DOI: 10.36871/hon.202103012
Authors
Yu. Yu. Gudymenko
State Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation
Abstract
The article considers one of the key works of the portrait genre of the 1800s — the portrait of Adam K. Schwalbe by Orest A. Kiprensky. The analysis of this work by several generations of art historians (Herman A. Nedoshivin, Natalia N. Kovalenskaya, Dmitry V. Sarabyanov, Yakov V. Brook, Irina V. Linnik) reveals its main substantial and formal features, and also clarifies issues related to the concepts of tradition and innovation. All those who have written about this work agree that the artistic image of A. K. Schwalbe's portrait is based on impressions of Rubens and Rembrandt. However, a more careful analysis of Kiprensky's work provides an opportunity to considerably expand the sources of possible borrowings not only from the masters of the past. Studying it in the context of the art of 1800s leads to the conclusion that the works of Kiprensky's contemporaries (in particular Salvatore Tonchi) contain the same motifs used in the portrait of Schwalbe, namely: attributes of "fur coat portraits", the full-face representation of the model and the tightness of space, sharp character and expressiveness of the portrait's appearance. To prove the thesis that Kiprensky was influenced by the art of his time, a large number of works (including those by unknown artists), both famous and little-known, are involved.
Keywords
portrait of the 1800s, traditions and innovation in the portrait genre, S. Tonchi, "fur coat portraits" at the turn of the XVIIIth — XIXth centuries, composition in the portrait of the 1800s
