Art is a reflection of life. The main subject of study and image in all its spheres is man, his inner experiences and external features, actions and behavior.
Portrait concept
Description of a person’s appearance with fairly accurate details is called a portrait. The word came to us from the old French language and literally translates as "reproduction of the devil to hell." An image can be both real and fictional, both living and once existing. In addition, the portrait depicts one person or a group of people. This is done by various artistic means, because the genre of portraiture exists in such forms of art as painting, graphics, sculpture, engraving, photography, literature, and cinema. Each of them has its own set of "working tools." The term “portrait” has a broad and narrow meaning. Narrow involves the transfer of only the external data of the individual, and the wide includes an image of character traits, emotional mood, and the
social position of the model.
Portrait in literature
Almost no epic literary work is complete without characters - heroes. And even if the writer does not tell us about the color of Onegin’s eyes, according to other, quite expressive details, we draw his face into our imagination. When creating a portrait in a
literary work , the writer's task is to reveal not only individual, but also typical features of the characters. Another function of describing the appearance is the expression of the author’s attitude to the hero, the transfer of ideological and semantic shades of the work (for example, Bazarov’s appearance from Turgenev’s novel). Therefore, a literary portrait consists of the following details: figure,
face, facial expressions, gestures, clothes, manner of moving, speaking, etc. Writers use either static or dynamic portraits. In relation to Turgenev’s novel “Fathers and Sons”, images of Kukshina, Sitnikov, Fenichka are static. A dynamic, i.e. developing in time - Bazarov.
Portrait at Turgenev
Turgenev is considered to be a master of
psychological portraiture. Describing a particular character, he selects such talking details that almost a cinematic effect is achieved. The image is, of course, the word. The vocabulary of different stylistic strata, expressive means (epithets, metaphors, special speech constructions, syntactic models) - such is the writer's toolkit with which he is masterfully controlled. Let us prove this by analyzing the appearance of Bazarov.
Appearance and Origin
Evgeny Vasilievich Bazarov is the main character of the novel Fathers and Sons, a work of considerable and controversial that caused the writer to break with the Sovremennik magazine. Serious controversy surrounding the figure of a young nihilist proved how relevant the novel and its characters turned out to be. So, how is Bazarov’s appearance remarkable? Firstly, it directly points to its by no means noble origin. The hero’s hands are not wearing gloves, but naked, weathered, with red rough skin. It is evident that he does not shy away from physical labor, "dirty" work. Where is the hero there before the aesthet Pavel Petrovich Kirsanov with his snow-white cuffs, clean scented hands and polished nails! “Plebeianism” gives out not only the appearance of Bazarov, but also his clothes. More precisely, the "clothes", as he calls his summer hoodie. If we take into account that Turgenev’s portrait characteristics are often given indirectly, then it’s enough to recall the dismissive appearance of Prokofich, the old servant of Messrs. Kirsanovs, who adopted their views and ideology. Thus, the appearance of Yevgeny Bazarov once again emphasizes, on the one hand, his diversity, and on the other, his alienness to everything that makes up the daily life of the inhabitants of the "nest of aristocrats."
Extraordinary hero
Creating a portrait of his hero, Turgenev in every possible way tries to emphasize his ambiguity, feature. Evgeny Vasilievich is ugly, but anyone who sees him cannot help but pay attention. This is an interesting characteristic of Bazarov. Appearance emphasizes its merits, without hiding, however, shortcomings. So, how does the author draw it? Eugene’s tall stature, a clear physical strength, catches his eye. Long, sparse hair does not hide the irregularities of the spacious skull. Sand whiskers emphasize thinness. Greenish eyes are large, expressive. The voice is lazy, but courageous. A calm and somewhat gloomy face is illuminated by a smile and expresses intelligence and self-confidence. As we see, in the portrait characterization the writer uses a contrast technique, and before us comes a truly outstanding person, “special”, as Arkady Kirsanov speaks of him. Non-noble appearance, the origin of Bazarov - everything is interconnected here. Democracy, strength of character, will and determination, however, are well restrained - that’s what we read between the lines in the character’s portraiture.
Soul movements
As already mentioned, portraits in the works of I.S. Turgenev are psychological, dynamic. The author through changes in
appearance conveys the most secret movements of the soul, emotional shades,
mood swings. Here are the controversies of the antagonist heroes in the novel. The Kirsanovs, especially Pavel Petrovich, are alien to Eugene. The aristocratic manners of the latter coolly annoy the young nihilist. But, realizing that no one shares his beliefs here, Evgeni Bazarov tries to behave very restrained. Description of his appearance, mimic movements and changes in body position during conversations reflect the gradual passions, anger and other emotions. So, Turgenev often notes that Eugene speaks or answers “impudently”, with “special impudence”. His face takes on a "coppery and rough color." A contemptuous smile often flickers on it. But the movements of the hero’s soul are especially strongly reflected when the author describes his inner conflict.
Love story and portraiture
Those who carefully read the novel probably drew attention to this feature. Evgeny Vasilievich seems to us to be a rather harsh, sharp, sharp person who hides innermost feelings well. He laughs at everything that goes even beyond rationalism. Physician, physiologist, chemist, i.e. a follower of natural sciences, a hero and in human relationships sees only physiological processes. He does not recognize love as a manifestation of higher spirituality. Amazed by the beauty of Odintsova, she declares: "What a rich body, even in an anatomical theater." However, having a sincere and deep passion for Anna Sergeyevna, Eugene lost weight, his profile sharpened, his movements became restless. The scene of heroes' explanation became especially saturated with emotions. And their last meeting, when the Base
the moat says goodbye to Odintsova, is also very touching and picturesque. His face is “dead”, “inflamed”, his eyes “cloudy”. They reflect a "shudder of terror."
Comparison of Pavel Petrovich Kirsanov and Evgeny Bazarov
Readers of the novel will become much more understandable Bazarov (appearance, origin, education), if we compare them with the main opponent of the hero - Pavel Petrovich. For the aristocrat Kirsanov, a friend of his nephew is “this hairy”, “plebeian and cynic”. He is indignant at the guest’s behavior: Pavel Petrovich suspects that Eugene, the “medicinal son”, does not respect him! The way it is. And at the reception of contrast, the writer shows how different the characters are.
As we have seen, a portrait is an important means of characterization.