The portrait genre occupied one of the leading places in Russian painting in the second half of the 18th - early 19th centuries. Famous artists of that time posed by many famous people, however, perhaps, no one aroused such interest in the painters as Alexander Sergeyevich. The description of Pushkin’s appearance with a brush is perhaps even more complicated than an artistic word.
Images of Pushkin in the fine art of the 19th century
As you know, the culture of the XIX century was literary-centric: poetry and prose set the tone for other forms of art. The phenomenon of A.S. Pushkin’s creativity lies not only in his creation of the Russian literary language, but also in the fact that his statements about his modern era were the quintessence of the thoughts of the Russian intelligentsia of the first third of the century. Therefore, it is not surprising that the personality of the poet so attracted the attention of artists. His portraits were painted by the best painters of Russia: A. Tropinin, O. Kiprensky, I. Repin. The description of Pushkin's appearance based on the paintings of the above authors is the subject of this review.
Portraits of Pushkin by Tropinin and Kiprensky
In 1827, Tropinin created one of the most famous images of the "sun of Russian poetry." The artist introduced the poet to a young, romantic, inspirational. Pushkin was then at the pinnacle of fame: it was the heyday of his work (as well as the work of Tropinin). Description of Pushkin's appearance briefly, perhaps, can best be made precisely from this portrait: the painter very expressively outlined one very characteristic feature in the appearance of the writer - the sublimity of thought.
Alexander Sergeevich greatly praised his portrait of Kiprensky. This image has long been classic: it seems that it can be seen in all school books on Russian literature. The description of Pushkin's appearance in this picture can be exhaustive: the artist conveyed in him the poet’s inner world as it seems to most of his loyal readers or those who at least sometimes thought about the character of the author.
Comparison of portraits of Pushkin by Tropinin and Kiprensky
On Kiprensky’s canvas, Pushkin’s face is serious and focused, as if deliberately contrasting with the image created by Tropinin. A thoughtful, attentive, deep look speaks of a great life experience, despite his youth. It is significant that both paintings were painted in the same year, i.e., at the time of the writer's creative upsurge. However, Vasily Andreevich saw in him, first of all, a romance, a dreamer, as he was, probably, while writing his lyrical freedom-loving poems and poems.
Description of the appearance of Pushkin in the portrait of Orest Adamovich is much more complicated: the appearance of the poet, at first glance, is simpler, but this is precisely the whole complexity. The everyday, everyday appearance of the poet may complicate his characterization. At the same time, the image is quite recognizable: the viewer sees in front of him a very intelligent person who has experienced, understood and embodied a lot in his artistic word. The fact that Alexander Sergeyevich spoke positively about this picture proves that the portrait was really a success.
Pushkin in the picture of Repin
Repin wrote the famous painting “Pushkin at the Lyceum Exam on January 8, 1815” in honor of the centenary of the Imperial Lyceum in Tsarskoye Selo, and it was not for nothing that the scene was chosen as the young poet’s reading the famous poem “Memoirs of Tsarskoye Selo”. The artist captured the expressive, inspired face of Alexander Sergeyevich, who was so carried away by recitation that he did not even notice the violent manifestation of the delight of the aged poet G. Derzhavin, who, it seemed, was ready to throw himself in the arms of the new star of Russian poetry. Description of Pushkin's appearance in English can be carried out on the basis of this particular picture: it has a composition, a plot that fully corresponds to the vocabulary of schoolchildren.
Self portrait of a poet
Perhaps no one could better describe Alexander Sergeyevich than he himself. The author made fun of himself more than once in poems, epigrams, and even in such large works as the novel in the poems Eugene Onegin. Based on his writings, the poet’s vision of himself is quite obvious to the reader. Pushkin treated himself with a light good-natured irony: he understood his shortcomings, which he himself laughed at, but at the same time, the fact that he was well aware of the importance of his talent and creativity in the development of the Russian literary language and fiction as a whole was indicative.
It is these qualities of character that Pushkin conveyed in his self-portrait. The figure shows a young man with a thoughtful expression on his face: despite his age, he has extensive life experience, and the viewer understands that he has already managed to learn a lot and comprehend. At the same time, this image conveys good disposition, sociability, responsiveness, that is, precisely the very features that Alexander Sergeevich, probably, especially appreciated both in himself and in others. It is known that the poet attached great importance to friendship, giving it a considerable place in the lyrics. A description of Pushkin's appearance in English can also be made on the basis of this self-portrait, since he summarizes the essence of the poet’s personality.