Portrait is the art of reproducing an image of a person or group of persons with absolute accuracy. As a rule, this is an art drawing that obeys a certain style. The artist who painted the portrait may belong to a particular school of painting. And his work is recognizable thanks to the personality and style that the painter follows.
Past and present
Portrait painters depict real people, drawing from life, or reproduce images from the past from memory. In any case, the portrait is based on something and carries information about a specific person. Often an era is reflected in such a picture, be it the present or the past. In this case, portrait painters instead of the usual background depict several accompanying conditional signs, such as the architecture of that time, indicated in the background, or other characteristic objects.
Rembrandt
Fine art is diverse, and its individual genres can exist independently of each other, but can be synthesized. So in the portrait different subjects are combined into a single whole, but at the same time the person’s face always dominates. The great portrait painters of the past mastered the art of artistic image to perfection. These masters include the Dutch artist Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669), who painted many portraits. And each of them is recognized as a masterpiece of painting. True art is immortal, because the canvases of Rembrandt van Rijn are more than five hundred years old.
Engraving is a subtle art.
The great portrait painters of the past are a national treasure of those countries in which they were born, lived and created their own paintings. The German artist Albrecht Durer (1471-1528), who worked in the engraving genre, left a noticeable mark in the history of painting. His paintings are exhibited in the most prestigious museums in the world. Paintings painted by the artist at different times, such as "Portrait of a Young Venetian", "Portrait of Emperor Maximilian", "Portrait of a Young Man" and others, are unsurpassed masterpieces. Great portrait painters differ from all other artists in their high level of self-expression. Their canvases are an example to follow.
Women's theme
Giovanni Boldini (1842-1931), Italian artist, is one of the first places on the list of "Great Portraitists of the World." He is recognized as an unsurpassed master of female portraiture. His canvases can be viewed for hours, the images are so precise and picturesque. Juicy colors, mostly cold shades, contrasting touches, the game of halftones - everything is collected in his paintings. The artist manages to convey the character of the lady depicted on the canvas, and even her mood.
Famous Russian portrait painters
In Russia, at all times there were great artists. Portrait art originated in the 14th century AD, when talented painters such as Andrei Rublev and Feofan Grek appeared. Their work did not fully correlate with the portrait genre, since these artists painted icons, but the general principles for creating images coincided.
In the same period, the famous artist Dionysius (1440-1502), a protege of Ivan III, the Tsar of Moscow, created. The monarch commissioned the artist to paint the cathedral or church, and then watched how he creates his masterpieces. The king liked to participate in such a charitable deed.
One of the first masters of Russian portraiture was Ivan Nikitin (1680-1742), trained in Europe. He enjoyed the favor of Emperor Peter the Great. The most famous works of Nikitin are portraits of Augustus II, King of Poland and Duke of Mecklenburg.
Alexey Zubov (1682-1750), an outstanding master of portraiture. He was a favorite of Peter the Great. Together with his father, the famous icon painter Fedor Zubov, he participated in the design of the Armory of the Moscow Kremlin.
The great portrait painters of the 18th century in Russia, as a rule, wrote to order.
Vasily Tropinin (1776-1857), a famous Russian artist, truly became famous in 1827. He created a half-length portrait of Alexander Pushkin , the brightest representative of Russian poetry. The order was made by the poet himself. And the picture was intended for a friend of Alexander Sergeyevich, Sobolevsky. The portrait became the most famous creation of all that Pushkin has ever been portrayed on. The painting "Alexander Pushkin" Tropinin forever became a classic of the genre.
Orest Kiprensky (1782-1836) began to write at the age of 22. The first portrait was created by Kiprensky in the style of Rembrandt, on the canvas was depicted A.K. Valbe. The most famous work of the artist is considered to be "Portrait of E. V. Davydov," painted in 1809. Several paintings by Orest Kiprensky are in the Tretyakov Gallery.
Alexey Venetsianov (1780-1847) is a Russian artist who is considered the founder of the plot style in portraiture. He was a student of the venerable painter Vladimir Borovikovsky. The young artist Venetsianov became widely known thanks to the painting "Portrait of a Mother", created in 1801.
Borovikovsky Vladimir (1757-1825), a native of Mirgorod, became famous and famous after meeting with Catherine the Second, traveling as part of her 1787 tour. The painter created a series of art murals in the palace, which was on the path of the empress. Catherine was delighted with the work of Borovikovsky and awarded him a large sum of money.
The list of "Great Portraitists of Russia of the 19th Century" is headed by Ivan Nikolaevich Kramskoy (1837-1887), an outstanding painter, master of murals of a religious nature. Kramskoy's portraiture art allowed him to create a number of images of famous people, including P. M. Tretyakov, S. P. Botkin, I. I. Shishkin, M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin, L. N. Tolstoy and others.
The most famous portrait painters of modern Russia
Igor Belkovsky (born 1962), corresponding member of the Russian Art Academy, member of the Union of Artists of Russia, winner of the prize "For a brighter future", established by the governor of the Chelyabinsk region.
Alexander Shilov (born 1943), People's Artist of the USSR, member of the Presidential Council for Culture and Art. The author of numerous portraits of his contemporaries.