi (1785), whom he portrayed in a Russian costume, shine with liveliness and intelligence. In the portrait attributed to Levitsky of the writer and publisher N. I. Novikov (beginning of the 1790s, ill. 69), with whom Levitsky was not only familiar, but also friendly, he emphasized seriousness and intellectuality.

Levitsky was a remarkable draftsman and colorist. His portraits are always harmonized in color, golden light envelops the canvases. The artist often resorts to intense rich colors that make up a single and characteristic gamut for him, in which clarity and purity of tonal and color relationships reign.

V. L. Borovikovsky(1757-1825). The third outstanding master of the portrait genre at the end of the 18th century was Vladimir Lukich Borovikovsky. He was born in Mirgorod in Ukraine and received his initial professional skills from his father, an artist. In the icons painted by Borovikovsky in his youth, his great talent is felt. In St. Petersburg, Borovikovsky communicated with representatives of the progressively thinking Russian intelligentsia of the circle of G. R. Derzhavin, became close to Levitsky, and possibly studied with him. The portrait of E. N. Arsenyeva, created in 1796 (ill. 70), is a work of high skill. In addition, it outlines a new view of man. The artist depicted the woman being portrayed among nature, in a cozy corner of the garden, against the backdrop of greenery, with an apple in her hand. If Arsenyeva is depicted provocatively smiling, charming in her happy youth, then M. I. Lopukhina (1797) is full of slight sadness and poetic reverie. She captivates with gentle melancholy, amazing softness and inner harmony. In those portrayed, Borovikovsky sang the ability for lofty feelings, heartfelt feelings, and in this respect he is close to the representatives of the Russian literary direction sentimentalism, for example, N. M. Karamzin. This is manifested in the image of Catherine II, depicted against the backdrop of the peaceful nature of Tsarskoye Selo Park (1794), and in the portrait of the Torzhkov peasant woman Khristinya (c. 1795), an ideal image, beautiful in its "simplicity", in the group portrait of the Gagarin sisters (1802). In the latter, the artist included the domestic environment, connected the figures with action, developing a type of paired image, anticipating the search for Russian artists of the first half of XIX century. In female portraits, the artist strove for a special poeticization of the model, for a peculiarly laid-back and at the same time elegant, slightly idealized image of her.

Borovikovsky's male portraits are more diverse and objective in terms of characteristics. Depicted are more restrained in expressing feelings. These are portraits of G. R. Derzhavin (c. 1795), D. P. Troshchinsky (1799), F. A. Borovsky (1799, ill. 71).

A special group consists of ceremonial portraits of the artist, distinguished by their monumentality and solemnity. Among them, the most indicative for the master himself and general direction Russian art of the early 19th century, portrait of A. B. Kurakin (c. 1801). The full-length figure of a lordly, arrogant nobleman effectively stands out against the backdrop of a column and a hanging heavy curtain.

In his work, Borovikovsky affirmed the same lofty humanistic ideal that is inherent in Russian art throughout the 18th century. Portraits made by the artist during the period of rapprochement with sentimentalism and later reflect character traits classicist style.

Like most Russian painters of the 18th century, Borovikovsky is stingy and restrained in expressing his personal attitude towards the model in the ceremonial portrait.

Borovikovsky's art is not limited to commissioned portraits of the nobility. The artist captured the images of people from the people. In addition to the above-mentioned portrait of Christinha, he painted an allegorical image of winter in the form of an old peasant warming his hands by the fire.

IN last years life Borovikovsky much engaged in religious painting.

Along with the works of Rokotov and Levitsky, the legacy of Borovikovsky completes a rich and meaningful page in the history of the Russian portrait genre, which achieved significant success by the end of the 18th century.

Provincial portrait. The intensive development of Russian culture in the second half of the 18th century led to the widespread use of fine arts, primarily portraiture, in the provinces. The Russian provincial portrait of the 18th century follows the works of metropolitan art, but has a number of features. The new features of 18th-century art penetrated the provinces belatedly. Provincial portraits were usually created in series, making up family galleries. Their characteristic features are some straightforwardness and unambiguity in the interpretation of the image, a literal external similarity. They are more closely connected with the Old Russian tradition, differ in pattern, local color, and ornamentation.

landscape painting. Landscape painting received a noticeable development in the second half of the 18th century. If in the previous period the landscape was found mainly in decorative painting, murals, engravings, now it is becoming an independent genre. And it reflected the lofty ideals of classicism, as well as the desire of artists to observe nature and the ability to build a complete composition.

A landscape class was created at the Academy of Arts, which a large group of landscape painters graduated from. They captured the beauty of suburban gardens and parks, the originality of the architecture of emerging urban ensembles. A special place in landscape painting of the 18th century was occupied by images of St. Petersburg and its suburbs.

Artists of the XVIII century tried to accurately convey the appearance of architectural structures, sought to create a "portrait of the place." Using sketches from nature, they composed their compositions in the studio. In the foreground, tall trees or part of the building were depicted, which served as a backstage. In the center - the most important thing - a palace or a park pavilion, the prospect of a street or a "ruin". As a rule, the foreground was interpreted in warm brown tones, the second in green, and the distance was painted in cold blue and light blue, which created the illusion of space and depth. Such a coloristic system for a long time became hallmark academic art.

Landscape painting of the second half of the 18th century is very diverse. The master of the park landscape was Semyon Fedorovich Shchedrin(1745-1804). He most fully embodied the classic principles of constructing paintings of this genre. In a series of landscapes of Gatchina, Pavlovsk, Peterhof, Shchedrin captured the beauty of these places, the features of park architecture, clearly building his compositions.

The urban landscape became widespread in the 18th century. Its most characteristic representative was Fedor Yakovlevich Alekseev(1753/54-1824). Alekseev became famous as an artist of views of Moscow, Voronezh, Kherson, but above all of strict and slender prospects of St. Petersburg. The embankments of the Neva, grandiose palaces, squares and street life - all this was truly reflected in such works by Alekseev as "View of the Mikhailovsky Castle" (1799-1800) or "View of the Palace Embankment from the Peter and Paul Fortress" (1794, ill. 72). His paintings are usually an organic combination of plans. Alekseev depicted panoramas of the capital in the silver-gray light of the northern sky.

landscapes Mikhail Matveyevich Ivanov(1748-1823), who worked mainly in watercolor, are most often devoted to images of Ukraine, the Crimea, and the Caucasus. Being assigned to the headquarters of G. A. Potemkin and accompanying him in the Crimean campaign, M. M. Ivanov created works related to the battle genre: "Storm of Ochakov", "Storm of Izmail". They combine documentary accuracy with the general panoramic principle of constructing space.

Another way - the creation of a "heroic", fictional landscape - in Fyodor Mikhailovich Matveev(1758-1826), whose works are distinguished by epic breadth of conception and decorative construction.

Household painting. In the 18th century, the household genre received a certain development. There was a special "class of home exercises" at the Academy of Arts. According to the aesthetics of classicism, with its strict normativity, the Academy of Arts reduced everyday painting to the depiction of insignificant, although not devoid of "pleasant" objects. Paintings of the everyday genre were not numerous and did not constitute a noticeable line in the Russian art of that time, but they testify to the growing democracy of painting. Canvases have come down to us, in which, however, often idealized, peasant holidays, a poor peasant meal, street and domestic scenes are shown.

The painting is considered to be an early work of genre painting. Ivan Firsov"Young painter" (second half of the 1760s, ill. 73). First of all, attention is drawn to the seriousness and interest with which Firsov conveys this plot, insignificant from the point of view of academic aesthetics - a young painter painting a portrait of a girl. Work from nature is felt in everything - in people, in the decor of the room, in the image of an easel and a box of paints, in the transfer of soft airy lighting.

The true initiator of the everyday peasant genre in Russian painting was Mikhail Shibanov(? - after 1789). Very little is known about this artist's life. In the Vladimir province, in the "Suzdal province" he painted two paintings: "Peasant Dinner" (1774) and "The Celebration of the Wedding Pact" (1777, ill. 74). They are distinguished by severely truthful characteristics of people, life, and details. Written in brown, they have a colorful richness, a subtle combination of silver-gray, red, dark green, pinkish-yellow tones. Shibanov introduced into the genre canvases the features of solemnity and monumentality, characteristic of Russian historical painting.

She has long passed, and there are no longer those eyes
And there is no smile that was silently expressed
Suffering is the shadow of love, and thoughts are the shadow of sorrow,
But Borovikovsky saved her beauty.
So, part of her soul did not fly away from us,
And there will be this look and this beauty of the body
To attract indifferent offspring to her,
Teaching him to love, suffer, forgive, be silent.
Ya. P. Polonsky

The famous German art theorist of the XVIII century. I.I. Winckelmann above all put the artist's ability to embody noble simplicity and calm grandeur in his creation. Three great masters - F.S. Rokotov, D.G. Levitsky and V.L. Borovikovsky, who left us a gallery of faces of Catherine's and Pavlov's Russia, fully possessed this skill. Their portraits are still an excellent source of knowledge about a person of that era, a source no less reliable than letters, diaries or memoirs. Thanks to the portrait, one can get an idea of ​​the character traits of the person depicted, his tastes, manners, and even the imperceptible impulses of his soul at first glance.

In the works of these artists, there is a desire to embody in colors a genuine interest in the inner world of the human personality, and not abstract vices or virtues. Thereby Russian art made the first, but very confident steps along the path of "human knowledge". The creators of the Russian classical portrait, like G.R. Derzhavin, they could say about themselves: "The mind and heart of a man were my genius." The style of many outstanding portrait painters is deeply individual. F.S. Rokotova (1735? - 1808) inner world the hero on the canvas seems to be hidden from the indiscreet gaze of the audience.

Rokotov was a master of great talent. His fate has not yet been finally clarified. The artist was originally from the serfs of the Repnin family. Graduated from the Academy of Arts. In the mid 60s. 18th century he's writing beautiful portraits- the poet V.I. Maikov and an unknown from the Vorontsov family. The most fruitful period of Rokotov's life is associated with Moscow. Here in the late 60s. there is a mature style of the artist, more and more gravitating towards a realistic transfer of the appearance of the characters. The portraits of N.E. Struisky, A.P. which is only a weak reflection of the wealth of the soul hidden from prying eyes. Artistic manner of F.S. Rokotova is distinguished by special poetry.

At the same time, all means of expression are subject to a clear compositional and coloristic design. The glory of Russian art is made up of such canvases as portraits of V.E. Novosiltseva, P.N. Lanskaya, E.V. Santi, V.N. Surovtseva. In them, Rokotov affirms the national specificity of Russian classicism, the essence of which is high humanism and deep psychology, while maintaining the clarity of expression of thought and the severity of forms. The great master of the portrait was D. G. Levitsky (1735? - 1822). According to some information, he was born in the family of a director (editor) of publications of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. Educated in St. Petersburg, at the Antropov school.

All my creative life the artist dedicated portrait painting, creating a whole world of images of the people of Russia in the last third of the 18th century. The first works that gained fame were written by D.G. Levitsky in the late 60s. 18th century These are portraits of the director of the Academy of Arts A.F. Kokorinov, otkupshik N.A. Sezemov, professor of historical painting G. I. Kozlovsky, well-known philanthropist A. S. Stroganov. Master from the very early work shows a desire to highlight the most striking features of their models.

The artist pays great attention to the depiction of outstanding people, marked by traits of talent. He especially succeeded in portraits of his contemporaries, famous for their high intelligence and rich culture. The Museum of Art and History of Geneva houses a unique painting by Levitsky - a portrait of Denis Diderot (1773-1774). The artist painted it during the visit of the French thinker to Russia. Then, in the 70s. XVIII century., Diderot's personality and works were unusually popular. Levitsky emphasized in the guise of an educator, first of all, those character traits that were so valued by contemporaries - intelligence and the ability to communicate benevolently. No less expressive image of the Russian enlightener was captured by the master in the portrait of N. I. Novikov (c. 1797).

A man of great intelligence and seething energy is looking at us, capable of influencing his surroundings. The harmony of talent and female beauty also attracted the artist. The well-known "suite" of seven paintings "Smolyanki" (1772-1776) became a masterpiece of painting of the 18th century. On the canvases of D. G. Levitsky, graceful, flirtatious young girls play music, dance, play opera scenes. However, behind this "masquerade" the artist was able to discern the difference in characters and artistic talent. His heroines do not pose, but seem to live in the picture space.

Unlike many ceremonial portraits, Smolyanka is devoid of decorative paraphernalia. The clear, precise composition of each canvas emphasizes the poetic nature of the images, which are in complete harmony with the world of sublime muses. Being close to the well-known St. Petersburg literary and musical circle of N.A. Lvov, D. G. Levitsky had an excellent opportunity to observe the life of people of art. Many of them he portrayed several times. The artist painted his friend architect, poet, folklorist N.A. Lvov twice. Both in the first portrait and in a miniature of a later time, Levitsky captured the complex and attractive image of an intelligent, charming, sophisticated person, whose knowledge "in the sciences and arts" was extremely valued in metropolitan circles. The artist also painted Lvov's wife M.A. Dyakova twice - in 1778 and in 1781. On the first canvas is a charming girl with childishly swollen lips. True, the charm of youth does not obscure its main advantages - independence and self-confidence. The image on the second canvas is more complex: it reveals the spiritual wealth and talent of an educated woman.

Developing the techniques of a ceremonial classicist portrait, D.G. Levitsky introduced a “zest” into each of his works, adequately reflecting his individual style. For example, in the portrait of P. A. Demidov (1773), he combined serious solemnity with elements of everyday life, the combination of which betrays the master’s slightly ironic attitude towards nature. Demidov is depicted in a proud pose against the background of columns and draperies, but in a dressing gown, slippers and with a watering can in his hands (he was a great lover of flowers). The facial expression speaks of a thin person who has seen a lot, knows his own worth and is spoiled. Other heroes of D. G. Levitsky - P. N. Golitsyn, P. F. Vorontsov, A. S. Bakunin also receive accurate characteristics. He reveals the "secrets" of the inner content of the frivolous A.D. Lansky, the overly serious director of the Court Singing Chapel M.F. Poltoratsky, the kind and wise close associate of Catherine II A.V. Khrapovitsky. The son of his time, D. G. Levitsky did not escape the charm of the image of an ideal enlightened monarch. This is exactly what appears in his ceremonial portrait of Catherine II - the legislator (1783).

The Empress is fifty-four years old, but the artist depicted her as youthful and slender. The empress liked the portrait. G.R.Derzhavin described him in the ode "Vision of Murza". At the turn of the century, D.G. Levitsky lost his sight: until the end of his days, he no longer worked. The third master from the galaxy of geniuses of the Russian classicist portrait is V.L. Borovikovsky (1757-1825) came to secular painting after icon painting. As a young man, he was "discovered" by the poet V.V. Kapnist, who drew attention to a gifted young man who painted churches in the Poltava region. Kapnist brought the artist to St. Petersburg and brought N.A. Lvov into the house, who provided him with patronage. Borovikovsky was entrusted with painting iconostases in churches built according to Lvov's designs in Torzhok and in the estate of Nikolskoye-Cherenchitsy.

Soon Borovikovsky becomes a recognized painter. His portraits captivate with nobility and harmony of lines. The people of the "Lviv circle" willingly posed for him - G.R. Derzhavin, V.V. Kapnist, Derzhavin's first wife Ekaterina Yakovleva. The influence of the educator N.A. Lvov was reflected in the works of V.L. Borovikovsky, depicting people "from the people". Such are the joint portrait of the two maids of Lvov, beloved by everyone for their cheerful disposition and singing talent (“Lizinka and Dashinka”; 1794), and the portrait of the Torzhkov peasant woman Khristinia (c. 1795) - one of the few “peasant” images in Russian painting of the 18th century. The gentle, as if softened, coloring of Borovikovsky's canvases makes it possible to rank the artist among the forerunners of romantic art. A number of his portraits are in tune with the sentimental "Russian songs", the sensitive poetry of V.V. Kapnist and I.I. Dmitriev.

One of the best works of Borovikovsky is rightfully considered a portrait of M. I. Lopukhina (1797). It vividly reflected the desire of the master to go beyond the strict framework of the classicist normativity. The artist depicted his heroine in a somewhat "simplistic", but at the same time deeply poetic appearance. The master's main concern is to understand the spiritual mood of a beautiful woman. He managed to capture the state of quiet reverie and thoughtfulness, and thereby open a sentimental theme completely new to Russian painting. Even greater vital immediacy and intimate lyricism is achieved by the artist in his work on the portrait of the Gagarin sisters, who are passionate about singing and music. At the beginning of the XIX century. V.L. Borovikovsky paints a portrait of A. I. Bezborodko with his daughters, where he embodies the idea of ​​a sensitive family attachment of a sentimental type.

In the portrait, not only the faces are expressive, but also the entwined hands, fingers sorting through the chain of the medallion, the gesture of the mother, gently attracting her daughters to herself. So, in the Age of Enlightenment, Russian art reflected difficult life a person with his views on the world, illusions, moral positions. The unique images of contemporaries, embodied in classicist slender images, testify not only to the development of European secular genres. Most importantly, in painting and sculpture, the national beginning of a new art is born, in which, just as in antiquity, the ideals of the unity of high morality and beauty are nurtured, thereby preserving the thread of the continuous cultural development of Russia. Music also played an important role in this process.

Rapatskaya L.A. Story artistic culture Russia (from ancient times to the end of the XX century): textbook. allowance for students. higher ped. textbook establishments. - M .: Publishing Center "Academy", 2008. - 384 p.

Among the many Russian and foreign artists who worked in Russia, the outstanding portrait masters in the 18th century can be safely called

A.P. Antropova, I.P. Argunova, F.S. Rokotova, D.G. Levitsky, V.L. Borovikovsky.

On his canvases A.P. Antropov and I.P. Argunov sought to portray a new ideal of a person - open and energetic. Cheerfulness, festivity was emphasized by bright colors. The dignity of the depicted, their corpulence was conveyed with the help of beautiful clothes and solemn static poses.

A.P.Antropov and his paintings

Self-portrait of A.P. Antropov

In the work of A.P. Antropov, there is still a noticeable connection with icon painting. The master paints the face with continuous strokes, and clothes, accessories, background - freely and widely. The artist does not "fawn" before the noble heroes of his paintings. He paints them as they really are, no matter what features, positive or negative, they do not possess (portraits of M.A. Rumyantseva, A.K. Vorontsova, Peter III).

Among the most famous works painter Antropov portraits:

• Izmailov;
• A.I. and P.A. Kolichyov;
• Elizabeth Petrovna;
• Peter I;
• Catherine II in profile;
• ataman F. Krasnoshchekov;
• portrait book. Trubetskoy

I.P. Argunov - portrait painter of the 18th century

I.P. Argunov "Self-portrait"

Developing the concept of the national portrait, I.P. Argunov quickly and easily mastered the language of European painting and abandoned the old Russian traditions. Stand out in his heritage are the ceremonial retrospective portraits that he painted from lifetime images of the ancestors of P.B. Sheremetev. In his work, the painting of the next century is foreseen. He becomes the creator of a chamber portrait, in which great attention is paid to the high spirituality of the image. This was the intimate portrait, which became more common in the 19th century.

I.P. Argunov "Portrait of an unknown woman in a peasant costume"

The most significant images in his work were:

• Ekaterina Alekseevna;
• P.B. Sheremetev in childhood;
• the Sheremetevs;
• Catherine II;
• Ekaterina Aleksandrovna Lobanova-Rostovskaya;
• unknown in a peasant costume.

F.S. Rokotov - artist and paintings

A new phase in the development of this art is associated with the name of the Russian portrait painter - F.S. Rokotova. He conveys the play of feelings, the variability of the human character in his dynamic images. The world seemed to the painter spiritualized, and so are his characters: multifaceted, full of lyricism and humanity.

F. Rokotov "Portrait of an unknown man in a cocked hat"

F.S. Rokotov worked in the genre of a half-dress portrait, when a person was depicted waist-deep against the backdrop of architectural buildings or a landscape. Among his first works are portraits of Peter III and Grigory Orlov, the seven-year-old Prince Pavel Petrovich and Princess E.B. Yusupova. They are elegant, decorative, colorful. The images are painted in the Rococo style with its sensuality and emotionality. Thanks to the works of Rokotov, one can learn the history of his time. The entire advanced noble elite strove to be captured on the canvases of the great painter's brush.

Chamber portraits of Rokotov are characterized by: bust image, turn to the viewer by ¾, creation of volume by complex light and shade molding, harmonious combination of tones. With the help of data means of expression the artist creates a certain type of canvas, which depicted the honor, dignity, spiritual grace of a person (portrait of the "Unknown Man in a cocked hat").

F.S. Rokotov "Portrait of A.P. Struyskaya"

Especially remarkable were the artist's youthful and female images, and even a certain Rokotovsky type of woman developed (portraits of A.P. Struyskaya, E.N. Zinovieva and many others).

In addition to those already mentioned, the works of F.S. Rokotov brought fame:

• IN AND. Maykov;
• Unknown in pink;
• V.E. Novosiltseva;
• P.N. Lanskoy;
• Surovtseva;
• A.I. and I.I. Vorontsov;
• Catherine II.

D.G.Levitsky

D.G.Levitsky Self-portrait

It was said that the portraits of D. G. Levitsky reflected the whole century of Catherine. Whoever Levitsky portrayed, he acted as a subtle psychologist and certainly conveyed sincerity, openness, sadness, as well as national characteristics of people.

His most outstanding works: a portrait of A.F. Kokorinov, a series of portraits "Smolyanka", portraits of Dyakova and Markerovsky, a portrait of Agashi. Many of Levitsky's works are considered intermediate between ceremonial and chamber portraits.

D.G. Levitsky "Portrait of A.F. Kokorinov"

Levitsky combined in his work the accuracy and truthfulness of the images of Antropov and the lyrics of Rokotov, as a result of which he became one of the most prominent masters of the 18th century. . His most famous works are:

• E. I. Nelidova
• M. A. Lvova
• N. I. Novikova
• A. V. Khrapovitsky
• the Mitrofanovs
• Bakunina

V.L.Borovikovsky - master of sentimental portrait

Portrait of V.L. Borovikovsky, art. Bugaevsky-blagodatny

The personality of the domestic master of this genre V.B. Borovikovsky is associated with the creation sentimental portrait. His miniatures and oil portraits depicted people with their experiences, emotions, conveyed the uniqueness of their inner world (portrait of M.I. Lopukhina). Women's images had a certain composition: a woman was depicted against a natural background, waist-deep, she leaned on something, holding flowers or fruits in her hands.

V.L.Borovikovsky "Portrait of Paul I in the costume of the Order of Malta"

Over time, the images of the artist become typical for the entire era (portrait of General F. A. Borovsky), and therefore the artist is also called the historiographer of his time. Peruvian artist owns portraits:

• V.A. Zhukovsky;
• "Lizanka and Dashenka";
• G.R. Derzhavin;
• Paul I;
• A.B. Kurakina;
• "Beardless with daughters."

For the development of Russian painting, the 18th century became turning point. The portrait becomes the leading genre . Artists adopt painting techniques and basic techniques from their European colleagues. But the focus is on a person with his own experiences and feelings.

Russian portrait painters tried not only to convey the similarity, but also to reflect on their canvases the soulfulness and inner world of their models. If Antropov and Argunov strove, having overcome conventions, to truthfully depict a person, then Rokotov, Levitsky and Borovikovsky went further. Spiritual personalities look from their canvases, the mood of which was captured and conveyed by the artists. All of them strove for the ideal, they sang beauty in their works, but bodily beauty was only a reflection of the humanity and spirituality inherent in the Russian people.

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The 18th century in the portrait genre is also a whole gallery of nuances female soul, with its impulses and depth of life.

A characteristic feature of the “rokotovsky female type” is a proudly planted head, an elongated slit of slightly narrowed eyes, an absent-minded half-smile – “a combination of refined contentment and sadness, which is almost indescribable.” These features are already observed in the portrait of E. N. Orlova, nee Zinovieva, which is still ambivalent (dual) in its concept: Orlova in a white satin dress with an ermine mantle, with a ribbon of St. Catherine and a portrait of the empress studded with diamonds on the chest is presented in a representative (representative), “estate form”, but “estate” coexists with the intimacy of the mood, like the arrogance of the whole appearance; self-confidence - with thoughtfulness and sadness in his eyes. Rokotov is characterized by a movement from the trembling and unsteadiness of the spiritual world (for example, portraits of "Struyskaya" and "Unknown in a pink dress") to creating the image of a woman capable of independent judgment about the world - a portrait of V. N. Surovtseva, whose attractive power lies in spirituality and subtle sincerity of the image. Rokotov, as it were, shows that there is another beauty besides external, he creates in this portrait an idea of female beauty first of all, as spiritual beauty. Slight sadness and even some spiritual fatigue do not exclude great inner restraint, high dignity and depth of feeling.

Levitsky creates a series of portraits of pupils of the Smolny Institute for Noble Maidens - "Smolyanka" - a single artistic ensemble (seven portraits: portraits of Rzhevskaya and Davydova, Nelidova, Khovanskaya and Khrushcheva, Borshcheva, Molchanova, Alymova). The general idea is the theme of victorious youth, sparkling fun, a special cheerfulness of attitude; they have a single decorative design. "Smolyanki" are ceremonial portraits. But Levitsky was also interested in a different approach to the model: he strove to reveal the hidden life, deeply closed from a superficial glance. And most often he succeeded with models who were mentally, and most importantly, spiritually close to him.

Borovikovsky developed something like a compositional canon of female (and these are always female) portraits: a half-length (rarely generational) section of a figure leaning on a tree, cabinet, etc., holding a flower or fruit in his hand. The background is always natural. The figure is placed, as it were, at the junction of light (sky) and dark (clumps of trees) (for example, the portrait of Lopukhina). Sometimes not only the staging of the figure, but even the dress and decorations are repeated from portrait to portrait, as in the images of E. N. Arsenyeva (1796) and Skobeeva (second half of the 1790s). A white dress, a pearl bracelet, an apple in her hand - everything is repeated, not to mention the general high pictorial qualities: a clear plasticity of form, exquisite picturesqueness, a beautifully developed airy atmosphere - and the images are completely different.

Three remarkable artists of the second half of the XVIII century. - Rokotov, Levitsky and Borovikovsky - developed one system of typology of the portrait genre and went from rococo and baroque to classicism, and Borovikovsky went further - from sentimentalism to romanticism, but all of them were guided by one dream of an ideal, which each of them interpreted in his own way, in the strength of his attitude and degree of talent.

Thus, the 18th century, on the one hand, was the basis for the formation national culture, on the other hand, it contributed to a clear polarity of two types of culture - noble and folk (which preserved the traditions of pagan and Christian Rus').