The Russian artist Orest Kiprensky, whose paintings excited the Russian public throughout the first half of the 19th century, was born on March 24, 1782 in the estate of the poor landowner of Oranienbaum district A. Dyakonov. The mother, serf Anna Gavrilova, gave birth to a child out of wedlock. Paternity is attributed to the landowner himself, who did not disdain communication with his serf girls. A year after the birth of the future artist, Dyakonov gave him the name Orestes and, although he did not recognize him as his son, he took care of the boy in every possible way, gave him his freedom and took care of the future. And so that Orestes would have a middle name, the landowner married his mother to his yard peasant Adam Schwalbe.

First steps

At the age of six, Orestes, who showed his abilities early, was sent to study at the school at the Academy of Arts of St. Petersburg. In the future, he owed everything to his natural talent. Kiprensky graduated from the Academy in 1803 and continued to study the art of painting under the guidance of the famous Russian artist G.I. Ugryumova.

Orest Adamovich Kiprensky spent the next few years in difficult conditions, practically lived in a barracks, was subjected to humiliation, he was drilled, and his freedom was limited. But oddly enough, deprivation and everyday disorder did not take away the artist’s desire to engage in art; on the contrary, a difficult fate became an incentive for further creative development. Friends nicknamed young Kiprensky “the extravagant Orestes.” The artist constantly carried with him an album with drawings that he created literally on the go.

Uncertainty

Orest Kiprensky, whose paintings clearly represented a new word in painting, tried not to stand out from total number masters of the brush. He considered his work mediocre enough to show off. However, gradually Kiprensky’s friends managed to convince him of the originality of the paintings, which he painted very quickly, as they say in one breath.

Confession

In the end, Kiprensky, whose paintings had already been discussed secretly and openly in Moscow, decided to demonstrate the paintings and “Portrait of Father Adam Schwalbe.” A little later, the artist receives a large sum for the canvas “Prince Donskoy after the Battle of Kulikovo.” After this, Orest Kiprensky, whose paintings were recognized and received highly appreciated, began to participate in the design of the Kazan Cathedral. However, this type of creativity did not become an opportunity for the artist to fully realize his talent, and he decided to turn to

Orest Adamovich Kiprensky quickly advanced to foreground as a comprehensively gifted painter. The portraits he painted were striking in their novelty and accuracy of depiction. The artist, in some incomprehensible way, managed to capture the very essence and not miss it until the end of the work. One of Kiprensky's most significant works is a portrait depicting Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin. Kiprensky’s painting, dedicated to the luminary of Russian poetry, was painted in 1827. Before the creation of this masterpiece, Orest Adamovich managed to paint another 59 portraits, two of which depict Colonel E.V. in full height. Davydov and Count D.N. Sheremetev. The rest were written at half height.

Orest Kiprensky, whose paintings confidently conquered St. Petersburg and Moscow, suddenly became an outstanding artist of its time. For several portraits painted in 1811-1813, the painter received the title of academician of painting.

Reputation

However, not everything was so smooth and serene in the artist’s fate; he was overcome by ambition. Orest Adamovich painted portraits mainly to earn money, but he considered it his calling and constantly strived to create some kind of monumental canvas reflecting great events from the past of the Russian people.

Nevertheless, the artist continued to create in the genre accessible to him and became the first Russian painter to receive an order to create a self-portrait for a famous collection of images. best artists with a worldwide reputation. Being so famous, the artist Kiprensky, whose paintings as they appeared became objects of desire for many collectors around the world, suddenly found himself in disgrace.

Roman troubles

At that time, Orest Adamovich was in the Russian colony in Rome, where he was an envoy from Russian state a certain A. Italinsky, very far from art and, in general, a rather ignorant person, was appointed. The governor treated artists with disrespect, considering them idlers. Someone spread a rumor about Kiprensky's criminal intentions, about his connections with the Italian Carbonari. As a result of slander and deliberately false accusations, Orest Adamovich was forced to leave Italy.

Success in France

Returning to his homeland, Kiprensky did not stay long in St. Petersburg and soon left for Paris, where his works created a sensation at the spring exhibition of 1822. Then the Russian artist Kiprensky was on everyone’s lips. The paintings, descriptions of which were published in great detail in special reference books, were transported from one French city to another, and everywhere they were a stunning success.

Despite the obvious success of its portrait painting, the artist continues to try to create historical painting, but the result of these attempts are paintings that resemble a landscape with Vesuvius or an undeveloped plot of some battle scene from the past. In the end, fatigue came to Kiprensky, and for some time he withdrew into himself and abandoned work. The situation was aggravated by the fact that the talented Karl Bryullov appeared, and the public’s attention switched to him.

Financial problems

Orest Adamovich was already receiving fewer orders and began to need money. Moreover, it was at that time that the artist decided to get married, and this, as you know, is an expensive pleasure. However, fate soon turned its face to Kiprensky, he successfully sold several paintings, managed to pay off his creditors, and life again found meaning for him.

Demise

In order to marry his chosen one, the artist took Catholic faith. The young couple quietly got married in a small church, and after some time Orest Adamovich Kiprensky caught a cold and died of pneumonia. This happened on October 5, 1836. Four months later, Kiprensky's widow gave birth to a daughter, who was named Clotilde. Her trace was lost in time.

The artist’s few friends chipped in to erect a modest monument on his grave. Not a single newspaper reported the death of the painter, thanks to whom Europe learned that in Russia there is great art and great artists.

Meaning of KIPRENSKY OREST ADAMOVICH in Brief biographical encyclopedia

KIPRENSKY OREST ADAMOVICH

Kiprensky (Orest Adamovich) - portrait painter and historical painter, one of the most wonderful artists who have ever been in Russia. He was the son of a serf, Brigadier A. Diakonov - A. Schwalbe. Born in the Oranienbaum district of the St. Petersburg province, on March 13, 1783, and baptized in the town of Koporye, from which he received the nickname “Koporsky”, later changed to the surname “Kiprensky”. Even as a child, he showed a great desire for drawing, which prompted Diakonov to set him free and assign him, in 1788, to a pupil Imperial Academy Arts While studying there, with his extraordinary artistic abilities and their rapid development, Kiprensky acquired the special patronage of the then president of the academy, Count A.S. Stroganov. His main mentors here were G. Ugryumov and D. Levitsky. In 1802, for the painting “Philemon and Baucis”, he was awarded a small gold medal and, in addition, for the project of a monument to the professor of painting G. Kozlov, he received one of the large gold medals donated by Count Stroganov. After graduating in next year academic course with the title of artist of the XIV class, left at the academy as a boarder. In 1805, he was awarded a large gold medal for the painting painted according to the program: “Dmitry Donskoy on the Kulikovo Field” (located in the Museum of the Academy of Arts), and thus acquired the right to travel to foreign lands, with support from the government; but, due to the political circumstances of that time, sending him there was postponed. After that he traveled to Moscow and was in Tver, at the court Grand Duchess Ekaterina Pavlovna. In 1812, a few male portraits, including for the portrait of the partisan poet D. Davydov (located in the Museum of the Academy of Arts), he was elevated to the rank of academician, and in 1815 he was recognized as an adviser to the academy. The following year, he finally went on a trip abroad, at the expense of Empress Elizaveta Alekseevna, visited Germany, Switzerland and Italy, and in the last of these countries he acquired such fame with his portraits that he was awarded the fact that his portrait, painted by himself at the suggestion of the Florentine Academy The art was placed in the Uffizi Gallery, in a collection of portraits of famous artists. He returned to St. Petersburg in 1823, but not for long, and in 1828 he again left for Italy, where he was drawn by his love for a young Roman woman, model Anna Maria Falkucci, who, thanks to him, was sent for education to one from women's educational institutions of this city. During his absence from St. Petersburg, and as a result of the Academy of Arts receiving a new staff, he was renamed from adviser to professor in 1831. In 1836 he married Falcucci, but died 3 months later in Rome, on October 5 of the same year. Contemporaries called Kiprensky the “Russian Van Dyck,” but this name does not quite accurately define the nature of his talent. Having begun his activities by imitating his teachers, Ugryumov and Levitsky, he then took Rubens and Rembrandt as models and tried, in his works, to merge together best qualities their paintings; but soon left these masters and created own style, in which he sought to convey nature and life as fully as possible, not only by the strict correctness of the drawing and the naturalness of color, but also, mainly, by the thoroughness of the finishing, varying depending on the type of substance depicted, so that the work of the brush was completely concealed and a complete illusion of reality was obtained. In many cases, Kiprensky solved this problem excellently; however, not all of his works are of equal merit. He was especially strong in portraits, of which he painted a lot and which, in addition to other qualities, are generally distinguished by their remarkable similarity. As for him historical paintings, then they indicate that, for all his skill, he did not have a great gift for composition. In addition to painting, Kiprensky was engaged in drawing on stone and published several lithographs. As the best among his works, one can point to portraits famous sculptor Thorvaldsen and the artist's father (in the Imperial Hermitage), on "The Young Gardener" (ibid.), "Newspaper Readers" and "Tiburtine Sibyl" (in the Moscow public museum), portraits of the fabulist Krylov (in the Imperial Academy of Sciences) and “Countess Pototskaya” (in the estate of the Counts Potocki), “The Tomb of Anacreon” (at the Counts Bryullov, in St. Petersburg) and several portraits collected by Count Tretyakov in the gallery he founded in Moscow. A. N.

Brief biographical encyclopedia. 2012

See also interpretations, synonyms, meanings of the word and what KIPRENSKY OREST ADAMOVICH is in Russian in dictionaries, encyclopedias and reference books:

• KIPRENSKY OREST ADAMOVICH
  (1782-1836) Russian painter and draftsman. Representative of romanticism. The content of Kiprensky's portraits is spirituality, complex inner life person, creative individuality (“Self-portrait with...
• KIPRENSKY OREST ADAMOVICH
  Orest Adamovich, Russian painter and graphic artist, representative of romanticism. ...
• KIPRENSKY
  Orest Adamovich (1782-1836), Russian painter and draftsman. Representative of romanticism. The content of Kiprensky’s portraits is spirituality, the complex inner life of a person, creative...
• ORESTES in the Glossary of Terms fine arts:
  - (Greek myth) hero of Argive legends, son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra. One of the myths tells how Orestes, with the help of Pylades, killed...
• ORESTES in the Dictionary-Reference Book Myths Ancient Greece,:
  - the son of Agamemnon, king of Mycenae, and Clytemnestra (daughter of Leda and the Spartan king Tyndareus, sister of Helen the Beautiful and the Dioscuri). Brother of Iphigenia...
• ORESTES V Brief dictionary mythology and antiquities:
  (Orestes, "?????????). The son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, saved by his sister Electra from death after the murder of Agamemnon by Clytemnestra and her lover Aegisthus. ...
• ORESTES in the Directory of Characters and Religious Objects Greek mythology:
  In Greek mythology, the son of Agamemnon and Clytaemestra. After Agamemnon was killed by Clytaemestra and Aegisthus, Orestes' sister Electra (or...
• ORESTES in the Dictionary-Reference Book of Who's Who in the Ancient World:
  Son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra. In revenge for the treacherous murder of his father, Orestes killed his mother's lover Aegisthus. Homer doesn't say...
• ORESTES in the Lexicon of Sex:
  in Greek mythology, the son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, who killed his mother and her lover Aegisthus, avenging the death of his father. The myth of O...
• ORESTES in the Literary Encyclopedia:
  1. hero of the tragedies of Aeschylus “Choephora” and “Eumenides” (458 BC), the tragedy of Sophocles “Electra” (? ca. 415 BC), the tragedies of Euripides ...
• ADAMOVIC in the Literary Encyclopedia:
  Georgy Viktorovich is an Acmeist poet, educated in St. Petersburg. university. Before 1923, he managed to publish two collections of poems: “Clouds” and ...
• ORESTES in the Big Encyclopedic Dictionary:
  
• ORESTES in Bolshoi Soviet encyclopedia, TSB:
  V ancient greek mythology son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra. Avenging his father, treacherously killed by his own wife and her beloved Aegisthus, O., ...
• KIPRENSKY V Encyclopedic Dictionary Brockhaus and Euphron:
  (Orest Adamovich) - portrait painter and historical painter, one of the most remarkable artists ever to appear in Russia. He was the son of a serf...
• ORESTES in the Modern Encyclopedic Dictionary:
  
• ORESTES in the Encyclopedic Dictionary:
  in Greek mythology, the son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra. Avenging his father, he killed his mother and her lover...
• ORESTES
  ORESTES, in Greek. mythology, the son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, who killed his mother and her lover Aegisthus, avenging the father they killed. Myth...
• KIPRENSKY in the Big Russian Encyclopedic Dictionary:
  KIPRENSKY Orest Adamovich (1782-1836), grew up. painter and draftsman. Rep. romanticism. The content of K.'s portraits is spirituality, complex internal. a person's life, his...
• ADAMOVIC in the Big Russian Encyclopedic Dictionary:
  ADAMOVICH Ios. Al-dr. (1896-1937), one of the hands. fight for owls power in Belarus. In 1924-27 before. Council of People's Commissars of the BSSR. In a setting...
• ADAMOVIC in the Big Russian Encyclopedic Dictionary:
  ADAMOVICH Georg. Vikt. (1892-1972), Russian. poet, critic. In 1923 he emigrated to France. A refined, dispassionate perception of the dull flow of life (poetic collection “Purgatory”, ...
• ADAMOVIC in the Big Russian Encyclopedic Dictionary:
  ADAMOVICH Al-dr. (Ales) Mikh. (1927-94), Belarusian. and Russian writer, c.-k. Academy of Sciences of Belarus (1980). Roman-duology "Partisans" (parts 1-2, 1960-63), rep. "Khatynskaya...
• KIPRENSKY in the Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedia:
  (Orest Adamovich)? portrait painter and historical painter, one of the most remarkable artists ever to appear in Russia. He was the son of a serf...
• ORESTES in the Dictionary for solving and composing scanwords:
  Male...
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  hero...
• ORESTES in Lopatin’s Dictionary of the Russian Language:
  Or'est, -a: Or'est and...
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• ORESTES in the Complete Spelling Dictionary of the Russian Language:
  Orestes, -a: Orestes and...
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• ORESTES in Modern explanatory dictionary, TSB:
  in Greek mythology, the son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, who killed his mother and her lover Aegisthus, avenging the father they killed. The myth about...
• ADAMOVIC in the Modern Explanatory Dictionary, TSB:
  Alexander (Ales) Mikhailovich (1927-94), Belarusian and Russian writer, corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences of Belarus (1980). Duology novel “Partisans” (parts 1 - 2, 1960-63), ...
• ORESTES OF TIAN
  Open Orthodox encyclopedia"TREE". Orestes of Tyana (+ 304), martyr. Memory 10 November. Lived at the end of the 3rd century...
• ORESTES OF SEVASTIAN in the Orthodox Encyclopedia Tree:
  Open Orthodox encyclopedia "THREE". Orestes of Sebaste (+ c. 284 - 305), warrior, martyr. Memory 13 December. Saints...
• SHOSTAKOVSKY PETER ADAMOVITCH
  Shostakovsky (Petr Adamovich) - pianist, former director Philharmonic Society in Moscow, was born in 1853. As a 15-year-old boy, Shostakovsky made his debut in ...
• KHOINOVSKY BRONISLAV ADAMOVYCH in the Brief Biographical Encyclopedia:
  Chojnowski (Bronislav Adamovich, 1836 - 1870) - therapist; completed a course at the University of St. Vladimir in the Faculty of Medicine; in 1858...
• NEPOKOYCHITSKY ARTHUR ADAMOVYCH in the Brief Biographical Encyclopedia:
  Nepokoychitsky Artur Adamovich - adjutant general, infantry general (1813 - 1881). He studied in the page corps and the military academy, served in...
• NADSON GEORGY ADAMOVYCH in the Brief Biographical Encyclopedia:
  Nadson, Georgy Adamovich - botanist-microbiologist, librarian of the Imperial botanical garden and professor of Petrograd women's medical institute. Born in 1867. Education …
• MILLER LUKIAN ADAMOVYCH in the Brief Biographical Encyclopedia:
  Miller Lukian Adamovich - philologist (1836 - 1898). Graduated from the University of Berlin. He was a professor of Roman literature at the Historical and Philological Institute in St. Petersburg...
• KRASUSKY KONSTANTIN ADAMOVYCH in the Brief Biographical Encyclopedia:
  Krasusky Konstantin Adamovich - chemist. Born in 1867. He completed a course at St. Petersburg University in the natural sciences department of the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics. Was …
• KORSH FEDOR ADAMOVICH in the Brief Biographical Encyclopedia:
  Korsh, Fedor Adamovich - theater entrepreneur (born in 1852). Completed a course at Moscow University; was a lawyer. With the destruction of the monopoly...
• ZAVADSKY MIKHAIL ADAMOVITCH in the Brief Biographical Encyclopedia:
  Zavadsky Mikhail Adamovich - composer (died 1888). Of his works (more than 500 piano salon pieces and romances), a special one...
• EGIAZAROV SOLOMON ADAMOVITCH in the Brief Biographical Encyclopedia:
  Egiazarov, Solomon Adamovich - lawyer, Armenian by origin. Born 1852; completed a course at the Faculty of Law of Moscow University. Consists of …
• VOENSKY KONSTANTIN ADAMOVYCH in the Brief Biographical Encyclopedia:
  Voensky Konstantin Adamovich - historian. Born 1860; graduated from the course at the Alexander Lyceum. On behalf of Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich...
• VEIDE ADAM ADAMOVICH in the Brief Biographical Encyclopedia:
  Veide Adam Adamovich - Russian general, associate of Peter the Great (1667 - 1720). The service began in a funny way; participated in both Azov...
• ADAMOVYCH ADAM-FERDINAND OSIPOVYCH in the Brief Biographical Encyclopedia:
  Adamovich, Adam-Ferdinand Osipovich, 1802 - 1881, from 1834 he was a professor at the Vilna Medical-Surgical Academy, where he read comparative anatomy and history...
• KHRZHONSCHEVSKY NIKANOR ADAMOVYCH in the Great Soviet Encyclopedia, TSB:
  Nikanor Adamovich, Russian pathologist and histologist. In 1859 he graduated from the medical faculty of Kazan University. In 1867-68...
• SUMMER IVAN ADAMOVYCH in the Great Soviet Encyclopedia, TSB:
  Ivan Adamovich, participant revolutionary movement in Russia. Member of the Communist...

“I see myself as in a mirror.”
5 famous paintings by Orest Kiprensky

The artist, accused of plagiarism at the beginning of his career, was the only master who pleased Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin.

Orest Adamovich Kiprensky.
"Self-Portrait" 1828
Oil on canvas 48.5 x 42.3
State Tretkov Gallery
Moscow

The famous Russian artist Orest Adamovich Kiprensky was born 234 years ago. His first cry was heard on March 24, 1782 in the village of Nezhnovo near Koporye near St. Petersburg.

A graduate of the Academy of Arts donated several dozen works to domestic and world culture, at the same time immortalizing in them famous people XIX century.

Portrait of A.K. Shwalbe

Kiprensky Orest Adamovich.
“Portrait of the artist’s father Adam Karlovich Schwalbe” 1804
Oil on canvas

Kiprensky painted one of his most famous paintings in 1804. The work caused an unprecedented stir among European specialists, who accused the master of plagiarism.

The artist was the illegitimate son of the landowner Alexei Dyakonov, who owned an estate near Koporye, Oranienbaum district, and the serf peasant woman Anna Gavrilova. Orestes was freed from serfdom at birth.

He had to live and be raised in the family of Adam Schwalbe, from whom the portrait painter inherited his patronymic name. Last name to the young master assigned upon entering the school at the Academy of Arts later.

It was his stepfather, who was Dyakonov’s serf, that Kiprensky asked to pose for the picture, which received worldwide fame. Orestes very accurately conveyed the tension of feelings that captured his model.

Here the master combined deep brown and golden tones. The nature of the lighting clearly indicates Kiprensky's passion for Rembrandt's work. European specialists of the 19th century initially attributed the authorship of the painting to the latter, but later regretted their hasty conclusions and were forced to recognize the genius of the Russian master.

Kiprensky himself was proud of the portrait of Schwalbe, considering it one of his best works.

Portrait of Life Hussar Colonel E.V. Davydov

Kiprensky Orest Adamovich.
“Portrait of Life Hussar Colonel Evgraf Vladimirovich Davydov”
1809
Oil on canvas 162 x 116
State Russian Museum St. Petersburg

In the guise of Hussar Davydov, Kiprensky especially vividly expressed the generalized image of the hero of his time. Against the backdrop of a pre-storm landscape, almost full height the master portrayed a young colonel. Kiprensky's pensive dreamer is a knight of duty and honor.

Davydov really showed heroism in wars. He took part in the campaign of 1807, and during the Patriotic War he commanded the Life Guards Hussar Regiment. Then he was seriously wounded by buckshot in left hand, but then fought at Lucerne and Kulm and became a major general and chief of the Lubensky hussar regiment.

The Battle of Leipzig could have ended in death for the hero of Kiprensky’s painting. A grenade fragment hit him in the right leg, and the hussar was shell-shocked in the head with a cannonball. Davydov remained in service and lost his wrist on the same day right hand and left leg. IN further hero wars with Napoleon was awarded a special pension Russian Emperor Alexander I.

However, Evgraf Vladimirovich Davydov remained in the memory of his compatriots precisely because of Kiprensky’s portrait. For a long time it was believed that the canvas depicted a distant relative of the life hussar colonel - the famous partisan, participant Patriotic War 1812 Denis Davydov.

The error occurred due to an incorrect decoding of the author's signature to the portrait.

Portrait of V.A. Zhukovsky

Kiprensky Orest Adamovich.
“Portrait of Vasily Andreevich Zhukovsky” 1816
Oil on canvas 64.8 x 58.1
State Tretkov Gallery Moscow

Kiprensky immortalized the poet Vasily Zhukovsky in his work. The artist used warm, reddish tones here, giving them through an energetic juxtaposition of light and shadow. The face of one of the most popular poets early XIX century, the artist set off stormy blue-gray clouds and a gloomy landscape, placing the gloomy ruins of a castle in the distance.

This portrait was painted by Kiprensky by order of the Minister of Public Education Sergei Uvarov, who at that time was a trustee of the St. Petersburg educational district. According to one version, at the request of the official, the work was suspended and then not completed at all.

According to another, the portrait was not completed, because Kiprensky wanted to quickly leave for Italy as a pensioner of the Academy of Arts. The master later firmly connected his life with this country. However, Kiprensky’s creation had great success and exhibited at academic exhibitions.

It is known that close friend Alexander Pushkin Vasily Zhukovsky met with Orest Kiprensky in Moscow and St. Petersburg, in particular in the house of Sergei Uvarov. Subsequently, the poet visited the artist when he already lived in Rome.

Poor Lisa

Kiprensky Orest “Poor Liza” 1827

Kiprensky did not copy this portrait from real person. The picture was created based on Karamzin’s story “Poor Liza,” which the public greeted with delight. The master took as a basis tragic story a young village girl seduced by a nobleman.

The combination of pink and white in the heroine’s clothes here means the purity and freshness of youth, the carnation in her hand means tender, sincere love.

It is possible that when creating “Poor Liza,” Orest Kiprensky could have kept in mind the story that happened with his own mother, who gave birth to a child after a relationship with a landowner.

Portrait of A.S. Pushkin

Kiprensky Orest Adamovich.
“Portrait of Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin” 1827
Oil on canvas 63 x 54
State Tretyakov Gallery Moscow

Pushkin, who was dissatisfied with almost all of his portraits, this time expressed delight. He even dedicated poems to Kiprensky:

Light-winged fashion favorite,
Although not British, not French,
You created again, dear wizard,
Me, the pet of the pure Muses, -
And I laugh at my grave
Left forever from mortal bonds.
I see myself as in a mirror,
But this mirror flatters me.
It says that I will not humiliate
Predilections of the Aonides faithful.
So to Rome, Dresden, Paris
From now on my appearance will be known.

After the poet’s death, the painting was kept by the poet’s wife, and from her it passed to her son Alexander. Today the original is exhibited at the State Tretyakov Gallery.

Denis DANILOV

Orest Adamovich Kiprensky was born on March 24, 1782. It is believed that he was the illegitimate son of landowner A.S. Dyakonova. A year later, his mother, a serf peasant, was married to the serf Adam Schwalbe. The surname Kiprensky was fictitious.

Dyakonov, taking care of the boy, gave him his freedom and sent him to the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts for six years. Orestes' talent became clear already in his first student years. He has repeatedly received medals for his full-scale studies and sketches of compositions.

Self-portrait

Teacher and tutor of the Academy V.S. Dmitriev recalled that Kiprensky was already in early age stood out among his peers. He loved to draw and did it without coercion. And at the same time he often sang. The boy was capable, lively, and temperamental.

Self-portrait

Nine years later, upon completion of his studies at the educational school of the academy, Orest was assigned to the class historical painting. The most gifted students were taken there, since historical painting at the academy was revered as highest genre fine arts.

Dmitry Donskoy on the Kulikovo Field

His teachers were G.I. Ugryumov - professor of historical painting and G.F. Doyen - master of lampshades and decorative painting. Already in the drawings the artist’s own style began to take shape. In “Hector and Andromache”, in “The Model with a Red Cloak” (1802), virtuosity of performance is manifested.

In 1805, Kiprensky summed up the completed course of study with the painting “Dmitry Donskoy on the Victory over Mamai,” for which he received the Grand Prize. gold medal and the right to trip abroad to continue art education. But the Napoleonic wars were going on in Europe, and the trip was postponed indefinitely. Kiprensky was left at the academy as its boarder for several more years.

Self-portrait

Despite his “historical” education, the main thing in the artist’s work was the portrait. A year before graduating from the academy, he created a work that determined his future creative path, - it was a portrait of the named father Adam Schwalbe.

“Portrait of A.K. Shwalbe heralded the emergence of a new, unusually bright portrait painter,” writes V.M. Zimenko. - He put young artist in the first rank of masters of this kind. The image of a strong, strong-willed old man strikes with deep sincerity. Beautiful painting using a complex technique of glazing in a free impasto preparation, noble coloring showed the brilliant pictorial talent of the young master.”

Egor Evgrafovich Komarovsky

In 1830 the portrait was exhibited at art exhibition in Naples, and, as the artist himself wrote, “the local academy... played the following thing... they considered the father’s portrait to be Rubens’ masterpiece, others thought Van Dyck, and a certain Albertini granted Rembrandt.”

Portrait of an old man

Rembrandt

In 1808, Kiprensky's friendship with famous collector and philanthropist A.R. Tomilov, whose house was one of the centers artistic culture first quarter of the XIX century. In the same year, the artist creates a portrait of Tomilov. At the same time, portraits of P.P. appeared. Shcherbatova, I.V. Kusova, A.I. Korsakov, “Self-portrait”.

Alexey Ivanovich Korsakov

In 1809, the artist created one of the best children's portraits in the history of Russian art - A.A. Chelishcheva.

Word from M.M. Rakovoy: “His appearance is imbued with inner romantic emotion: he looks at the world broadly with open eyes a child for whom “all the impressions of life are still new.” At the same time, despite his childhood, it reveals an inner life that promises deep nature in the future.

Evgeniy Grigorievich Gagarin

The boy's temperament is emphasized by the contrasting juxtaposition of dark eyes and black strands of hair on a brightly lit face, the whiteness of which in turn intensifies dark background portrait. The same purpose is served by the contrast of the white collar with the rich blue color of the jacket and the red color of the vest and, finally, the free texture of the portrait itself, the dynamic application of brush strokes.”

Dmitry Nikolaevich Sheremetev

On February 27, 1809, Kiprensky, seconded to assist the sculptor I.P. Martos, went to Moscow. The atmosphere of creative debate, getting to know art gallery F.V. Rostopchin, which numbered up to three hundred exhibits (among which were paintings by Velazquez, van Dyck, Tintoretto), the pre-war mood of Russian society had a huge influence on the painter.

Fedor Vasilievich Rostopchin

Kiprensky's life in Moscow, rich in impressions, contributed to intense artistic activity. “Kiprensky was almost crazy from work and imagination,” wrote F.V. Rostopchin.

Ekaterina Petrovna Rostopchina

To the best portraits pre-war period(until 1812) include portraits of E.P. Rostopchina (1809) and E.V. Davydov (1809).

Evgraf Vladimirovich Davydov

Davydov is depicted in a rich hussar uniform, standing, with his head uncovered. He has curly black hair, a short mustache, and wide black eyes. His pose is relaxed. He stands leaning on his right leg, leaning his left hand on the stone parapet. A strong body is depicted in free movement.

Vladimir Alekseevich Chursin

Canvases such as portraits of A.R. Tomilova (1813) and P.A. Olenin (1813), are not only the pinnacle of the artist’s portraiture, but also works filled with the feeling of the era. Kiprensky managed to see and capture the image of a Russian man of his time, managed to convey the patriotic spirit of the era, finding a form that was completely consistent with the content.

Alexey Romanovich Tomilov

“Wearing a burka and a militia’s cap, Alexei Romanovich Tomilov is depicted, the most enlightened man of his time, a lover of the arts, a close friend of many artists who found friendly shelter in his Uspenskoye estate near Staraya Ladoga,” writes E.N. Chizhikova. - His appearance is typical for that time. Strong-willed composure, restraint and human simplicity conquer us. In an intelligent and attentive look, there is confident calmness and readiness to fulfill one’s duty. The charm of purity and ardent youth attracts us in the beautiful portrait of Pyotr Alekseevich Olenin, the son of the president of the Academy of Arts.

Petr Alekseevich Olenin

The most delicate modeling conveys the tenderness of a young face. There is a slight sadness and dreaminess in the gaze. An overcoat is casually thrown over the shoulders, a cap is put on one side.

Alexander Pavlovich Bryullov

This portrait is distinguished by its great picturesqueness, it is executed in complex technology pastels and Italian pencil, built on the soft sound of spots.”

Karl Pavlovich Bryullov

During these same years, Kiprensky created pencil portraits peasant children, performed with great soulfulness.

“Living in St. Petersburg, Kiprensky became close to the most outstanding people of his century, writes N.G. Mashkovtsev. - He painted a portrait of the poet V.A. Zhukovsky (1816), painted the architect Gwarengi (1814), the poet K.N. Batyushkova (1815), I.A. Krylov (1816), blind poet Kozlov. In almost all of his portraits, as in many others depicting less famous people, Kiprensky gives the image of a Russian man who survived the disasters of war and suffered for his homeland. Some of the things he created are particularly charming. female images. In the very first place should be the portrait of E.P. Rostopchina (1809), which has no equal in the entire world paintings of the 19th century century, in terms of the power of expression of spiritual beauty, as if anticipating the image of Pushkin’s Tatyana.”

Ekaterina Petrovna Rostopchina

In 1816, the Academy considered it possible to resume artists' trips abroad. Kiprensky was one of the first to go abroad. A year later, from Rome, where he finally settled, Kiprensky sent his first foreign painting, “The Italian Gardener” (1817), which was greeted in St. Petersburg as a new, unexpected and pleasing turn in Kiprensky’s work. What captivated me first of all was the brilliant, finished enamel painting, strong light, illuminating the form, and, finally, the whole comely appearance of the young man with an expression of bliss and even languor on beautiful face. Kiprensky's painting seemed to contain the fertile atmosphere of Italy.

Italian gardener

Italian years Kiprensky - the years of greatest glory. In Russia his name became a legend; he opened Russia to the Italians. He was inundated with orders. He received an unheard of honor - Uffizi gallery in Florence she commissioned him to take a self-portrait.

Self-portrait

Russians art critics wrote: “The portrait of Mr. Kiprensky himself was painted with extraordinary care; lighting from above, which is why it seems at first glance that it does not have a complete resemblance; but looking more closely, you find it and stop at the finishing, which here is very precise and convincing.”

Alexander Mikhailovich Golitsyn

TO best works Portraits of A.M. belong to this period. Golitsyn (around 1819) and E.S. Avdulina (around 1822) with their desire for the generalization of the image, its plastic completeness. Studying classical art and the development of complex compositional ideas enriched Kiprensky the portrait painter; his compositional skills strengthened; contour lines acquired sophistication, and plastic volumes acquired extraordinary persuasiveness. Of Kiprensky's pencil works, a portrait of Goethe, made in 1823 in Marienbad, on his way home, is noteworthy.

It is also worth mentioning “Portrait of Mariucci,” better known as “Girl in a Poppy Wreath.” A charming plump girl posed for him. The girl's mother, a dissolute and greedy woman, constantly extorted money from Kiprensky under the pretext of her immense mother's love and suffering from separation from her daughter. Leaving Italy, the artist bought the girl from her dissolute mother and officially issued a document for the right to raise the child. Through high church circles, he placed his future wife Mariuccia - Anna Maria Falkucci - in a privileged monastery boarding house.

Mariuccia

Russia greeted Kiprensky unfriendly. He writes to Galberg. “Keep my advice firmly in your soul: it is better to sell cold stones cheaply than to freeze yourself in your dear homeland.”

Vasily Valentinovich Musin-Pushkin-Bruce

The artist himself felt insecure, since the works he sent from Italy and Paris did not arrive for a long time. They began to say that Kiprensky had nothing to show the Russian public. His stories of success in Italy were not believed.

Poor Lisa

Fortunately, he found a patron - D.N. Sheremetev. Kiprensky rents an apartment on Promenade des Anglais, but he doesn’t spend much time there, since he works in Sheremetev’s house on Fontanka, where the owner offered him a workshop. With the assistance of his patron, Kiprensky receives orders, starts new circle dating

Sheremetev

Unknown artist

In 1824, at the next public exhibition at the Academy of Arts, Kiprensky showed, in addition to previously created ones, new works, among them “Portrait of D.N. Sheremetev". After this, the artist's reputation was restored.

Sheremetev

Unknown artist

In a house on the Fontanka in 1827, the artist created famous portrait A.S. Pushkin.

« Best Portrait“My son is the one who was written by Kiprensky” - this is what Sergei Lvovich Pushkin, the poet’s father, believed. Russian writer A.I. Goncharov recalled: “His face - matte, narrowed downwards, with light brown sideburns and abundant curls of hair - was etched in my memory and proved to me later how correctly Kiprensky portrayed him in famous portrait».

Another contemporary wrote about the portrait: “The genius of the poet inspired the artist; the fire of his inspiration was itself depicted on the canvas in his features, and the artist fully expressed in his gaze the bright ray of lofty creative thoughts.”

A group of people at a table in a home environment - a portrait of Pushkin hangs on the wall on the left

“I see myself as if in a mirror, But this mirror flatters me...” Pushkin wrote in a message of gratitude.

Unknown artist

During these same years, Kiprensky painted and graphic portraits, creates such perfect sheets as “Portrait of S.P. Buturlin”, “Portrait of E.E. Komarovsky", "Portrait of M.A. Kikina" and "Portrait of A.A. Olenina."

Anna Alekseevna Olenina

In 1828, Kiprensky again left for Italy; he no longer created anything significant. In Rome, the artist married his former pupil and inspiration of his talent, Mariuccia Falkucci. Kiprensky wrote in one of his letters about Mariuccia: “Currently, for my heart, for my imagination, she alone unites the entire space of time and the world... not a single feeling that does not relate to her runs through my soul.” To marry Mariuccia, Kiprensky had to secretly convert to Catholicism.

Mariuccia

Of course, a real living woman did not in every way correspond to the artist’s romantic ideal, so not everything worked out well in the family.

Portrait of Countess Maria Alexandrovna Pototskaya, Countess Sofia Alexandrovna Shuvalova with a mandolin and an Ethiopian woman

On October 17, 1836, Kiprensky died of fever. His daughter Clotilde was born after his death.

Natalya Viktorovna Kochubey

“The famous Kiprensky died,” the artist A. Ivanov wrote from Italy, “he was the first to make the Russian name famous in Europe... Kiprensky was never noted for anything, never granted anything from the court, and all this only because he was too noble and proud to look for it."

Text by Dmitry Samin

Orest Adamovich Kiprensky (March 13 (24), 1782 - October 5 (17), 1836) - Russian artist, graphic artist and painter, master of portraits.

Orest Kiprensky, illegitimate son landowner A. S. Dyakonov, born on March 13 (24), 1782 on the Nezhinskaya manor, Oranienbaum district, St. Petersburg province (later Yamburg district, now Kingisepp district, Leningrad region).

According to documents, he was registered in the family of serf Adam Schwalbe. Having received his freedom, in 1788 he was enrolled in the Educational School at the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts under the name Kiprensky. He studied at the academy until 1803. He lived in Moscow (1809), Tver (1811), St. Petersburg (1812, 1823-1828), and in 1816-1822 and from 1828 - in Rome and Naples.

In July 1836, three months before his death, Kiprensky married Anna Maria Falkucci, the artist's muse for almost 20 years, for which he first had to convert to Catholicism. Her child portrait painted by the artist in 1819 under the title “Girl of a beautiful face in a wreath of poppies with a flower in her hand.” The artist's daughter Clotilde was born after his death.

The artist died in Rome on October 17, 1836 from pneumonia and was buried in the Church of Sant'Anrea Delle Fratte in Rome. Above the tombstone there is a stele with the inscription: “In honor and in memory of Orest Kiprensky, the most famous among Russian artists, professor of the Imperial St. Petersburg Academy of Arts and member of the Naples Academy, Russian artists, architects and sculptors, as many as there were in Rome, erected at their own expense, mourning the untimely extinguished light of his people and such a virtuous soul ... "

Monument famous artist in his homeland in the village of Nezhnovo, established on March 24, 2017. The authors are members of the Union of Artists, graduates of the Academy of Arts. I. E. Repina - Dmitry Shcherbakov and Sergey Sergeev.

O. Kiprensky is the first Russian portrait painter of the 19th century. His brush belongs to “Portrait of A. K. Schwalbe” (1804), with which he made his debut as a portrait painter. In Italy, the work was mistaken for the work of Rembrandt.
In 1809, Kiprensky created “Portrait of E. V. Davydov.”

Most famous works- portrait of a boy A. A. Chelishchev (1810-1811), portraits of the spouses Rostopchins (1809) and Khvostovs (1814), stored in the Tretyakov Gallery, as well as a self-portrait (1808), images of poets K. N. Batyushkov (1815), Museum Institute of Russian Literature Russian Academy Sciences, St. Petersburg, V. A. Zhukovsky (1816).

In 1827, O. A. Kiprensky, commissioned by A. A. Delvig, made a portrait of A. S. Pushkin (in the spring of the same year, Pushkin became V. Tropinin’s model). The poet responded to the creation of the portrait with a dedication to Kiprensky:

The year 1831 is marked by the works “Neapolitan Girl with Fruits” and “Newspaper Readers in Naples.”

A. N. Andreev. From the book “Painting and painters of the main European schools.” 1857:

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