Pictures of ancient artists. The best artists of Russia. "Girl with a Pearl Earring"
Magnificent works of art by the hands of great masters can surprise even people for whom art means little. That is why world-famous museums are among the most popular attractions, attracting millions of visitors a year.
To stand out from the huge number of paintings written throughout the history of art, the artist needs not only talent, but also the ability to express a unique plot in an unusual and very relevant way for his time.
The paintings presented below speak loudly not only about the talent of their authors, but also about the numerous cultural trends that have appeared and disappeared, and about the most important historical events that have always been reflected in art.
"Birth of Venus"
This painting, painted by the great Renaissance master Sandro Botticelli, depicts the moment when the beautiful Venus appears from the sea foam. One of the most compelling aspects of the painting is the modest pose of the goddess and her simple yet beautiful face.
"Dogs play poker"
Painted by Cassius Coolidge in 1903, this series of 16 paintings depicts dogs gathered around a coffee or gambling table playing poker. Many critics recognize these paintings as the canonical depiction of Americans of the era.
Portrait of Madame Recamier
Painted by Jacques-Louis David, this portrait depicts a glitzy socialite in a contrastingly minimalist and simple setting, dressed in a simple sleeveless white dress. This is a vivid example of neoclassicism in portrait art.
№5
This famous painting by Jackson Pollock is his most iconic work, vividly depicting all the chaos that raged in the soul and mind of Pollock. This is one of the most expensive works ever sold by an American artist.
"Son of Man"
"The Son of Man" by Rene Magritte is a kind of self-portrait depicting the artist himself in a black suit, but with an apple instead of a face.
"Number 1" ("Royal Red and Blue")
This rather recent piece by Mark Rothko is nothing more than brushstrokes of three different shades on a handmade canvas. The painting is currently on display at the Art Institute of Chicago.
"Massacre of the Innocent"
Based on the biblical story of the massacre of innocent babies in Bethlehem, Peter Paul Rubens created this macabre and brutal painting that touches the emotions of all who look at it.
"A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of Grande Jatte"
Created by Georges Seurat, this unique and very popular painting depicts the relaxed atmosphere of a weekend in a big city. Such painting is an excellent example of pointillism, which combines many dots into one whole.
"Dance"
"Dance" by Henri Matisse is an example of a style called Fauvism, which is characterized by bright, almost unnatural colors and shapes and high dynamics.
"American Gothic"
"American Gothic" is a work of art that perfectly symbolizes the image of Americans during the Great Depression. In this painting, Grant Wood depicted a stern, apparently religious couple standing in front of a simple house with gothic windows.
"Flower Loader"
This painting by the most popular Mexican painter of the 20th century, Diego Rivera, depicts a man who can hardly bear a basket overloaded with bright tropical flowers on his back.
"Whistler's Mother"
Also known as Arrangement in Gray and Black. The Artist's Mother, this is one of the most famous paintings by American artist James Whistler. In this painting, Whistler depicted his mother sitting in a chair against a gray wall. The painting uses only black and gray shades.
"The Persistence of Memory"
This is a cult work of no less cult Salvador Dali, the world-famous Spanish surrealist who brought this movement to the forefront of art.
Portrait of Dora Maar
Pablo Picasso is one of the most popular and influential Spanish painters. He is the founder of the sensational style at the time, called cubism, which seeks to break up any object and convey it with clear geometric shapes. This painting is the first portrait in the cubist style.
"Portrait of an Artist Without a Beard"
This painting by Van Gogh is a self-portrait, and unique, because it depicts the painter without the usual beard. In addition, this is one of the few Van Gogh paintings that have been sold to private collections.
"Night Cafe Terrace"
Painted by Vincent van Gogh, this painting depicts a familiar sight in a whole new way, using amazingly vibrant colors and unusual shapes.
"Composition VIII"
Wassily Kandinsky is recognized as the founder of abstract art - a style that uses forms and symbols instead of familiar objects and people. "Composition VIII" is one of the first paintings by the artist, made exclusively in this style.
"Kiss"
One of the first works of art in the Art Nouveau style, this painting is almost entirely done in gold tones. The painting by Gustav Klimt is one of the most striking works of style.
"Ball at the Moulin de la Galette"
The painting by Pierre Auguste Renoir is a vivid and dynamic depiction of city life. In addition, it is one of the most expensive paintings in the world.
"Olympia"
In Olympia, Édouard Manet created a real controversy, almost a scandal, since a naked woman with a gaze is clearly a mistress, not veiled by the myths of the classical period. This is one of the early works in the style of realism.
"Third of May 1808 in Madrid"
In this work, Francisco Goya depicted Napoleon's attack on the Spaniards. This is one of the first Spanish paintings to portray the war in a negative light.
"Las Meninas"
The most famous painting by Diego Velasquez depicts the five-year-old Infanta Margherita in front of a portrait of her parents painted by Velasquez.
"Portrait of the Arnolfinis"
This painting is one of the oldest works of painting. It was painted by Jan van Eyck and depicts Italian businessman Giovanni Arnolfini and his pregnant wife in their home in Bruges.
"Scream"
A painting by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch depicts a man's face distorted by fear against a blood-red sky. The landscape in the background adds a dark charm to this painting. In addition, The Scream is one of the first expressionist paintings where realism is kept to a minimum to allow more freedom for emotion.
"Waters"
Water Lilies, by Claude Monet, is part of a series of 250 paintings depicting elements of the artist's own garden. These paintings are exhibited in various art museums around the world.
"Starlight Night"
Van Gogh's "Starry Night" is one of the most famous images in contemporary culture. It is currently on display at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
"Fall of Icarus"
This painting, painted by the Dutch artist Pieter Brueghel, shows a person's indifference to the suffering of their fellow men. A strong social theme is shown here in a rather simple way, using the image of Icarus drowning under water and people ignoring his suffering.
"The Creation of Adam"
The Creation of Adam is one of several magnificent frescoes by Michelangelo adorning the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican Palace. It depicts the creation of Adam. In addition to depicting ideal human forms, the fresco is one of the first attempts to depict God in the history of art.
"The Last Supper"
This fresco by the great Leonardo depicts the last supper of Jesus before his betrayal, arrest and death. In addition to composition, form and color, the discussion of this fresco is replete with theories about hidden symbols and the presence of Mary Magdalene next to Jesus.
"Guernica"
Picasso's "Guernica" depicts the explosion of the Spanish city of the same name during the Spanish Civil War. This is a black-and-white picture, negatively depicting fascism, Nazism and their ideas.
"Girl with a Pearl Earring"
This painting by Johannes Vermeer is often referred to as the Dutch Mona Lisa, not only because of its extraordinary popularity, but also because the expression on the girl's face is difficult to capture and explain.
"Beheading of John the Baptist"
The painting by Caravaggio very realistically depicts the moment of the murder of John the Baptist in prison. The semi-darkness of the painting and the facial expressions of its characters make it a true classic masterpiece.
"The night Watch"
The Night Watch is one of Rembrandt's most famous paintings. It depicts a group portrait of a rifle company led by its officers. A unique aspect of the painting is the semi-darkness, which gives the impression of a night scene.
"School of Athens"
Painted by Raphael in his early Roman period, this fresco depicts famous Greek philosophers such as Plato, Aristotle, Euclid, Socrates, Pythagoras and others. Many philosophers are depicted as contemporaries of Raphael, for example, Plato - Leonardo da Vinci, Heraclitus - Michelangelo, Euclid - Bramante.
"Mona Lisa"
Probably the most famous painting in the world is Leonardo da Vinci's Gioconda, better known as the Mona Lisa. This canvas is a portrait of Mrs. Gherardini, who attracts attention with a mysterious expression on her face.
In almost every significant work of art there is a mystery, a double bottom or a secret story that you want to uncover.
Music on the buttocks
Hieronymus Bosch, The Garden of Earthly Delights, 1500-1510.
Fragment of a triptych
Disputes about the meanings and hidden meanings of the most famous work of the Dutch artist have not subsided since its appearance. On the right wing of the triptych called "Musical Hell" sinners are depicted who are tortured in the underworld with the help of musical instruments. One of them has notes imprinted on his buttocks. Oklahoma Christian University student Amelia Hamrick, who studied the painting, transposed the notation of the 16th century into a modern way and recorded "a song from the ass from hell, which is 500 years old."
Nude Mona Lisa
The famous "Gioconda" exists in two versions: the nude version is called "Monna Vanna", it was painted by the little-known artist Salai, who was a student and sitter of the great Leonardo da Vinci. Many art critics are sure that it was he who was the model for Leonardo's paintings "John the Baptist" and "Bacchus". There are also versions that dressed in a woman's dress, Salai served as the image of Mona Lisa herself.
Old Fisherman
In 1902, the Hungarian artist Tivadar Kostka Chontvari painted the painting "Old Fisherman". It would seem that there is nothing unusual in the picture, but Tivadar laid a subtext in it, which was never disclosed during the life of the artist.
Few people thought of putting a mirror in the middle of the picture. In each person there can be both God (the right shoulder of the Old Man is duplicated) and the Devil (the left shoulder of the old man is duplicated).
Was there a whale?
Hendrik van Antonissen "Scene on the Shore".
It seemed like an ordinary landscape. Boats, people on the shore and the desert sea. And only an X-ray study showed that people gathered on the shore for a reason - in the original, they examined the carcass of a whale washed ashore.
However, the artist decided that no one would want to look at a dead whale and repainted the painting.
Two "Breakfasts on the Grass"
Edouard Manet, Luncheon on the Grass, 1863.
Claude Monet, Breakfast on the Grass, 1865.
Artists Edouard Manet and Claude Monet are sometimes confused - after all, they were both French, lived at the same time and worked in the style of impressionism. Even the name of one of Manet's most famous paintings, "Breakfast on the Grass", Monet borrowed and wrote his "Breakfast on the Grass".
Twins at the Last Supper
Leonardo da Vinci, The Last Supper, 1495-1498.
When Leonardo da Vinci wrote The Last Supper, he attached particular importance to two figures: Christ and Judas. He was looking for sitters for them for a very long time. Finally, he managed to find a model for the image of Christ among the young singers. Leonardo failed to find a sitter for Judas for three years. But one day he came across a drunkard lying in the gutter on the street. He was a young man who had been aged by heavy drinking. Leonardo invited him to a tavern, where he immediately began to write Judas from him. When the drunkard came to his senses, he told the artist that he had already posed for him once. It was a few years ago, when he sang in the church choir, Leonardo wrote Christ from him.
"Night Watch" or "Day Watch"?
Rembrandt, Night Watch, 1642.
One of Rembrandt’s most famous paintings, “The Performance of the Rifle Company of Captain Frans Banning Cock and Lieutenant Willem van Ruytenbürg,” hung in different halls for about two hundred years and was discovered by art historians only in the 19th century. Since the figures seemed to stand out against a dark background, it was called the Night Watch, and under this name it entered the treasury of world art.
And only during the restoration, carried out in 1947, it turned out that in the hall the picture had managed to become covered with a layer of soot, which distorted its color. After clearing the original painting, it was finally revealed that the scene presented by Rembrandt actually takes place during the day. The position of the shadow from the left hand of Captain Kok shows that the duration of the action is no more than 14 hours.
capsized boat
Henri Matisse, "The Boat", 1937.
In the New York Museum of Modern Art in 1961, Henri Matisse's painting "The Boat" was exhibited. Only after 47 days did someone notice that the painting was hanging upside down. The canvas depicts 10 purple lines and two blue sails on a white background. The artist painted two sails for a reason, the second sail is a reflection of the first one on the surface of the water.
In order not to be mistaken in how the picture should hang, you need to pay attention to the details. The larger sail should be at the top of the painting, and the peak of the sail of the painting should be directed to the upper right corner.
Deception in a self-portrait
Vincent van Gogh, Self Portrait with a Pipe, 1889.
There are legends that Van Gogh allegedly cut off his own ear. Now the most reliable version is that van Gogh's ear was damaged in a small scuffle with the participation of another artist, Paul Gauguin.
The self-portrait is interesting because it reflects reality in a distorted form: the artist is depicted with a bandaged right ear, because he used a mirror when working. In fact, the left ear was damaged.
alien bears
Ivan Shishkin, "Morning in the Pine Forest", 1889.
The famous painting belongs not only to the brush of Shishkin. Many artists who were friends with each other often resorted to "the help of a friend", and Ivan Ivanovich, who had been painting landscapes all his life, was afraid that touching bears would not turn out the way he needed. Therefore, Shishkin turned to a familiar animal painter Konstantin Savitsky.
Savitsky painted perhaps the best bears in the history of Russian painting, and Tretyakov ordered his name to be washed off the canvas, since everything in the picture “beginning from the idea and ending with the execution, everything speaks of the manner of painting, of the creative method peculiar to Shishkin.”
Innocent story "Gothic"
Grant Wood, "American Gothic", 1930.
Grant Wood's work is considered one of the strangest and most depressing in the history of American painting. The picture with a gloomy father and daughter is overflowing with details that indicate the severity, puritanism and retrogradeness of the people depicted.
In fact, the artist did not intend to depict any horrors: during a trip to Iowa, he noticed a small house in the Gothic style and decided to depict those people who, in his opinion, would be ideally suited as inhabitants. Grant's sister and his dentist are immortalized in the form of characters that the people of Iowa were so offended by.
Revenge of Salvador Dali
The painting "Figure at the Window" was painted in 1925, when Dali was 21 years old. Then Gala had not yet entered the life of the artist, and his sister Ana Maria was his muse. The relationship between brother and sister deteriorated when he wrote on one of the paintings "sometimes I spit on a portrait of my own mother, and it gives me pleasure." Ana Maria could not forgive such shocking.
In her 1949 book Salvador Dali Through the Eyes of a Sister, she writes about her brother without any praise. The book infuriated El Salvador. For another ten years after that, he angrily remembered her at every opportunity. And so, in 1954, the picture "A young virgin indulging in Sodomy sin with the help of the horns of her own chastity" appears. The pose of the woman, her curls, the landscape outside the window and the color scheme of the painting clearly echo the Figure at the Window. There is a version that this is how Dali took revenge on his sister for her book.
Two-faced Danae
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, Danae, 1636-1647.
Many secrets of one of Rembrandt's most famous paintings were revealed only in the 60s of the twentieth century, when the canvas was illuminated with x-rays. For example, the shooting showed that in the early version, the face of the princess, who entered into a love affair with Zeus, looked like the face of Saskia, the wife of the painter, who died in 1642. In the final version of the painting, it began to resemble the face of Gertier Dirks, Rembrandt's mistress, with whom the artist lived after the death of his wife.
Van Gogh's yellow bedroom
Vincent van Gogh, "Bedroom in Arles", 1888 - 1889.
In May 1888, Van Gogh acquired a small workshop in Arles, in the south of France, where he fled from the Parisian artists and critics who did not understand him. In one of the four rooms, Vincent sets up a bedroom. In October, everything is ready, and he decides to paint Van Gogh's Bedroom in Arles. For the artist, the color, the comfort of the room was very important: everything had to suggest thoughts of relaxation. At the same time, the picture is sustained in disturbing yellow tones.
Researchers of Van Gogh's creativity explain this by the fact that the artist took foxglove, a remedy for epilepsy, which causes serious changes in the patient's perception of color: the whole surrounding reality is painted in green-yellow tones.
Toothless perfection
Leonardo da Vinci, "Portrait of Mrs. Lisa del Giocondo", 1503 - 1519.
The generally accepted opinion is that Mona Lisa is perfection and her smile is beautiful in its mysteriousness. However, the American art critic (and part-time dentist) Joseph Borkowski believes that, judging by the expression on her face, the heroine has lost a lot of teeth. While examining enlarged photographs of the masterpiece, Borkowski also found scars around her mouth. “She smiles so much precisely because of what happened to her,” the expert believes. “Her facial expression is typical of people who have lost their front teeth.”
Major on face control
Pavel Fedotov, Major's Matchmaking, 1848.
The public, who first saw the painting "Major's Matchmaking", laughed heartily: the artist Fedotov filled it with ironic details that were understandable to viewers of that time. For example, the major is clearly not familiar with the rules of noble etiquette: he appeared without the proper bouquets for the bride and her mother. And the bride herself was discharged by her merchant parents into an evening ball gown, although it was daytime (all the lamps in the room were extinguished). The girl obviously tried on a low-cut dress for the first time, is embarrassed and tries to run away to her room.
Why Freedom is naked
Ferdinand Victor Eugene Delacroix, Liberty at the Barricades, 1830.
According to the art historian Etienne Julie, Delacroix painted the face of a woman from the famous Parisian revolutionary - the laundress Anna-Charlotte, who went to the barricades after the death of her brother at the hands of royal soldiers and killed nine guards. The artist depicted her bare-chested. According to his plan, this is a symbol of fearlessness and selflessness, as well as the triumph of democracy: naked breasts show that Svoboda, like a commoner, does not wear a corset.
non-square square
Kazimir Malevich, Black Suprematist Square, 1915.
In fact, the "Black Square" is not at all black and not at all square: none of the sides of the quadrangle is parallel to any of its other sides, and none of the sides of the square frame that frames the picture. And the dark color is the result of mixing various colors, among which there was no black. It is believed that this was not the negligence of the author, but a principled position, the desire to create a dynamic, mobile form.
Specialists of the Tretyakov Gallery have discovered the author's inscription on a famous painting by Malevich. The inscription reads: "Battle of the Negroes in a dark cave." This phrase refers to the name of the playful painting by the French journalist, writer and artist Alphonse Allais “Battle of the Negroes in a Dark Cave in the Dead of Night”, which was an absolutely black rectangle.
Melodrama of the Austrian Mona Lisa
Gustav Klimt, "Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer", 1907.
One of Klimt's most significant paintings depicts the wife of the Austrian sugar magnate Ferdinand Bloch-Bauer. All Vienna discussed the stormy romance between Adele and the famous artist. The wounded husband wanted to take revenge on his lovers, but chose a very unusual way: he decided to order a portrait of Adele from Klimt and force him to make hundreds of sketches until the artist starts to turn away from her.
Bloch-Bauer wanted the work to last several years, and the model could see how Klimt's feelings fade away. He made a generous offer to the artist, which he could not refuse, and everything turned out according to the scenario of the deceived husband: the work was completed in 4 years, the lovers had long cooled off towards each other. Adele Bloch-Bauer never found out that her husband was aware of her relationship with Klimt.
The painting that brought Gauguin back to life
Paul Gauguin, "Where do we come from? Who are we? Where are we going?", 1897-1898.
Gauguin's most famous canvas has one feature: it is "read" not from left to right, but from right to left, like Kabbalistic texts that the artist was interested in. It is in this order that the allegory of the spiritual and physical life of a person unfolds: from the birth of the soul (a sleeping child in the lower right corner) to the inevitability of the hour of death (a bird with a lizard in its claws in the lower left corner).
The painting was painted by Gauguin in Tahiti, where the artist fled from civilization several times. But this time life on the island did not work out: total poverty led him to depression. Having finished the canvas, which was to become his spiritual testament, Gauguin took a box of arsenic and went to the mountains to die. However, he did not calculate the dose, and the suicide failed. The next morning, he staggered to his hut and fell asleep, and when he woke up, he felt a forgotten thirst for life. And in 1898, his affairs went uphill, and a brighter period began in his work.
112 proverbs in one picture
Pieter Brueghel the Elder, "Netherlands Proverbs", 1559
Pieter Brueghel the Elder depicted a land inhabited by literal images of the Dutch proverbs of those days. There are approximately 112 recognizable idioms in the painted picture. Some of them are still used today, such as "swim against the current", "bang your head against the wall", "armed to the teeth" and "big fish eats small ones".
Other proverbs reflect human stupidity.
Subjectivity of art
Paul Gauguin, Breton village under the snow, 1894
Gauguin's painting "Breton Village in the Snow" was sold after the death of the author for only seven francs and, moreover, under the name "Niagara Falls". The auctioneer accidentally hung the painting upside down after seeing a waterfall in it.
hidden picture
Pablo Picasso, The Blue Room, 1901
In 2008, infrared showed that another image was hidden under the "Blue Room" - a portrait of a man dressed in a suit with a butterfly and resting his head on his hand. “As soon as Picasso had a new idea, he took up the brush and embodied it. But he did not have the opportunity to buy a new canvas every time the muse visited him, ”art historian Patricia Favero explains the possible reason for this.
Inaccessible Moroccan women
Zinaida Serebryakova, Naked, 1928
One day, Zinaida Serebryakova received a tempting offer - to go on a creative journey to portray the naked figures of oriental maidens. But it turned out that it was simply impossible to find models in those places. An interpreter for Zinaida came to the rescue - he brought his sisters and his bride to her. No one before and after that was able to capture the closed oriental women naked.
Spontaneous insight
Valentin Serov, "Portrait of Nicholas II in a jacket", 1900
For a long time Serov could not paint a portrait of the king. When the artist completely gave up, he apologized to Nikolai. Nikolai was a little upset, sat down at the table, stretching out his hands in front of him ... And then it dawned on the artist - here he is! A simple military man in an officer's jacket with clear and sad eyes. This portrait is considered the best depiction of the last emperor.
Again deuce
© Fedor Reshetnikov
The famous painting "Again deuce" is just the second part of the artistic trilogy.
The first part is "Arrived for the holidays." Obviously a well-to-do family, winter holidays, a joyful excellent student.
The second part is "Again the deuce." A poor family from the outskirts of the working class, the height of the school year, a dull stunner who again grabbed a deuce. In the upper left corner you can see the picture "Arrived for the holidays."
The third part is "Re-examination". Rural house, summer, everyone is walking, one malicious ignoramus who failed the annual exam is forced to sit within four walls and cramming. In the upper left corner you can see the picture "Again deuce".
How masterpieces are born
Joseph Turner, Rain, Steam and Speed, 1844
In 1842, Mrs. Simon traveled by train in England. Suddenly, a heavy downpour began. The elderly gentleman sitting across from her got up, opened the window, stuck his head out, and stared like that for about ten minutes. Unable to contain her curiosity, the woman also opened the window and looked ahead. A year later, she discovered the painting “Rain, Steam and Speed” at an exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts and was able to recognize in it the very episode on the train.
Anatomy lesson from Michelangelo
Michelangelo, The Creation of Adam, 1511
A couple of American neuroanatomy experts believe that Michelangelo actually left some anatomical illustrations in one of his most famous works. They believe that a huge brain is depicted on the right side of the picture. Surprisingly, even complex components such as the cerebellum, optic nerves, and pituitary gland can be found. And the catchy green ribbon perfectly matches the location of the vertebral artery.
The Last Supper by Van Gogh
Vincent van Gogh, Café Terrace at Night, 1888
Researcher Jared Baxter believes that Van Gogh's Café Terrace at Night contains a dedication to Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper. In the center of the picture is a waiter with long hair and in a white tunic, reminiscent of the clothes of Christ, and around him exactly 12 cafe visitors. Baxter also draws attention to the cross, located directly behind the back of the waiter in white.
Dali's image of memory
Salvador Dali, The Persistence of Memory, 1931
It is no secret that the thoughts that visited Dali during the creation of his masterpieces were always in the form of very realistic images, which the artist then transferred to the canvas. So, according to the author himself, the painting "The Persistence of Memory" was painted as a result of associations that arose at the sight of processed cheese.
What is Munch shouting about
Edvard Munch, "The Scream", 1893.
Munch spoke about the idea of one of the most mysterious paintings in world painting: "I was walking along the path with two friends - the sun was setting - suddenly the sky turned blood red, I paused, feeling exhausted, and leaned on the fence - I looked at blood and flames over the bluish-black fjord and the city - my friends went on, and I stood, trembling with excitement, feeling the endless cry piercing nature. But what kind of sunset could scare the artist so?
There is a version that the idea of "Scream" was born by Munch in 1883, when there were several strongest eruptions of the Krakatoa volcano - so powerful that they changed the temperature of the Earth's atmosphere by one degree. A copious amount of dust and ash spread across the globe, reaching even as far as Norway. For several evenings in a row, the sunsets looked as if the apocalypse was about to come - one of them became a source of inspiration for the artist.
Writer among the people
Alexander Ivanov, "The Appearance of Christ to the People", 1837-1857.
Dozens of sitters posed for Alexander Ivanov for his main picture. One of them is known no less than the artist himself. In the background, among travelers and Roman horsemen who have not yet heard the sermon of John the Baptist, one can notice a character in a brown tunic. His Ivanov wrote with Nikolai Gogol. The writer closely communicated with the artist in Italy, in particular on religious issues, and gave him advice in the process of painting. Gogol believed that Ivanov "had long since died for the whole world, except for his work."
Michelangelo's gout
Raphael Santi, The School of Athens, 1511.
Creating the famous fresco "The School of Athens", Raphael immortalized his friends and acquaintances in the images of ancient Greek philosophers. One of them was Michelangelo Buonarroti "in the role" of Heraclitus. For several centuries, the fresco kept the secrets of Michelangelo's personal life, and modern researchers have suggested that the artist's strangely angular knee indicates that he has a joint disease.
This is quite likely, given the peculiarities of the lifestyle and working conditions of Renaissance artists and Michelangelo's chronic workaholism.
Mirror of the Arnolfinis
Jan van Eyck, "Portrait of the Arnolfinis", 1434
In the mirror behind the Arnolfinis, you can see the reflection of two more people in the room. Most likely, these are witnesses present at the conclusion of the contract. One of them is van Eyck, as evidenced by the Latin inscription placed, contrary to tradition, above the mirror in the center of the composition: "Jan van Eyck was here." This is how the contracts were usually sealed.
How a flaw turned into a talent
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, Self-portrait at the age of 63, 1669.
The researcher Margaret Livingston studied all Rembrandt's self-portraits and found that the artist suffered from strabismus: in the images his eyes look in different directions, which is not observed in the portraits of other people by the master. The disease led to the fact that the artist could better perceive reality in two dimensions than people with normal vision. This phenomenon is called "stereo blindness" - the inability to see the world in 3D. But since the painter has to work with a two-dimensional image, it was precisely this shortcoming of Rembrandt that could be one of the explanations for his phenomenal talent.
Sinless Venus
Sandro Botticelli, The Birth of Venus, 1482-1486.
Before the advent of The Birth of Venus, the image of a naked female body in painting symbolized only the idea of original sin. Sandro Botticelli was the first European painter not to find anything sinful in him. Moreover, art historians are sure that the pagan goddess of love symbolizes the Christian image on the fresco: her appearance is an allegory of the rebirth of the soul that has undergone the rite of baptism.
Lute player or lute player?
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, The Lute Player, 1596.
For a long time, the painting was exhibited in the Hermitage under the title "Lute Player". Only at the beginning of the 20th century, art historians agreed that the canvas still depicts a young man (probably, Caravaggio was posed by his friend artist Mario Minniti): on the notes in front of the musician, a recording of the bass part of the madrigal by Jacob Arcadelt “You know that I love you” is visible . A woman could hardly make such a choice - it's just hard for the throat. In addition, the lute, like the violin at the very edge of the picture, was considered a male instrument in the era of Caravaggio.
The most famous and significant for the history of art pictures of the world for your inspiration.
The immortal paintings of great artists are admired by millions of people. Art, classical and modern, is one of the main sources of inspiration, taste and cultural education of any person, and even more creative.
There are certainly more world-famous paintings than 33. There are several hundred of them, and all of them would not fit in one review. Therefore, for ease of viewing, we have selected a few that are most significant for world culture and are often copied. Each work is accompanied by an interesting fact, an explanation of the artistic meaning or the history of its creation.
Raphael "Sistine Madonna" 1512
Stored in the Old Masters Gallery in Dresden.
The picture has a little secret: the background, which looks like clouds from a distance, upon closer examination turns out to be the heads of angels. And the two angels depicted in the picture below have become the motif of numerous postcards and posters.
Rembrandt "The Night Watch" 1642
Stored in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.
The true name of the painting by Rembrandt is "The performance of the rifle company of Captain Frans Banning Cock and Lieutenant Willem van Ruytenburg." Art critics who discovered the painting in the 19th century thought that the figures were standing against a dark background, and they called it “Night Watch”. Later it turned out that a layer of soot makes the picture dark, and the action actually takes place during the day. However, the picture has already entered the treasury of world art under the name "Night Watch".
Leonardo da Vinci "The Last Supper" 1495-1498
Located in the monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan.
Over the more than 500-year history of the existence of the work, the fresco was repeatedly destroyed: a doorway was made through the painting, and then a doorway was laid, the refectory of the monastery, where the image is located, was used as an armory, a prison, and bombed. The famous fresco has been restored at least five times, with the most recent restoration taking 21 years. Today, to view the work of art, visitors must book tickets in advance and can only spend 15 minutes in the refectory.
Salvador Dali "The Persistence of Memory" 1931
According to the author himself, the picture was painted as a result of associations that arose in Dali at the sight of processed cheese. Returning from the cinema, where she went that evening, Gala quite correctly predicted that no one who saw "The Persistence of Memory" once would forget it.
Pieter Bruegel the Elder "Tower of Babel" 1563
Stored at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.
According to Brueghel, the failure that befell the construction of the Tower of Babel was not due to language barriers that suddenly arose according to the biblical story, but to mistakes made during the construction process. At first glance, the huge building seems solid enough, but upon closer inspection, it is clear that all the tiers are laid unevenly, the lower floors are either unfinished or are already collapsing, the building itself is tilting towards the city, and the prospects for the entire project are very sad.
Kazimir Malevich "Black Square" 1915
According to the artist, he painted the picture for several months. Subsequently, Malevich made several copies of the "Black Square" (according to some sources, seven). According to one version, the artist was unable to complete the work on the painting in the right time, so he had to cover up the work with black paint. Subsequently, after the recognition of the public, Malevich painted new "Black Squares" already on blank canvases. Malevich also painted the paintings "Red Square" (two copies) and one "White Square".
Kuzma Sergeevich Petrov-Vodkin "Bathing the red horse" 1912
Located in the State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow.
Painted in 1912, the picture turned out to be visionary. The red horse acts as the Destiny of Russia or Russia itself, which the fragile and young rider is unable to hold. thus, the artist symbolically predicted with his painting the “red” fate of Russia in the 20th century.
Peter Paul Rubens "The Rape of the Daughters of Leucippus" 1617-1618
Stored in the Alte Pinakothek in Munich.
The painting "The Abduction of the Daughters of Leucippus" is considered the personification of courageous passion and bodily beauty. The strong, muscular arms of young men pick up young naked women to put them on horseback. The sons of Zeus and Leda steal the brides of their cousins.
Paul Gauguin "Where did we come from? Who are we? Where are we going?" 1898
Stored at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.
At the direction of Gauguin himself, the picture should be read from right to left - the three main groups of figures illustrate the questions posed in the title. Three women with a child represent the beginning of life; the middle group symbolizes the daily existence of maturity; in the final group, according to the artist's intention, "an old woman approaching death seems reconciled and given over to her thoughts", at her feet "a strange white bird ... represents the futility of words."
Eugene Delacroix "Liberty Leading the People" 1830
Stored in the Louvre in Paris
Delacroix created a painting based on the July Revolution of 1830 in France. In a letter to his brother on October 12, 1830, Delacroix writes: "If I did not fight for the Motherland, then at least I will write for her." The bare chest of a woman leading the people symbolizes the selflessness of the French people of that time, who with “bare chest” went to the enemy.
Claude Monet "Impression. Rising Sun" 1872
Stored at the Musée Marmottan in Paris.
The name of the work "Impression, soleil levant" with the light hand of the journalist L. Leroy became the name of the artistic direction "Impressionism". The painting was painted from nature in the old outport of Le Havre in France.
Jan Vermeer "Girl with a pearl earring" 1665
Stored in the Mauritshuis Gallery in The Hague.
One of the most famous paintings by the Dutch artist Jan Vermeer is often referred to as the Northern or Dutch Mona Lisa. Very little is known about the painting: it is not dated, the name of the depicted girl is not known. In 2003, based on the novel of the same name by Tracey Chevalier, the feature film "Girl with a Pearl Earring" was shot, in which the history of the creation of the canvas is hypothetically restored in the context of Vermeer's biography and family life.
Ivan Aivazovsky "The Ninth Wave" 1850
Stored in St. Petersburg in the State Russian Museum.
Ivan Aivazovsky is a world famous Russian marine painter who has dedicated his life to depicting the sea. He created about six thousand works, each of which received recognition during the life of the artist. The painting "The Ninth Wave" is included in the book "100 Great Paintings".
Andrei Rublev "Trinity" 1425-1427
The icon of the Holy Trinity, painted by Andrei Rublev in the 15th century, is one of the most famous Russian icons. The icon is a board in a vertical format. The tsars (Ivan the Terrible, Boris Godunov, Mikhail Fedorovich) "encrusted" the icon with gold, silver and precious stones. Today the salary is stored in the Sergiev Posad State Museum-Reserve.
Mikhail Vrubel "Seated Demon" 1890
Stored in the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow.
The plot of the picture is inspired by Lermontov's poem "The Demon". The demon is an image of the strength of the human spirit, internal struggle, doubts. Tragically clasping his hands, the Demon sits with sad, huge eyes directed into the distance, surrounded by unprecedented flowers.
William Blake "The Great Architect" 1794
Stored in the British Museum in London.
The name of the painting "The Ancient of Days" literally translates from English as "Ancient of Days". This phrase was used as the name of God. The main character of the picture is God at the moment of creation, who does not establish order, but limits freedom and marks the limits of the imagination.
Edouard Manet "Bar at the Folies Bergère" 1882
Stored at the Courtauld Institute of Art in London.
The Folies Bergère is a variety show and cabaret in Paris. Manet frequented the Folies Bergère and ended up painting this painting, his last before his death in 1883. Behind the bar, in the midst of a crowd of drinking, eating, talking and smoking, a barmaid is absorbed in her own thoughts, watching a trapeze acrobat, which can be seen in the upper left corner of the picture.
Titian "Earthly Love and Heavenly Love" 1515-1516
Stored in the Galleria Borghese in Rome.
It is noteworthy that the modern name of the painting was not given by the artist himself, but began to be used only two centuries later. Until that time, the painting had various titles: "Beauty Embellished and Unadorned" (1613), "Three Types of Love" (1650), "Divine and Worldly Women" (1700), and, in the end, "Earthly Love and Heavenly Love » (1792 and 1833).
Mikhail Nesterov "Vision to the youth Bartholomew" 1889-1890
Stored in the State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow.
The first and most significant work from the cycle dedicated to Sergius of Radonezh. Until the end of his days, the artist was convinced that “The Vision of the Young Bartholomew” was his best work. In his old age, the artist liked to repeat: “It’s not me who will live. The “Young Bartholomew” will live.” Now, if in thirty, fifty years after my death he will still say something to people - that means he is alive, which means that I am also alive ."
Pieter Bruegel the Elder "The Parable of the Blind" 1568
Stored in the Capodimonte Museum in Naples.
Other names of the painting are “The Blind”, “Parabola of the Blind”, “The Blind Leading the Blind”. It is believed that the plot of the picture is based on the biblical parable of the blind: "If the blind lead the blind, then both of them will fall into the pit."
Viktor Vasnetsov "Alyonushka" 1881
Stored in the State Tretyakov Gallery.
The fairy tale "About sister Alyonushka and brother Ivanushka" is taken as a basis. Initially, Vasnetsov's painting was called "Fool Alyonushka". Orphans were called “fools” at that time. “Alyonushka,” the artist himself later said, “as if she had been living in my head for a long time, but in reality I saw her in Akhtyrka when I met one simple-haired girl who struck my imagination. There was so much longing, loneliness and purely Russian sadness in her eyes ... Some special Russian spirit emanated from her."
Vincent van Gogh Starry Night 1889
Stored at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Unlike most of the artist's paintings, Starry Night was painted from memory. Van Gogh was at that time in the Saint-Remy hospital, tormented by bouts of insanity.
Karl Bryullov "The Last Day of Pompeii" 1830-1833
Stored in the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg.
The painting depicts the famous eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. e. and the destruction of the city of Pompeii near Naples. The image of the artist in the left corner of the picture is a self-portrait of the author.
Pablo Picasso "Girl on a ball" 1905
Stored in the Pushkin Museum, Moscow
The painting ended up in Russia thanks to the industrialist Ivan Abramovich Morozov, who bought it in 1913 for 16,000 francs. In 1918, the personal collection of I. A. Morozov was nationalized. At the moment, the painting is in the collection of the State Museum of Fine Arts named after A.S. Pushkin.
Leonardo da Vinci "Madonna Litta" 1491
Stored in the Hermitage in St. Petersburg.
The original title of the painting is Madonna and Child. The modern name of the painting comes from the name of its owner - Count Litta, the owner of a family art gallery in Milan. There is an assumption that the figure of the baby was not painted by Leonardo da Vinci, but belongs to the brush of one of his students. This is evidenced by the baby's pose, which is unusual for the author's manner.
Jean Ingres "Turkish Baths" 1862
Stored in the Louvre in Paris.
Ingres finished painting this picture when he was already over 80 years old. With this picture, the artist sums up a peculiar result of the image of bathers, the themes of which have long been present in his work. Initially, the canvas was in the form of a square, but a year after its completion, the artist turned it into a round picture - a tondo.
Ivan Shishkin, Konstantin Savitsky "Morning in a pine forest" 1889
Stored in the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow
“Morning in a Pine Forest” is a painting by Russian artists Ivan Shishkin and Konstantin Savitsky. Savitsky painted bears, but the collector Pavel Tretyakov, when he acquired the painting, erased his signature, so now only Shishkin is indicated as the author of the painting.
Mikhail Vrubel "The Swan Princess" 1900
Stored in the State Tretyakov Gallery
The picture was painted on the basis of the stage image of the heroine of the opera "The Tale of Tsar Saltan" by N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov based on the plot of the fairy tale of the same name by A. S. Pushkin. Vrubel created sketches for the scenery and costumes for the premiere of the opera in 1900, and his wife sang the part of the Swan Princess.
Giuseppe Arcimboldo "Portrait of Emperor Rudolf II in the form of Vertumnus" 1590
Located in Skokloster Castle in Stockholm.
One of the few surviving works of the artist, who made portraits from fruits, vegetables, flowers, crustaceans, fish, pearls, musical and other instruments, books, and so on. "Vertumnus" is a portrait of the emperor, represented as the ancient Roman god of the seasons, vegetation and transformation. In the picture, Rudolph consists entirely of fruits, flowers and vegetables.
Edgar Degas "Blue Dancers" 1897
Located in the Museum of Art. A. S. Pushkin in Moscow.
Degas was a big fan of ballet. He is called the artist of ballerinas. The work "Blue Dancers" refers to the late period of Degas's work, when his eyesight weakened, and he began to work with large color spots, giving paramount importance to the decorative organization of the surface of the picture.
Leonardo da Vinci "Mona Lisa" 1503-1505
Stored in the Louvre, Paris.
The Mona Lisa might not have gained worldwide fame if it had not been stolen in 1911 by an employee of the Louvre. The painting was found two years later in Italy: the thief responded to an ad in a newspaper and offered to sell the Gioconda to the director of the Uffizi Gallery. All this time, while the investigation was going on, "Mona Lisa" did not leave the covers of newspapers and magazines around the world, becoming an object of copying and worship.
Sandro Botticelli "The Birth of Venus" 1486
Stored in Florence at the Uffizi Gallery
The painting illustrates the myth of the birth of Aphrodite. The naked goddess floats to the shore in an open shell, driven by the wind. On the left side of the picture, Zephyr (the west wind), in the arms of his wife Chlorida, blows on a shell, creating a wind filled with flowers. On the shore, the goddess is met by one of the graces. The Birth of Venus is well preserved due to the fact that Botticelli applied a protective layer of egg yolk to the painting.
Michelangelo "Creation of Adam" 1511
Located in the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican.
Russian portrait painters appeared in the early 14th century AD. The masters of the brush of that time had limited means, so they often resorted to stylized drawings. It could not be called surrealism, but the paintings certainly suffered from insufficient detail. Later, Russian portrait painters and their work were reoriented to the decoration of churches. Masters of sacral painting painted the walls and ceilings of churches and cathedrals.
Early portrait art
Russian portrait painters and their paintings had their own distinctive features, they were recognizable - each painter had his own style in his work, moreover, he was revered by both priests and parishioners.
The brightest representative of that time is Andrey Rublev (1370-1428), who left behind imperishable works: "Almighty Savior", "Archangel Michael", "Trinity", and other masterpieces of icon painting.
Rublev's contemporary was the famous icon painter Theophanes the Greek (1340-1410). For a long time they worked together. In the 90s of the 14th century, artists painted the Annunciation Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. Other Russian portrait painters also took part in the work. The amount of work was quite large. The main icons of the deesis row were painted, while the "prophetic" and part of the upper "forefather" row belong to the brush of Andey Rublev. There is no reliable data confirming that he painted the hallmarks of the large icons of the lower row, however, the hand of a talented icon painter is recognizable in these works as well.
Early Masters of Portraiture
At the beginning of the 14th century, the technique of oil painting improved somewhat due to the appearance of finely ground paints.
Russian portrait painters of later times:
- Dionysius (1440-1502), favorite of Tsar Ivan III. The monarch used to entrust the artist with the painting of some temple, and then periodically visited the icon painter and watched the work.
- Zubov Alexey (1682-1750) - the largest master of Russian engraving art of the era of Peter the Great. He worked together with his father, the outstanding icon painter Fyodor Zubov. Together they painted the Armory of the Moscow Kremlin.
- Nikitin Ivan (1680-1742) - Russian artist, one of the first Russian masters of portraiture, who was educated in Europe. He was in a special location with Peter the Great. The most famous works of the artist are the Polish King August II and the Duke of Mecklenburg.
Russian portrait painters of the 18th century
Masters of the brush of past centuries, as a rule, were engaged in church painting. However, the 18th century was the time of the birth of portrait art in its purest form, when the painter reflects on the canvas the image of a particular person. Russian portrait painters of that time adhered to the classical school of fine art, which involves the exact reproduction of the smallest details. In portraiture, this technique was the best suited to the tasks assigned to the performer - to achieve such an image that it bore all the signs of an artistic style and was as reliable as possible. The work seemed to be quite painstaking and responsible. Nevertheless, famous Russian portrait painters did an excellent job with it. There were more than enough orders, all the nobility of the court, as well as members of the merchant guilds, vied with each other to order portraits for themselves and their loved ones.
Wealthy people preferred to invite painters to their homes, because in this case the whole family could watch the process, and this was considered good form. The Russian portrait painter usually did not live well, so he tried to take as many orders as possible. If at the end of the work the image of the head of the family was liked by all household members, then the painter received the next order in the same house. Thus, the Russian portrait painter was in demand in high society and did not remain without work. The most successful masters were invited to the royal chambers to carry out especially important assignments.
Rise of portraiture
When the Renaissance began in the art of painting, many talented masters appeared in Rus'.
Russian portrait painters of the 18th century:
- Antropov Alexey (1716-1795) - a famous Russian portrait painter, participated in the decoration of the Winter Palace in 1744 and Tsarskoye Selo in 1749. Under his leadership, artists painted St. Andrew's Church in Kyiv. Since 1761, Antropov was introduced to the Orthodox Synod as the chief overseer of icon-painting works. The artist entered the history of Russian art as a talented portrait painter of the Petrine period.
- Borovikovsky Vladimir (1757-1825) was born in Mirgorod. He became famous after meeting with Catherine II, who was traveling to the Crimea in 1787. The artist painted one of the palaces on the way of the empress and was noticed by her. Catherine expressed her admiration and rewarded Borovikovsky with money, for which he subsequently went to St. Petersburg.
- Alexey Venetsianov (1780-1847) - Russian artist, founder of the genre of everyday life in portraiture. Fame brought him the work "Portrait of a mother", written in 1801. Learned the art of drawing from
- Kiprensky Orest (1782-1836) - an outstanding artist, made his debut in 1804 with a portrait of A. K. Walbe, which was painted in the manner of Rembrandt. The famous work "E. V. Davydov", created in 1809, strengthened the reputation of the artist. Many of Kiprensky's canvases are kept in the Tretyakov Gallery.
- Tropinin Vasily (1776-1857) - Russian artist who became famous after he painted a portrait of A.S. Pushkin by order of the poet himself. The painting was intended for S. A. Sobolevsky, a friend of Alexander Sergeevich. The portrait has become a classic image of the great poet for all time.
Portrait art in the 19th century
Russian portrait painters of the 19th century are a whole galaxy of talented painters who turned to the genre of depicting a human face. The most famous of them:
- Neff Timofey (1805-1876) - a follower of the academic style in art, a historical portrait painter. He studied painting at the Dresden Art School. In 1826 he moved to St. Petersburg, where he immediately became famous by painting a series of portraits of famous people. In 1837, he went on a long journey around Russia to get acquainted with the folklore hinterland and the life of the common people. After returning, he painted the church of the Winter Palace, among these works was the famous "Last Supper". He received a professorship for painting St. Isaac's Cathedral, and at the same time became the curator of the Hermitage painting gallery.
- Zakharov Peter (1816-1846) - Russian portrait painter with a difficult fate. A three-year-old boy was found in the abandoned Chechen village of Dadi-Yurt. Russian General Yermolov took the child to be raised. Noticing the ability of his adopted son to draw, he gave little Petya to study with the portrait painter Lev Volkov. In 1836, Zakharov completed a course at the Academy of Arts and received the title of a free artist.
- (1822-1897) - Russian painter, for a long creative life he painted many paintings. The artist's works, including portraits created by him at different times, are in the Tretyakov Gallery, the Russian Museum, the Academy of Arts and exhibition halls throughout Russia. In 1844, Makarov moved to St. Petersburg, where he won the recognition of the capital's public.
Portrait painter Tyranov
Russian portrait painter (1808-1859), engaged in icon painting. In 1824, he met the artist Venetsianov, who assigned the young man to his school of painting, and when he finished his studies, he placed Tyranov as a student at the Academy of Arts. The further fate of the young painter was successful, he received a small gold medal from the Academy, in 1836 he became a student of the venerable Karl Bryullov. For his work, "Girl with a Tambourine" was awarded the title of academician. While in Rome, he painted his main canvases: "Girl squeezing water out of her hair", "Angel with an olive branch", "Mother of Moses on the banks of the Nile". Then, upon the artist's return to St. Petersburg, the artist suffered a streak of failures, and he turned into a beggar. He found shelter in his brother's house in the city of Kashin. There Tyranov died at the age of 51.
Unsurpassed portrait technique
Zaryanko Sergei (1818-1870) is a wonderful Russian portrait painter, famous for the indescribable play of light and shadow on his canvases. The artist's technique is so pronounced that the inner world of the person depicted on the canvas seems to be lost in the richness of shades and halftones. In total, Zaryanko painted about a hundred portraits, most of which are dedicated to the emperor, his family and the highest court nobility.
Master's apprentice
Zhodeiko Leonid (1827-1879) - Russian portrait painter, student of the Moscow artist Zaryanko and the St. Petersburg master Markov, a teacher at the Academy of Arts. He painted mostly female portraits. He received the title of academician for the painting "The Girl Washing". He was a regular participant in the annual exhibitions held under the auspices of the Academy of Arts of St. Petersburg.
Dramatic style artist
Kramskoy Ivan Nikolaevich (1837-1887) - an outstanding master of portraiture, religious wall paintings, genre drawings. The author of paintings depicting famous writers, artists, artists, including: L. N. Tolstoy (year 1883), M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin (year 1879), I. I. Shishkin (year 1873 th), S. P. Botkin (year 1880), P. M. Tretyakov (year 1876).
The artist adhered to the philosophical and dramatic overtones in his works all his life, this is especially noticeable in portrait paintings: "Unknown", "N.A. Nekrasov", "Inconsolable grief", which were created in the period from 1877 to 1884. These masterpieces are in the Tretyakov Gallery.
Artistic portraits in the 20th century
The twentieth century was a difficult period for Russia. Political upheavals, two bloody wars left their mark on the development of the country. Nevertheless, art was alive; in the post-war years, painting, including portraiture, was revived. There were few artists, but they all went to a good school.
Russian portrait painters of the 20th century:
- Kozlov Engels - Soviet portrait painter, born in 1926, graduated from the Yaroslavl Art School, then entered the painting course of the Leningrad Repin Institute. In 1956 he presented his thesis "Will Live!" Member of the Union of Artists since 1957. The main theme of Kozlov's work is portraits of his contemporaries.
- Lomakin Oleg - portrait painter of the Soviet period, born in 1924. He studied at the Leningrad Art School, then at the All-Russian Academy of Arts. In 1942 he was drafted into the Red Army, fought near Kursk, where he was seriously wounded and was expelled from the army. Portraits painted by the artist have been exhibited at exhibitions since 1952.
- Nevelshtein Samuil (1904-1983) - portrait painter, graduated from VKHUTEMAS. The artist has several dozen works to his credit. The main theme of Nevelstein's work was portraits of his contemporaries. The portrait painter held five solo exhibitions, all of them were held in Leningrad, the first show took place in 1944.
- Oreshnikov Victor (1904-1987) - Soviet painter and portrait painter. People's Artist of the Soviet Union, winner of two Stalin Prizes. His art was dominated by subjects dedicated to achievements in the national economy and portraits of his contemporaries.
- - Russian portrait painter, born in 1943. Creator of unique focus. Actively involved in public life, member of the Public Council under the President of Russia.
Famous portrait painters
Over the six hundred years that have passed since the appearance of pictorial art, more than one generation of artists has changed. In addition to the painters already mentioned, there were quite a few other masters.
Who are they - Russian portrait painters? A list of them is presented below.
- Musikisky Grigory Semenovich, court portrait painter.
- Gsel Georg, a Swiss painter, worked in Russia for a long time.
- Nikitin Ivan Nikitich, court painter.
- Vishnyakov Ivan Yakovlevich, portrait painter for the aristocracy.
- Kolokolnikov Mina Lukich, serf painter.
- Matveyevich, court portrait painter.
- Ugryumov Grigory Ivanovich, peasant artist.
- noble portrait painter.
- Orlovsky Alexander Osipovich, artist of the nobility.
- Sokolov Petr Fedorovich, portrait painter for the aristocracy.
Looking at the extraordinarily beautiful monumental canvases, the viewer understands that in any work of the great artist lies the secret of life, tragic stories, deep feelings. Only by immersing yourself and coming into contact with a small episode of a talented person can you try to predict an era that has remained far in the past. Who are the Russian masters of painting and what does modern man know about them?
10 Mikhail Alexandrovich Vrubel (1856 - 1910)
The face of a mysterious creature who dreamed at night became prophetic. Michali was obsessed and wanted to finish the portrait as soon as possible. At this time, the young man meets Nadezhda Zabela, who becomes his wife. A born son with a cleft lip was a sign for Vrubel. The artist ceases to notice everyone and works hard on the "Demon". The tragic events broke the master's nervous system and he was placed in a mental hospital. So clarification side by side with insanity, and recognition with a curse.
9 Ivan Nikolaevich Kramskoy (1837 - 1887)
The famous painting "The Stranger" was attributed to many women of that time. To Anna Karenina, Empress Maria Feodorovna, peasant woman Matryona Savvishna. But the final prototype was never decided. The work "Mermaid", acquired by Tretyakov, was of a mystical nature. At night, from the hall where the canvas hung, it blew cold, some sounds were heard. The man, having been near the picture, felt tired, drowsy. The famous masterpiece was hung in a dark corner, and the complaints stopped.
8 Alexei Kondratievich Savrasov (1830 - 1897)
Even as a child, Alexey loved to create small sketches, which were bought up with pleasure by local residents. The young man was going to enter an art school, but due to the death of his mother, his studies had to be postponed. The father did not approve of drawing and sent his son to live in the attic, where the wind blew from all the cracks. The young talent was saved by the Chief of Police. At the age of 24, Savrasov was awarded the title of academician. He is called "the artist of one picture". The work "The Rooks Have Arrived" tells about the boundless love for the native land.
7 Ilya Efimovich Repin (1844 - 1930)
The artist's canvases are a real separate world that tells about experience, pain, joy and compassion. The modern viewer, looking at the paintings of the master, begins to think about sincerity and kindness, which is so lacking in life. The work "Ivan the Terrible and Son" affected the health of the artist. Some considered it a curse for false facts. His right hand stopped working and subsequently he wrote with his left. “Barge haulers on the Volga”, “They didn’t wait”, “Cossacks” and many other paintings are a wonderful legacy for posterity.
6 Karl Pavlovich Bryullov (1799 - 1852)
Karl graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts with a gold medal and was awarded a trip to Rome as a reward for his hard work. After the journey, the artist begins work on the famous painting "The Death of Pompeii". Bryullov's paintings are very popular. The master is busy with work, paints portraits of famous people, paints churches. His canvases will forever remain the property of the people - "Horsewoman", "Italian Morning" and others.
5 Victor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov (1848 - 1926)
The great Russian painter was called "a true hero." Born into the family of a priest, his future was predictable. In the seminary, the young man is fond of drawing and in his last year he decides to make drastic changes. Having successfully passed the exams, Victor, by an absurd accident, does not dare to hear the verdict and leaves, only to return a year later and try his hand. When the insecure Vasnetsov returns to the Academy to undergo a second test, the future artist finds out that he has been a student of the famous educational institution for a year now. The paintings of the master are known to everyone - "Alyonushka", "Bogatyrs", "Ivan Tsarevich on the Gray Wolf" and others.
4 Vasily Ivanovich Surikov (1848 - 1916)
A hereditary Cossack among friends was called a "composer" for his ability to build a composition and choose a juicy color. Vasily graduated from the Academy with a gold medal. Immediately after his studies, the artist began to paint the painting "Morning of the Streltsy Execution". She made a splash, and Tretyakov bought it right at the exhibition. The following paintings - "Menshikov in Berezov" and "Boyar Morozova" also moved to the mansion to Tretyakov. The master saw the past perfectly, as if he had been in it. Historical masterpieces still captivate the viewer - "The Conquest of Siberia by Yermak", "Suvorov's Crossing the Alps" and others.
3 Valentin Alexandrovich Serov (1865 - 1911)
Artistic talent manifested itself already in childhood. The boy was constantly drawing. Teachers complained about his lack of assembly, took away notebooks with a picture, put him in a corner. But the portrait of a gymnasium teacher brought recognition. Adults were surprised at the skill, changed their anger to admiration. A serious and purposeful young man painted portraits and embodied his soul in them. “Girl with Peaches”, “Portrait of Princess Olga”, “Portrait of Emperor Nicholas” and many other works are the legacy of the great portrait painter.
2 Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky (1817 - 1900)
Seascapes glorified the talented artist. An Armenian by birth, he was a real Russian in his soul. Many wonder why the sea was the main subject of the paintings? Perhaps these are childhood memories, where contact with the majesty of the water surface became the brightest inspiration. In addition to drawing, Ivan played the violin perfectly and the Tatar motifs heard by Glinka, the composer preserved in the opera Ruslan and Lyudmila. Let's recall the most famous paintings - "The Ninth Wave", "Black Sea", "Chechmen Battle", "Chaos in the Vatican".
1 Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin (1832 - 1898)
The famous Russian landscape painter was from a merchant family and did not experience difficulties in the material sphere. Glory came to him early enough. When Ivan graduated from the Academy of Arts, his surname was known abroad. Personal life was not successful. The first marriage ended tragically. The wife died, and then the little son. But the second marriage also brought severe trials. His wife died, leaving the artist two daughters. The master died at work at the age of 66. The heritage received great works as a gift - "Morning in a Pine Forest", "Rye", "Pine Forest", "In the Wild North" and other canvases.
The fates of talented artists, whose canvases are known throughout the world, have developed differently. But all of them, of course, accomplished a great feat in their lives, leaving in the pictures their own visions of a natural phenomenon, a historical event, a human image. Let one of them be considered not sufficiently correct and perfect personality. However, the contribution of the masters is incommensurable with stupid statements.
