History in women's portraits from the Gau artist. Female portrait at the end of the 19th century in Russia

In the Art Department there is an exhibition - "Like an angel of beauty, appearing from heaven." A portrait of Russian women of the 18th century is a document of human life."
Women of the 18th century were called fragile butterflies. released from the towers by the will of Peter the Great, who energetically broke through the window to Europe. Whether he acted well or badly, his descendants argue, and will argue. We treat them with you. The eighteenth "century madly and wisely" appears as a kind of golden interior, populated by powdered wigs, immense crinolines, red heels and a suave minuet. In a word, it is full of theatricality. However, it was precisely then that spiritual work of its own, very energetic and lively, was going on. A high society beauty - Venus and Minerva rolled into one. The 18th century seems to be moving by leaps and bounds - from the shy nymphs of the Peter's assemblies to the very independent and courageous "Smolyanka" women of a new breed created by Catherine II.
In the portraits of Peter's favorite Ivan Nikitin, Tsarevna Natalya Alekseevna, Tsarevna Praskovya Ivanovna, Tsesarevna Anna Petrovna, the sister, niece and daughter of the converter - slightly shackled, smart, absorbing foreign sciences, writing plays, entering the stage of their own stages, thirsting for the paternal throne. One could write a book about each.
After about half a century, real encyclopedists appeared on the stage. Smolyanki on the canvases of Dmitry Levitsky unrestrainedly demonstrate their talents. Katya Molchanova, a pupil of the Institute for Noble Maidens, is a true image of her age. Proudly straightening up, he sits at the table in a magnificent satin dress. A face with sharply drawn temples - confident, and the same smile. Full internal emancipation. In front of the girl is a miracle of science, an electric machine, a book in her hand, pawned with a finger. An ardent interest in the sciences, arts, reading avidly, translations from foreign languages ​​- everything occupies the girl.
Ekaterina Orlova, the wife of the very beloved Ekaterina II. Portrait of a young lady of state solemnly paraden. Highly whipped hairstyle. Blazing scarlet sash, going over his shoulder. There is a triumphant smile on her lips, but there is something doomed in it. Grigory Orlov's wife died in her youth from consumption.
Empresses set the general tone for the brilliant age. Heavy, with poor taste and secretive heart Anna Ioannovna. Superficially cheerful, reckless, but smart and hiding her practical mind under a sly mask, Elizaveta Petrovna. It is not for nothing that in the engraving of Evgraf Chemesov, the master of mental characteristics, in her pleasant face there is so little of the traditional carefree cheerfulness of an eternally dancing plump beauty. Something disturbs her, as if the sovereign cannot find peace. Elizabeth continually changed palaces and beds in them, and even in the church she could not stand still for a long time. Was Petrova's daughter spiritually lonely, although she selflessly loved herself and was devotedly loved?
Catherine the Great - legislator in the portrait of D. Levitsky. From the very beginning of the reign, ideas about her were ambiguous. She was idolized and hated. What is the reason? Is it in the famous hypocrisy of the empress, in the ability to charm and deceive? An impartial court is needed. Especially this year is the 400th anniversary of the Romanovs. Catherine "wrote the order, burned the fleets", made new laws every day. In 1768, she decided to inoculate herself with smallpox. To understand the significance of this act, one must know what kind of disease it was, which mowed down people by the thousands and disfigured the faces of those who were lucky enough to survive. The clergy rebelled against vaccinations, and the doctors themselves, not to mention the common people. But Catherine entered the fight against death itself, starting with herself, her son Pavel and favorite Orlov, to introduce smallpox vaccination in the country. The best brainchild of Catherine was the Hermitage, born in 1764 as a private collection. Surrounded by paintings by Rembrandt, Rubens, Raphael, antique statues and cameos, the queen gathered a narrow circle of friends.
Peer into the faces, try to penetrate deeply into the spiritual world of the ladies of the brilliant 18th century - those who were given the right to a high imperishable life by famous artists.

Nikitin I. Tsarevna Praskovya Ivanovna

Nikitin I. Tsesarevna Anna Petrovna

Louis Caravacc. Empress Anna Ioannovna

At the beginning of the 19th century, in the Empire era, naturalness and simplicity were in fashion. Even the ladies tried to achieve a cosmetic effect in natural ways: if pallor was required, they drank vinegar, if blush, they ate strawberries. For a while, even jewelry goes out of fashion. It is believed that the more beautiful a woman is, the less she needs jewelry ...

The whiteness and tenderness of the hands during the Empire were so valued that they even put on gloves at night.

In the outfits, imitation of antique clothes is noticeable. Since these dresses were made mainly from thin translucent muslin, fashionistas risked catching a cold on especially cold days.

Madame Recamier - the famous Parisian beauty, the most famous mistress of the literary salon in history

"Portrait of Madame Recamier" is a painting by the French artist Jacques Louis David, painted in 1800.

To create spectacular draperies that beautifully depict natural data, the ladies used a simple technique of ancient sculptors - they moistened clothes, it is no coincidence that the death rate from pneumonia was very high in those years.

The French Journal de Maud in 1802 even advised its readers to visit the Montmartre cemetery to see how many young girls fell victim to the "naked" fashion.

Teresa Cabarrus

Parisian newspapers were full of mourning chronicles: "Madame de Noel died after the ball, at nineteen, Mademoiselle de Juigner - at eighteen, Mademoiselle Chaptal - at sixteen!" More women have died in the few years of this extravagant fashion than in the previous 40 years.

Teresa Tallien was considered “more beautiful than the Capitoline Venus” - she had such a perfect figure. She introduced the "naked" fashion. The lightest dress weighed 200 grams!

It was only thanks to the Egyptian campaign of Napoleon that cashmere shawls came into fashion, which were widely popularized by the wife of the emperor, Josephine.

In the 20s of the 19th century, the figure of a woman resembles an hourglass: rounded “swollen” sleeves, a wasp waist, and a wide skirt. The corset came into fashion. The waist should be unnatural in volume - about 55 cm.

Vladimir Ivanovich Gau. Portrait of Natalia Nikolaevna Goncharova-Pushkina.

The desire for an “ideal” waist often led to tragic consequences. So, in 1859, a 23-year-old fashionista died after a ball due to the fact that three ribs compressed by a corset stuck into her liver.

W. Gau. Natalia Nikolaevna Goncharova. 1842-1843

For the sake of beauty, the ladies were ready to endure various inconveniences: the wide brim of ladies' hats that hung over their eyes, and they had to move almost by touch, long and heavy hems of dresses.

P. Delaroche. Portrait of the singer Henriette Sontag, 1831.

In the authoritative British magazine The Lancet in the 1820s, the opinion was expressed that women should blame the weight of their dresses, which was about 20 kilograms, for muscle weakness, diseases of the nervous system and other ailments. Often ladies were confused in their own skirts. Queen Victoria somehow sprained her ankle by stepping on her hem.

In the second half of the 19th century, the desire for artificiality revived. A healthy blush and tan, a strong, strong body have become signs of low origin. Wasp waist, pale faces, delicacy and refinement were considered the ideal of beauty.

The laughter and tears of a secular beauty should be beautiful and graceful. Laughter should not be loud, but crumbly. When crying, you can drop no more than three or four tears and watch so as not to spoil the complexion.

Camille Claudel

Painful femininity is in fashion. We are talking about both mental illnesses, in which imbalance borders on madness, Camille Claudel, the muse and student of the sculptor Auguste Rodin, can serve as a symbol of such a beauty, as well as body diseases, like Marguerite Gauthier, a courtesan mortally ill with tuberculosis - the heroine of the novel "The Lady of the Camellias » Alexandre Dumas.

To give the face a matte pallor, the ladies took crushed chalk three times a day (well-cleaned chalk could be obtained in pharmacy stores; it was impossible to use crayons intended for card games) and drank vinegar and lemon juice, and circles under the eyes were achieved due to a special lack of sleep.

Russia has always been famous for the beauty of its women. And there were beauties in Russian history that neither kings nor mere mortals could resist.

Anastasia Zakharyina-Yuryeva

Of the huge number of applicants brought to the bride from all over Rus', Ivan the Terrible chose Anastasia. It is difficult to say with certainty what influenced the choice of the king to a greater extent.

Perhaps, his guardian, Mikhail Yuryevich, who was Anastasia's uncle, focused the attention of the 17-year-old groom on one of the thousand beauties.

It is known that the queen was not tall. The regular features of her face were framed by long thick hair of dark blond color. As Karamzin wrote, "contemporaries attributed to her all the feminine virtues," while beauty was considered "an essential accessory of a happy Tsar's bride."

She managed to win not only the heart of her husband, but also win the love of the people. And to do this, being only beautiful, was hardly possible. Her image became a symbol of a wise woman, capable, as Dorset wrote, "with amazing meekness and intelligence" to manage a quick-tempered husband.

Maria Naryshkina

It seemed that there was no person at the court of Catherine II who would keep silent about the beauty of the young maid of honor - Maria Chetvertinskaya. Derzhavin wrote: “With black eyes, with fires, with her magnificent breasts, she feels, sighs, a tender soul is visible, and she herself does not know what is best for everyone.”

Kutuzov joked that if there is someone like Maria among women, then they should be loved. Her beauty was perfect, and as one of his contemporaries wrote, "it seemed impossible."

At the age of 16, she marries Prince Dmitry Naryshkin, and after some time becomes the favorite of Tsar Alexander I. Their relationship will last 15 years. There will be four children in the Naryshkin family, and Dmitry Lvovich will consider only the first daughter Marina to be his own (although, according to rumors, her father was the former favorite of the queen, Platon Zubov).

Julia Vrevskaya

Baroness Vrevskaya for two decades was considered the first beauty of St. Petersburg.

In poetic prose, her friend Turgenev wrote that "the ladies envied her, and the men dragged after her."

Sollogub spoke of her captivating image, which fascinated not only her appearance, femininity and grace, but also "infinite friendliness and infinite kindness."

But the boredom of high society, the maid of honor Vrevskaya, in 1877, without hesitation, changed to true life.

During the Russian-Turkish war, she became a sister of mercy and devoted herself to serving her neighbor, "knowing no other happiness." While the high society slandered about the "extravagant trick", the baroness went after the wounded, changing bandages for five hours, slept on straw, assisted with amputations, carried soldiers out of the battlefield.

In February 1978, they dug the frozen ground and carried the coffin with the body of the “sister” when Yulia Petrovna died during an epidemic of typhus.

Varvara Rimskaya-Korsakova

"Tatar Venus" - so called the young beauty of Paris in the middle of the XIX century.

A provincial from the Kostroma province conquered not only both Russian capitals, but also Europe.

She shone, according to Prince Obolensky, "at seaside bathing, in Biaritz and Ostend." One of the portraits by Franz Winterhalter still fascinates visitors to the Musée d'Orsay in Paris. She competed with the wife of Napoleon Bonaparte Eugenia, and today's "socialites" could envy Varenka's popularity.

Varvara Dmitrievna's witty jokes were passed from mouth to mouth, and fans tirelessly admired "the most beautiful legs in Europe."

Frank outfits of high society stars have repeatedly become the cause of a scandal. Once she was allegedly asked to leave the ball because of the "too transparent dress." At the masquerade ball in the winter of 63, she arrived in the outfit of the priestess of Tanit, which was sewn from gauze.

When another admirer called her down the aisle, the Russian goddess each time answered: “My husband is handsome, smart, beautiful, much better than you.”

Zinaida Yusupova

The beauty of one of the richest aristocrats in Russia could not leave anyone indifferent. Here is how the son Felix wrote about his mother: “Tall, thin, graceful, swarthy and black-haired, with eyes shining like stars.”

Magnificent appearance was complemented by a sharp mind, education and kindness. Knowing about her virtues, the princess never boasted of them, demonstrating to others her simplicity and modesty.

Possessing the finest jewels in the world, she only wore them on special occasions, preferring modest dresses with minimal embellishments.

Princess Yusupova was very artistic. At one of the balls, the sovereign asked her to perform "Russian". The dance captivated everyone so much that she was called for an encore five more times.

Stanislavsky himself assured that the real purpose of Zinaida Nikolaevna was the stage. But she preferred to act as a philanthropist, supporting someone else's talent, rather than demonstrating her own.

Matilda Kshesinskaya

She could never have become "the decoration and glory of the Russian ballet" if she had not seen the dance of the Italian Virginia Tsuki.

Later, in her memoirs, Kshesinskaya will write about "the amazing facial expressions that gave the classical dance an extraordinary charm."

Despite her short stature and "full legs," she captivated the members of the admissions committee of the Imperial Theater School with her "burning eyes and charming manners."

Contemporaries often spoke of her eyes: "dark, brilliant, reminiscent of two sweet abysses." The only ballerina at that time who performed a 32-turn fouette, she made the audience freeze with delight. Among the fans of the ballerina are the future Nicholas II, as well as Grand Dukes Sergei Mikhailovich and Andrei Vladimirovich.

Vera Cold

She was only 26 years old, but during this time she turned from an unusual girl with a wonderful appetite into the queen of Russian silent cinema with a multimillion-dollar army of fans.

Director Gardin, who first met Vera, described her beauty as "alluring and poisonous" at the same time.

To "see Kholodnaya", people lined up in huge queues. In Kharkov, for example, the crowd that stormed the cinema was pacified by horse dragoons, and then the leadership had to insert broken glass and change the doors torn off their hinges.

The actress herself was surprised at such popularity. Sometimes she went to the screening of a film with her participation in order to observe the reaction of the public. For four years of filming, her eyes of a biblical martyr and a capriciously curved mouth line were able to completely conquer the audience, who forgot about the horrors of the First World War and the turmoil of the 17th in cinematographs.

Beauties of the 17th-18th century.

Ninon de Lanclos is a famous French courtesan, one of the most charming women and famous women of the 17th century, although it is not entirely fair to call her a courtesan, because. she did not make a profession out of this and money did not play any role for her, she did not trade her charms, but gave them to those who she liked, and immediately left her lover as soon as he bored her. One day, Ninon refused Cardinal Richelieu, who offered fifty thousand crowns if she agreed to become his mistress.

"A graceful, superbly built brunette, with a complexion of dazzling whiteness, with a slight blush, with large blue eyes, in which decency, prudence, madness and voluptuousness were simultaneously seen, with a mouth with delicious teeth and a charming smile, Ninon carried herself with nobility, but without pride, with amazing grace." This is how one of her contemporaries described the already thirty-year-old courtesan.
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Moreover, she remained very attractive until her very old age. Comte Choiseul, later Marshal of France, fell in love and began to court Ninon when she was sixty years old, although he was twenty years younger. When Louis 14 - the "Sun King" wished to see the famous Ninon, he expressed regret that "this amazing woman refused to decorate his court with the splendor of her irony and gaiety." Indeed, when the all-powerful mistress Maintenon offered her a place at court, Ninon replied: “At court, one must be two-faced and have a forked tongue, and it’s too late for me to learn hypocrisy ... By the way, Ninon can be considered to be Voltaire’s “godmother.” A year before death, she met a ten-year-old boy named Arue, an aspiring poet, saw talent in him and left him 2,000 francs in her will to buy books.Voltaire until the end of his days retained the warmest memories of the "beautiful aunt".

The first two of the represented beauties of the 18th century became famous not only for their extraordinary beauty, but also to some extent influenced foreign policy. The first lived in the Catherine era, the second - during the time of Napoleon Bonaparte.

Sofya Witt - Pototskaya.

At the age of 13, this little impoverished Greek woman, along with her sister, was sold by her own mother. The older sister became a concubine, who bought them the commandant of Kamenetz-Podolsky Joseph Witt, but pretty soon got bored with him, then Witt turned his attention to Sophia, who grew up and began to become an extraordinary beauty. But it wasn’t there, it was, Sophia had not only beauty (and apparently a lot of confidence in her), but also character. As a result, the impoverished tramp became not a concubine, but the wife of first the commandant Witt, and then the noble and fabulously rich Polish pan S. Potocki. Between them, she also captivated Field Marshal Saltykov and even His Serene Highness Prince Potemkin with her charms. To some extent, she contributed to the fact that Poland was annexed to Russia, because. the signing of the relevant act depended on Potocki. The "sly fox" Potemkin sent Sofya Witt to Warsaw, practically placing a bet on her, and did not lose. Stanislav Pototsky fell in love with a beautiful woman without memory and, in fact, chose the latter between the freedom of the Motherland and Sophia. For the woman he loved, Pototsky arranged a park of fantastic beauty, the so-called "Sofiyivka", the opening of which was timed to coincide with Sophia's birthday. The guests were amazed by the luxury. The exit of the countess was the main miracle - she appeared in the light of a thousand fireworks, surrounded by "naiads", dressed in a Greek tunic with a diamond diadem on her hair. And in the dark sky, the letters C and P were burning and sparkling - Sofya Pototskaya.

The Countess, however, did not appreciate such love and soon cheated on her husband with his son, the incorrigible player Yuri. The count did not survive the double betrayal, and Sophia remained rich and free. She broke up with a young lover only when he lost all his fortune and made huge debts. At the end of her life, Sophia was engaged in business and even charity. Her life was like an adventure novel, and her death was like a mystical legend. After the earthquake in Uman, the temple where Sophia was buried collapsed and a coffin flickered among the ruins, apparently brought to the surface by tremors. The people said that the earth does not accept the countess-sinner. In the end, the ashes of Pototskaya rested in the village cemetery.

Emma Hamilton is the wife of the English ambassador in Naples, Lord Hamilton, whom she became solely due to her unearthly beauty, as she was of a completely ignoble origin. Before meeting with Hamilton, Emma was a model and actress (represented "living pictures" based on works of art) and was very popular, even Goethe is considered among the admirers of her art.

Having met the English admiral Nelson, Emma fell in love with him for the rest of her life, as he did with her. Being friendly and having some influence on the Queen of Naples, and through her on King Ferdinand, she to a large extent helped the British fleet in the fight against Napoleon. But after the death of Nelson, she remained with her little daughter without any support and died in poverty. This extraordinary and charming woman is dedicated to a number of books and films, as well as a song performed by A. Malinin.

The romantic and at the same time tragic image of Lady Hamilton in the film of the same name was created by one of the most beautiful actresses - Vivien Leigh.

Princess Maria Cantemir is the daughter of the Moldavian ruler Dmitry Cantemir, the sister of the poet Antioch Cantemir and the last love of Peter 1.

She spent her childhood years in Istanbul, where her father, according to a long tradition, was actually held hostage by the Turkish Sultan. Nevertheless, Maria received an excellent education at that time: she studied ancient Greek, Latin, Italian, the basics of mathematics, astronomy, rhetoric, philosophy, was fond of ancient and Western European literature and history, drawing, music. At the end of 1710 the family returned to Russia. Maria first met Peter 1 in her father's house, in an estate near Moscow. After moving to St. Petersburg, she became the tsar's mistress, which was not prevented by her father, who dreamed of intermarrying with the sovereign and, with his help, liberating Moldova from the Ottoman yoke. And Peter 1 wanted to receive an heir from Mary, which Tsarina Catherine could not allow, who did everything possible so that this child would not be born. After the birth of a dead boy, Maria and her father left for their Oryol estate, where the ruler soon died. And soon Peter 1 was gone. Most recently, a film about the love of the emperor and the Moldavian princess was shown on central television, in which the image of Mary was recreated by Elizaveta Boyarskaya.

Alexandra Petrovna Struyskaya (nee Ozerova) - her unearthly features are conveyed in the portrait by F. Rokotov. Most likely, the portrait, or rather paired portraits of the newlyweds, was ordered from the artist immediately after the Struyskys' wedding, which means Alexandra Petrovna is about 18 years old on it.

Struyskaya's portrait inspired the poet Nikolai Zabolotsky to write one of his best poems, "Love painting, poets."
... Do you remember how from the darkness of the past,
Barely wrapped in satin
From the portrait of Rokotov again
Did Struyskaya look at us?
Her eyes are like two clouds
Half smile, half cry
Her eyes are like two lies
Covered with mist of failures ...
When darkness comes
And the storm is coming
From the bottom of my soul flicker
Her beautiful eyes.

Madame Recamier (Julie Bernard) is undoubtedly the most beautiful woman in France during the French Revolution, born in 1777 to a petty official and his beautiful wife. When the girl was not yet 16 years old, she married the banker Jacques Recamier, who was 26 years older than her. Relations between the spouses were rather friendly, Recamier gave his young wife complete freedom, which she used reasonably enough. Having received a beautiful house in Paris as a gift from her husband, she organized her own salon, which soon became very popular.

Julie's charm, her mind and political views attracted many famous people to her salon. One of her contemporaries, Mr. Lemonnier, wrote about her this way: “Madame Recamier never wears diamonds, her dress of exquisite simplicity does not allow anything but pearls ... Her beauty has the feature that it is more attractive than blinding at first sight. The more you see her, the more beautiful you find her. Julie possessed amazing grace, a special inner musical rhythm and no doubt her beauty was unparalleled in Europe. According to the fashion of that time, she wore transparent dresses that did not hide her impeccable forms, reminiscent of an antique statue. But appearance is not the main reason why her salon for several decades was one of the main literary, political, intellectual centers of France, and perhaps of all of Europe. She possessed not only beauty and charm, but also an amazing talent to attract extraordinary personalities. The most famous people of that era entered her salon in different years: the scientist Andre - Marie Ampère, Eugene Beauharnais, Bernadotte - the future king of Sweden, writers Prosper Marime and Stendhal, artists J-L. David and Eugene Delacroix. It was the flower of French art and science, the names that entered the world culture, Madame Recamier managed to unite all of them.
She makes friends, among them Honore de Balzac and Victor Hugo, as well as the famous Madame de Stael, with whom Juliette was then associated for many years of friendship. The amazing beauty of Julie attracted many fans to her, incl. Prince August of Prussia. The prince fell in love with Juliette, and this was the man in response to whose love her heart beat faster for the first time. Prince August wanted to marry Julie, she also wanted this, but she could not break with her husband, pitying him, who had already become old and almost impoverished.
In 1803, Napoleon expelled Madame de Stael from Paris, and Juliette openly goes into opposition to the authorities: “A man who expels such a woman ... cannot be in my mind anything other than a ruthless despot. From now on, my whole being is against him.”
Fouchet, one of her then friends, was very eager to introduce her to the court and even hinted at the possibility of a more intimate relationship between her and the emperor. The beautiful Julie proudly rejected such a prospect. But her charm is so great that even the court painter of Napoleon J.L. David could not resist painting a portrait of a woman who went down in French history as an implacable opponent of Napoleon Bonaparte. His most famous "Portrait of Madame Recamier" is now in the Louvre. Later, she inspired another great artist - Francois Gerard, and then the sculptor, Mr. Shinar, who created a beautiful bust of Madame Recamier.
In 1811, Bonaparte expelled Madame Recamier from Paris. In 1813, in Italy, she closely converges with Queen Hortense and Caroline Murat, and in Rome her French salon has the same attractive force as in Paris. Among his visitors there were Balanche and the sculptor Canova, who made a bust of her, which he later remade into Dante's Beatrice.
When Julie turned 40, she suddenly forgot about her principle of building her relationships with men on the basis of only friendship and fell in love, passionately and for a long time. It was the famous writer René Chateaubriand.
. “Beauty, unparalleled in Europe, stained honor and noble character - what other wealth is needed in this sad life” - these are the words of Madame de Stael about her. Much later, another famous woman, Anna Akhmatova, would write: “Again, Madame Recamier is good and Goethe is like Werther young.”

And the name of Madame Recamier began to be called the type of couch on which she lies in the famous painting by Jacques Louis David.

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 of the painter Antropov are 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 these expressive means, 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"

The artist's youthful and female images were especially remarkable, 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. Whomever Levitsky portrayed, he acted as a subtle psychologist and certainly conveyed sincerity, openness, sadness, as well as the 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 was a 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.