Being a serf and not having a special art education, Ivan Argunov was able to build a wonderful career of an outstanding and insightful master, worthy of attention and the highest ratings to this day.
A brief biography of the artist Argunov Ivan Petrovich.
Ivan Argunov is one of the founders of ceremonial portraiture in Russia. A talented student of the court master of the imperial court - Georg Christopher Groot. The heyday of Ivan Petrovich's work fell in the middle of the 18th century. During the formation of magnificent architectural structures, the development of sculpture and painting. Known as the author of portraits of famous noblemen and Empress Catherine II, he also established himself as an excellent mentor for his students. Subsequently, he was appointed a member of the serfdom in the house of Count Sheremetyev.
early years
Artist Argunov Ivan Petrovich was born in 1729 in a serf family. The Argunovs were serfs of Prince Alexei Cherkassky, and later went to the service of Count Peter Sheremetyev, who married the daughter of Prince Varvara Cherkasskaya. He was brought up in St. Petersburg, in the family of his uncle, who served as a butler with the princes Cherkassky, and later with the Sheremetyevs in the "Million House", which got its name from the street of the same name on which it was located. In this house, Ivan Petrovich spent a lot of time raising himself with his cousin Fedor, whose talent development took a lot of time. Subsequently, Fyodor Argunov became known as an outstanding architect, and as for the biography of the artist Argunov, it is full of outstanding and still relevant works.
The beginning of creative activity
Argunov is an artist of the 18th century. The heyday of his work fell on the 1740s, just at the time when Elizaveta Petrovna ascended the throne. During the years of her reign, Russian culture received tremendous development: architecture, theater, decorative sculpture flourished, and with it painting, which very attracted foreign art masters. One of the foreign artists was Georg Christopher Groot, who later became a teacher of Ivan Petrovich.
Thanks to his mentor, Argunov mastered the European style of writing and learned how to use it skillfully, applying it to convey the original appearance of a Russian person, which gives the greatest uniqueness to his work. The joint works were the icons they painted in 1747 for the church of the Grand Tsarskoye Selo Palace. Already at this stage of his creative activity, the artist Argunov manifests himself in a peculiar and talented manner in portraiture, which will then become its main focus.
The heyday of creativity
Some of the first works that have survived to this day are in the early 1750s. The works of this period are the most diverse: here are portraits, and icons, and decorative painting. One of these works is a painting entitled "The Dying Cleopatra", painted by the artist Ivan Argunov in the style of the classical Rococo in 1750. The following works are created by Argunov in the style of a ceremonial portrait, in all its splendor and the image of noblemen in exquisite outfits against the backdrop of luxury apartments. One of these works is a magnificent portrait of Peter Sheremetyev with a dog, painted in 1753.
In general, the Sheremetyevs were most popular in his paintings, because the artist spent most of the time in their house and was soon appointed manager there. In the 1760s, Ivan Petrovich created a whole gallery of portraits of this family, absolutely realistic, stylized and devoid of idealization. A few years earlier, without knowing it, Argunov was creating a new direction in Russian painting called "intimate portrait". The most outstanding work in this area was the pair portrait of Kozma Khripunov with his wife, who also, like Ivan Petrovich, served in the house of the Sheremetyevs.
During this period, the artist devotes a lot of time to commissioned works, the main difference of which is the artist’s ability to capture the essence of the personality, accompanied by the modesty of the palette. In 1762, the fame of the artist Argunov reaches the walls of the imperial court, and Argunov receives an honorary order for a portrait of her imperial majesty Catherine II, depicted in a slightly theatrical pose with an arrogant look and with a complete set of imperial attributes, which she appreciated.
Over the years, the artist’s technique is becoming more sophisticated and subtle. This can be seen in one of his most outstanding works - a portrait of Kalmyk Annushka, a pupil, the wife of Count Sheremetyev, already deceased at that time. In the picture she is depicted with a portrait of her mistress.
Retirement
As an artist, by the beginning of the 1770s, Argunov could already be considered a mature, accomplished painter. During this period, the most striking works are portraits of Rear Admiral Greig, as well as Boris and Pavel Sheremetyevs. And in 1785, the aged Ivan Petrovich creates one of his outstanding and brilliant works, combining a captivating and pure image of a young peasant woman, a painting entitled “Portrait of an Unknown Woman in a Russian Costume”. One gets the impression that in this image all the best and brightest features of those people who could be observed in all his previous works are collected. Warm shades make the picture even more delighted, it seems to blow from her youth, freshness and purity of thought, which this view from the picture conveys. This work is significantly different from the previous ones, there is something unearthly in it, there is no clear copy of the image on the canvas, from which the author is apparently a little tired over the years of his long career.
Educational activities
The artist Argunov Ivan Petrovich proved himself as a talented teacher. In 1753, by order of Elizaveta Petrovna, three students were sent to him to study. After training under his mentorship, the students were enrolled apprentices in the Academy of Arts. Along with managing the house, he was engaged in the training of his three sons, in the future, the magnificent architect Pavel Ivanovich and two talented artists Nikolai and Yakov Argunov, one of whom became a successor to portraiture, but mostly graphics.
last years of life
Starting from 1788, Argunov practically did not write, began to devote more time to his direct responsibilities for managing the Sheremetev’s Million House, was a participant in the creation of the famous palace-theater in Ostankino, designed by his son Pavel Ivanovich. In the same year, Count Sheremetyev appointed him a member of the serfdom. Ivan Petrovich died in Moscow at the beginning of 1802.