The portrait of the writer is one of the most common genres in Russian painting. These works are interesting to the viewer in two aspects: from the historical point of view (thanks to the portraits that have come down to us, we have the opportunity to find out what the masters of prose and poetry looked like) and from the aesthetic point of view (the paintings convey the spiritual image of a person, allowing at least partially to understand the spiritual world of those who gave the world wonderful works).
A.S. Pushkin
The portrait of the writer has always been of interest to Russian painters, who willingly turned to him more than once. When it comes to this, two wonderful images of Pushkin, made at different times by V. Tropinin and O. Kiprensky, immediately come to mind. The first of the paintings was made during the heyday of the poet and the artist himself, therefore, it is especially valuable because it shows the famous author at the time when he was at the peak of popularity. Another portrait of the writer was made in the same 1827, however, it is strikingly different from the first, as the artist showed the viewer a mature and serious author, as if contrasting his romantic image created by Tropinin.
F.M. Dostoevsky
The image of the most famous authors of the era has become a kind of tradition in Russian painting. Almost all famous authors were captured at various times by talented artists on canvas. The portrait of the writer Dostoevsky became a real event in the cultural life of our country in the second half of the 19th century. Its author was V. Perov, who in 1872 captured the image of the famous author of psychological novels on canvas. The peculiarity of the image is the contrast of the fixed look of the writer and firmly clasped hands. The picture perfectly conveys the mental state of Dostoevsky, who during this period worked on one of his most difficult works.
ON THE. Nekrasov
Portraits of writers and poets are interesting in that they represent the authors in the most diverse periods of their work. I. Kramskoy in 1877-1878 painted a picture called "N.A. Nekrasov in the period of "Last Songs." The author chose a very simple and at the same time touching composition: the terminally ill poet is in his room and is working on one of his most famous works. This painting is considered one of the best in the artist’s work and at the same time reveals the spiritual world of one of the most talented Russian poets.