Vladimir Borovikovsky: a portrait of Lopukhina. History of creation, description of the portrait

A master of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, Vladimir Lukich Borovikovsky is an artist who is usually ranked in the epoch of sentimentalism. It was a time when it was fashionable to cry over verses, to be touched by the beautiful flower and singing of birds, to admire the sunrises and sunsets.

The time when decent girls had to faint in time, show in every way the subtlety of feelings and mental vulnerability, defenselessness, fragility and tenderness of the being. It was during this period that the painting "Portrait of MI Lopukhina" was created. Borovikovsky very subtly managed to remind contemporaries and viewers of subsequent eras about how good it is to be a man.

Creativity of the famous artist

The works of Vladimir Lukich are recognizable enough. His canvases are easily distinguished from the heroes of a slightly earlier time. Even the most ceremonial, solemn and brilliant images are softened and warmed by some subtle inner experience. Slightly sad and worried, they listen to something and dream.

The woman of the epoch of sentimentalism had to be pale and thoughtful, even a little sad. This is how Maria Ivanovna appears on the famous masterpiece created by Borovikovsky. Portrait Lopukhina conveys the most delicate and subtle features of this woman. And for today this masterpiece can be admired in the walls of the famous Tretyakov Gallery.

The image of a Russian beauty

Maria was the daughter of retired general Count Tolstoy and sister of the equally famous Fedor Tolstoy. It was not the object of adoring many fans. She did not have time to devote poems to Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin.

But this beauty was an ornament of many secular salons. Many later began to call it the Russian Gioconda. The same charm of a mysterious gaze and a mysterious smile is present in the image of this charming woman.

Not a goddess, but a poetic muse depicted her Borovikovsky. Lopukhina's portrait conveys precisely those features of this Russian beauty who so attracted the men around her. Tenderness, sensitivity and subtlety of the image are skillfully depicted on a well-known canvas.

The tragic fate of Russian beauties

But not always the fate of a Russian woman was cloudless. And an example of this is Maria Ivanovna Lopukhina, who was married to the Yegermeister of the imperial court of Stepan Avraamovich and had a very unhappy fate. By that time, he had already retired. Due to the imbalance of his character, Lopukhin could not give happiness to his lovely wife.

She experienced the horror and humiliation of insults, three years after the wedding, died of consumption. Thus ended the difficult and tragic life, the fate that Maria Ivanovna Lopukhina experienced. The portrait of Borovikovsky so skilfully and accurately conveyed her light appearance, which evoked a lively response in the soul and poetry of the famous Yakov Polonsky, who dedicated her own lines to it. "... But Borovikovsky saved her beauty, so that part of her soul did not fly away from us ...".

The most famous masterpiece of Vladimir Lukich

A lot of paintings were written by the famous and talented artist Vladimir Borovikovsky. Portrait of Lopukhina Maria Ivanovna - not the first and not the last of his creation, but it so happened that it was this picture that became the most famous and famous. Absolutely everything stops before this canvas. In its image people of any age are peering. There is something special about it.

This young and unrepeatably tender woman lived only twenty-three years. Vladimir Lukich Borovikovsky portrait Lopukhina wrote when she was only eighteen years old. He seems to have almost conjured her with his quivering and skillful brush: remain so - surprisingly gentle, warm, alive. Do not fade!

Vladimir Borovikovsky. Portrait of Lopukhina. Description of the famous canvas

Maria Ivanovna is depicted in a light and delicate garment, which emphasizes her special grace. Next to Lopukhina's gentle, slightly bent down hand is the leaning head of a lush rose, and, holding her breath, the viewer senses that this flower will soon begin to drop petals.

The tender and lively beauty of this woman will also fade, end, interrupted by an inexorable death. And the poems dedicated to this portrait sounded and will continue to sound for many years, singing the imperishable beauty and grace of the Russian beauty. And this amazing property to save beauty is one of the most important and touching features of the creativity of Vladimir Lukich.

Whoever the person is and no matter how simple he looks, his face is less beautiful than the image that Maria Lopukhina preserved. Borovikovsky remembered this, creating each his masterpiece, and all his canvases store a piece of his soul and the warmth of his brush.

The unique talent of the famous artist

Vladimir Lukich Borovikovsky managed to convey something very personal, tremulous and poetic in his portraits. At the time of creating the picture, which depicts Maria Ivanovna, he was about forty years old. By that time, he had already established himself as a very talented and popular artist, who even painted the images of the daughters of Emperor Pavel the First and Empress Maria Feodorovna.

And now in the year of seven hundred and ninety-seven he receives an order from Lopukhin. The portrait of Borovikovsky was supposed to capture the young beauty of the future wife of Stepan Avrahamovich. Maria is only eighteen years old, and the artist could not remain indifferent to this delightful creation. He was able to convey all tenderness and purity. Sadness in the gaze of this beauty and as if even a premonition of tragedy.