Chamber portrait definition. School encyclopedia

Genres
visual arts
Portrait
Species and types
portrait.
Description of the portrait.
Author:
© Kuprina Evgenia Vladimirovna
MHC and history teacher
visual arts
Municipal educational institution No. 124 Samara

Portrait

Portrait analysis

The type of art to which portrait belongs

Purpose of the portrait

Number of characters in the film

Portrait characters

Position of the character in the picture

Position of the character in the picture

Position of the character in the picture

Position of the character in the picture

Position of the character in the picture

Position of the character in the picture

Character head reversal

Portrait analysis

PORTRAIT ANALYSIS. Tasks.

It is no coincidence that portraiture is considered one of the most difficult and significant genres of fine art. “The progress of painting,” Hegel argued, “beginning with its imperfect experiments, consists in developing to the portrait.

A portrait is not just an image of a person, where the task of external resemblance comes to the fore, but a complex study of the psychology of the individual, the inner world of the person being portrayed. By perceiving a portrait image, penetrating into the thoughts and feelings of the person depicted, we comprehend not only the person himself, but also the world around him through the prism of his feelings and thoughts.

The artist's task is to convey characteristic features person and identifying both typical, socially significant and individually valuable.

The specific features of artistic figurative means in the portrait genre, its patterns and forms were developed in the process of historical development.

There are two main types of portraits: intimate and formal. Each of them underwent significant changes in the process of historical development, but the principle of artistic and figurative reflection remained unchanged.

It should be noted that the word “intimate” means deeply personal, internal, intimate, but it does not follow from this that intimacy in a portrait means isolation of the individual from the outside world: it is certainly reflected, refracted through the deeply personal that the artist conveyed in a portrait. In an intimate portrait, the psychology of the person being portrayed takes on special significance. The main task here is to study a person’s personality, to convey his most characteristic features, which requires the artist, first of all, to deeply penetrate into the personality of the person being depicted.

The artistic form of an intimate portrait is determined by compositional features. These are, as a rule, small-sized paintings, where the compositional unit is the face of a person to whom the artist assigns a leading role. An intimate portrait is rarely situational. This is usually a figure, and most often a half-length image on a neutral background, which allows the artist to focus attention on the face, eyes, emphasize the main thing through them, trace the plastic features of the structure of the head and convey the character of a person through these features.

For example, in “Portrait of V. Bryusov” by M.A. Vrubel depicts the poet standing, with his arms crossed on his chest. The background to the portrait is a sketch of some composition by Vrubel himself. Restless, broken lines seem to frame Bryusov’s face, introducing an emotional mood and a feeling of anxiety. And at the same time, the poet appears surprisingly calm, spiritual, there is no hint of internal breakdown and hopelessness, characteristic of the mood of many artists and writers of that time. A balanced composition (the figure is located in the center), a natural hand gesture - all this gives a feeling of great inner strength and confidence. V. Bryusov’s face is unusually expressive. In terms of the depth of penetration into the image and the power of expression, this portrait drawing by Vrubel rightfully ranks among the best graphic portraits in Russian art.

The ceremonial portrait is a less common phenomenon in contemporary art. The very word “ostentation” in relation to a portrait is sometimes used in a negative sense, although this is not always fair. A ceremonial portrait is a certain type of portrait genre that has its own goals and patterns. The history of art gives us examples of remarkable works that belonged to this type. It is enough to name the names of D. Velazquez, A. Van Dyck, D. Levitsky, P. Rubens, in whose work the ceremonial portrait occupied not the last place.

V.A. attached great importance to the ceremonial portrait. Serov. It was here that he looked for himself " big style"in art, for example, depicting M.N. Ermolov, he introduces the viewer to a great actress, whose work is filled with high civic ideals. This is the main idea of ​​the work, and the artist strongly sought to convey it to the viewer. Compositionally, the portrait is constructed in such a way that Ermolova seems to be placed on a pedestal. When depicting the figure, the artist chose a lower point of view and wrote while sitting on a low bench. Ermolova’s figure fits with a clear silhouette into the space of the canvas, is easy to read and convincingly conveys the greatness of the actress.

A ceremonial portrait is a portrait that reveals one particular feature of a human personality in connection with its position in society, special merits in a certain field of activity, etc. Naturally, the very ideological content of this kind of portrait requires special means of embodiment. The ceremonial portrait is distinguished primarily by its monumental design. We see this in the portrait of Ermolova, and this is also characteristic of the “Portrait of F. Chaliapin” by V.A. Serova.

The idea of ​​a portrait, born as a result of an emotional attitude towards a person, penetration into his psychology, philosophical understanding depicted, requires in each individual case its own compositional and technical means of expression.

In the portrait genre there are Various types compositions. This is a head, a half-length portrait, a full-length figure, a group portrait.

A striking example of a group portrait is the work of P.D. Korin “Portrait of the artists M. Kupriyanov, P. Krylov, N. Sokolov.” The idea of ​​the portrait - to show the artists-wrestlers as a single creative team, united by an understanding of their task - also determined the composition of the picture. The artists sit at a work table, which depicts sketches, jars of bright colors, flutes; The background is made up of posters created by artists during the war. Intense color, built on the contrasts of black, red and blue colors, creates the necessary emotional mood of the picture. We see different people united by the artist into a single image.

The main task of a portrait is to create a specific image of a person and convey it characteristic features, which requires the artist, first of all, to deeply penetrate into the personality of the person being depicted, to convey the individual appearance, and to reveal the essence of his character. And despite the fact that the transfer of the individually unique features of the model is an indispensable condition for the portrait. The artist’s task is to generalize, to identify typical features while preserving the expressive characteristics of a particular person.

The need to convey individual resemblance is determined by the very factor of the existence of a portrait; without similarity there cannot be a portrait as an independent genre.

Painting is one of the most common forms of art, with the help of which artists convey their vision of the world to viewers.

Thus, painting is a separate and very popular type of fine art, in which visual images are conveyed by the master through the application of paints to the surface of the picture.

All paintings that exist today can be divided into several separate genres, which have their own characteristics in subject matter and image technique. Let's consider the main ones in order to have a correct idea of ​​the structure of paintings.

So, among modern genres of painting we can name the following:

• Portrait
• Scenery
• Marina
• History painting
• Battle painting
• Still life
• Genre painting
• Architectural painting
• Religious painting
• Animal painting
• Decorative painting

Schematically, the division of genres of painting will look like this:

Portrait

Many of us are familiar with the genre of painting known as portraiture. This is one of the most oldest species fine painting, and can also be found in sculpture and graphics. Previously, there were no photographs, so everyone is rich or famous person considered it necessary to perpetuate his face and figure for posterity - and in this, portrait painters came to his aid.

Moreover, the portrait can depict both real people and literary or mythical heroes. In addition, both a portrait of a person who lived in past times and of our contemporary who exists today can be created.

The portrait genre has no clear boundaries, so in one work a portrait can be combined with elements of other genres of painting - landscape, still life, and so on.

Types of portraits

Among the most common types of portraiture are the following:

• Historical portrait
• Retrospective portrait
• Portrait - painting
• Typical portrait
• Self-portrait
• Donor portrait
• Ceremonial portrait
• Half-dress portrait
• Chamber portrait
• Intimate portrait
• Small format portrait
• Portrait - miniature

Each type of portraiture has its own characteristic features and differences in execution technique. Let's look at them in more detail.

• Historical portrait- contains an image of some kind historical figure, politician or creative person. Such a portrait can be created from the memories of contemporaries or born in the imagination of the painter.

• Retrospective portrait- a posthumous image of a person who lived in the past, which was created according to descriptions of eyewitnesses or from an intravital image. However, there may also be cases where the portrait was completely composed by the master.

• Painting - portrait- a person is depicted in a plot relationship with the surrounding world, nature, against the backdrop of architectural buildings or the activities of other people. In portrait paintings, the blurring of boundaries and the combination of various genres - landscape, historical and battle painting, and so on - are most clearly visible.

• Typical portrait- artist - painter depicts a collective image made up of the characteristic features of the appearance of many people, united by common ideas, types of activities, social status or way of life.

• Portrait in costume- the person depicted is presented to the viewer in the form of a literary or theatrical character, historical figure or mythological hero. Such portraits are of particular interest for the study of costumes from other eras.

• Self-portrait- a special type of portrait painting in which the artist depicts himself. That is, he wants to convey and convey to the audience his inner essence.

• Donor portrait- one of the outdated forms of portraiture. Such a painting with a religious theme depicted a person who made large donations to the church. He appeared before the audience surrounded by saints, next to the Madonna or on one of the doors of the altar, kneeling. Wealthy people in those days saw a special meaning in creating a donor portrait, because such paintings were always perceived positively and were revered on a par with.

By nature and method of depiction human figures, all portraits are divided into the following types:

• Ceremonial portrait- shows a man in a standing position at full height. At the same time, all the details of the appearance and figure are written out very clearly.

• Half-dress portrait- a person is depicted from the waist up, to the knees, or in a sitting position when the lower part of the legs is not visible. In such a work of portraiture, the image of the surrounding environment or accessories plays a huge role.

• Chamber portrait- the human figure is performed on a neutral background, and a shortened version of the image of the human figure is used - to the waist, to the chest, or even to shoulder level. In this case, the master draws out the person’s facial features especially clearly and carefully.

• Intimate portrait- is used extremely rarely and represents one of the varieties of intimate portraits due to its execution on a neutral background. The basis for creating an intimate portrait is the artist’s deep feelings for the person depicted or a trusting relationship between them.

• Small format portrait- a small painting. usually done with ink, pencil, pastel or watercolors.

• Portrait - miniature- one of the most recognizable and complex types of portraiture in terms of technique. The miniature is characterized by a small image format (from 1.5 to 20 cm), as well as an extraordinary delicacy of writing and a careful, almost jewelry-like drawing of all lines. Miniature portraits were inserted into medallions and used to decorate watches, bracelets, brooches, rings and snuff boxes.

Scenery

The landscape represents separate genre painting, the main object of which is nature in its original form or slightly changed in the process of human activity.

The genre of landscape painting has been known since ancient times. However, in the Middle Ages it somewhat lost its relevance. But already in the Renaissance, landscape was revived and acquired the significance of one of the most important genres in pictorial art.

Marina

Marina (from the Latin word “marinus” - “sea”) is a special genre of painting in which all depicted events, types of human activity and pictures of nature are dedicated to the sea. Often the paintings depict seascapes V different time years and under different lighting conditions.

Artists who paint the sea in its various manifestations are called “marine painters.” One of the most famous marine painters is Ivan Aivazovsky, who created over 6 thousand paintings on marine themes.

History painting

Genre historical painting originated during the Renaissance, when artists sought to reflect in their canvases scenes from the life of society in various periods of history.

However, historical paintings could depict not only pictures from the lives of real people, but also mythological stories, as well as illustrated reimaginings of biblical and gospel stories.

Historical painting serves to display the events of the past that are most important for a particular people or all of humanity as a whole.

Battle painting

One of the varieties of the historical genre is battle painting, the subject of images of which is devoted mainly to military events, famous battles on land and sea, as well as military campaigns. The battle genre covers the history of military clashes throughout the history of human civilization.

At the same time, battle paintings are distinguished by a large number and variety of figures depicted, as well as fairly accurate pictures of the terrain and features of a particular region.

The battle painter faces several difficult tasks:

1. Show the heroism of war and show the behavior of the most courageous warriors.
2. Capture a particularly important or turning point in a battle.
3. Reveal full in your work historical meaning military events.
4. Accurately and clearly express the behavior and experiences of each of the participants in the battle - both famous commanders and ordinary soldiers.

It should be noted that the genre of battle painting is considered one of the most difficult, so such paintings are created by masters for a long time - sometimes ten years. The artist is required not only to have excellent knowledge of the detailed history of the battle being depicted, but also to be able to create multi-figure canvases with a large number of auxiliary details. These include pictures of nature, elements of architecture, and images of weapons or military mechanisms. Therefore, the battle genre occupies a special place and stands separately from historical painting.

Still life

Still life is the creation on canvas of compositions from inanimate objects in various combinations. The most popular are images of dishes, flowerpots with bouquets of flowers and fruits on a platter.

Initially, the theme of images in the genre of still life arose at the turn of the 15th - 16th centuries, but the final formation of the genre into a separate direction of painting occurred in the 17th century. The first creators of still lifes were Dutch and Flemish artists. Later, still life took an important place in the work of Russian artists.

The subject matter of images in still lifes can be very rich and varied, and is not limited exclusively to everyday objects. These can be books, magazines and newspapers, bottles, figurines, a globe and many other objects.

The main idea of ​​compositions in the Vanitas genre is the idea of ​​the finitude of earthly existence and humility before the inevitability of the transition to another world. Still lifes with a skull in the center of the composition gained the greatest popularity in the 16th - 17th centuries in Flanders and the Netherlands. A little later, French and Spanish artists began to contact him.

Genre painting

In the fine arts, genre painting is considered part of everyday genre. Since ancient times, artists have depicted scenes of everyday life of ordinary people - peasants, artisans, traders, as well as servants of noble courtiers in the process of work or in the daily life of their families.

The first examples of genre paintings in the modern sense appeared in the Middle Ages, and subsequently became widespread and popular. The themes of genre paintings are characterized by enviable diversity, which arouses the interest of viewers.

Architectural painting

Architectural painting is a special pictorial genre, the subject of which is devoted to the depiction of buildings, structures and various architectural monuments, as well as the most interesting solutions in the historical aspect. This refers to the image of the interior design of palaces, theaters and concert halls and so on.

Thanks to such paintings, the viewer has the opportunity to personally see architectural monuments in their original form through the eyes of the artist himself. Works of architectural painting also help in studying the architectural landscape of cities of bygone times.

Animal painting

The animalistic genre is a separate genre of painting that specializes mainly in depicting the animal world of our planet. In paintings of this genre we can see animals, birds, fish, as well as representatives of many other species in their natural habitat.

However, this does not mean that the theme of the image animal genre are only wild animals. On the contrary, artists very often paint paintings dedicated to pets - cats, dogs, horses, and so on.

Decorative painting

The genre of decorative painting can be divided into several types, each with its own differences:

• Monumental painting
• Theatrical scenery painting
• Decorative painting

The diversity of the decorative genre is explained by the fact that artists at all times tried to decorate every object in the surrounding world.

• Monumental painting- a genre of monumental art, the works of which are quite large-scale in nature and are used as decorative decoration for buildings and structures of a secular and religious nature for various purposes (including churches, office buildings and cultural buildings, architectural monuments and residential buildings).

• Theater scenery- this is a very popular type of decorative genre, which includes the creation of scenery and costume designs for characters theatrical productions and movie characters, as well as sketches of individual mise-en-scenes. Decorators in the theater and on the film set sometimes create real masterpieces, which are later included among the best theater and cinema sets.

• Decorative painting- represents plot compositions or ornamental decor created on various parts of buildings and structures, as well as on decorative samples - applied arts, taking its origins from folk arts and crafts. The main types of painted items were dishes, household items, furniture, and so on.

Portrait is artistic image the face of a particular person and at the same time his interpretation by the artist. The portrait depicts the external features of a person, and through them - his inner world.

Why are picturesque portraits created?
This is not a rhetorical question. This is how Albrecht Durer answered him: “I write to preserve human images after their death.” The Renaissance artist Leon Battista Alberti said something like this: “The painting makes absent people present, and the dead seem alive.” Many other artists of past centuries could have answered this way.
But then photography was invented, and a portrait can be obtained quickly, without putting as much work into it as is required to paint a pictorial portrait. Why doesn’t the portrait genre disappear, but continues to develop and improve? Yes, over the long history of its existence, the portrait has undergone ups and downs, but has not exhausted itself.

Varieties of portrait

A portrait is not always limited only to a person’s external characteristics. Within the portrait genre, there are its own subgenres: historical portrait, portrait-picture (a person is depicted in the surrounding nature or architecture. Attributes, background and costume helped to display the entire range of qualities of a person or his social group), portrait-type (collective image), allegorical portrait ( for example, “Catherine II in the form of Minerva”), family portrait, self-portrait, group portrait, etc.
Here is an example of a historical portrait.

V. Vasnetsov “Portrait of Ivan the Terrible” (1897)
Such a portrait can only be painted on the basis of the artist’s study of antiquities and impressions of theatrical performances.
And here is a type portrait.

B. Kustodiev “Merchant's Wife at Tea” (1918)
Group portraits were usually intended for ceremonial interiors.

I. Repin. Group portrait “Great meeting of the State Council”
This portrait was intended for the hall of the St. Petersburg Mariinsky Palace, the interiors of which are extremely luxurious, and a “modest” portrait would have been lost against their background.

By nature, a portrait can be ceremonial (usually against an architectural or landscape background, usually full-length), intimate (usually a half-length or chest-length image), or a miniature.

Similarity of the portrait to the original

Is resemblance important in a portrait? Undoubtedly. But, in addition to external similarity, there must also be internal similarity, i.e. It is the internal similarity that convinces the viewer that this is how the person being portrayed should be.
But the people depicted in the paintings of old artists are unknown to us; we cannot be sure that their appearance corresponds to the original. How then can you determine whether a portrait is good or not? So, is there something about a portrait that is more important than its exact appearance?
A well-painted portrait should show the inner essence of the model from the artist's point of view: not only physical, but also spiritual features. This need was formulated even during the approval of the European portrait. In 1310, Pietro d'Abano said that a portrait should reflect both the external appearance and the psychology of the model. The French portraitist Maurice Quentin de Latour said about his models: “They think that I only capture the features of their faces, but without their knowledge I I descend into the depths of their soul and take possession of it entirely.”
A very important point in commissioned portraits is the embodiment in the canvas of both the model’s expectations and her real appearance. As A. Sumarokov wrote:

Fufana ordered her portrait to be painted,
But she said to the painter:
You see, I'm crooked;
However, write that I am not like that.

A person’s judgments about his own personality, about his appearance, character and inner world are far from identical to what the artist thinks about this matter. And the more their views diverge, the more acute the conflict between the customer’s requirements and the will of the artist can be.

Epoch and portrait

A good portrait is also an idea of ​​the lifestyle of people of certain eras, their ideals and ideas about man. A good portrait gives the modern viewer the opportunity to learn about the life and customs of the time to which the portrait belongs. A portrait is a kind of story.

O. Kiprensky “Portrait of Evgraf Davydov”
Here before us is a portrait of the hussar Evgraf Davydov, painted by Orest Kiprensky. This is a portrait of a specific person, but looking at this portrait, we learn about what the uniform of the hussars of that time was like, the hairstyle, the internal state of the military man - the picture depicts the era. And, of course, the portrait genre makes it possible to recognize the ideal personality that was characteristic of that time. That is, this is a kind of artistic portrait of a hero of his time.
Social status, nationality, age, religious and moral characteristics, character, etc. - all this should be present in a good portrait. You can learn to convey a resemblance to a model, but at the same time not acquire the ability to express its character - this is much more difficult to achieve.

Features of the portrait

An important point is the look: the model can look directly at the viewer, as if inviting him to a conversation, or past. This makes the person depicted seem more thoughtful and calm. If the head turns in one direction and the pupils in the other, that is, the person seems to look around, then movement appears in the portrait. If gaze and movement are directed in the same direction, the model appears calmer. A portrait is not characterized by the expression of strong feelings, because... they are short-lived and do not characterize the person completely.
The soul is visible through the expression of the eyes, especially through the gaze directed at the viewer. In addition, “the gaze directed at the viewer is addressed to all humanity” (A. Karev).

V. Perov “Portrait of Vladimir Ivanovich Dahl”
Another important means of psychological characterization is the hands. Take a look at the portrait of V.I. Dahl by V. Perov. One of the critics described the portrait as follows: “...his gaze expresses calmness: he did his job. You can’t help but pay attention to the old man’s beautiful hands: any surgeon will envy these long fingers.” Indeed, Dahl was a wonderful surgeon, and he was equally successful in using both hands, which is very important during surgery.
His posture can say a lot about a person.

V. Serov “Portrait of the actress Ermolova”
A pointedly proud posture emphasizes the greatness of a person. It happens that this is how conceit is portrayed, but Maria Nikolaevna Ermolova really was a great actress. According to Stanislavsky, the greatest actor he has ever seen.
Portraits contemporary artist A. Shilov is attracted by photographic accuracy, but this, as we already know, is not enough for a good portrait. Through the expression of the eyes of the heroes of his portraits, the soul is always visible. Like in this portrait.

A Shilov “Portrait of Olenka” (1981)

In today's post I would like to focus on brief history development of portraiture. It is not possible to fully cover all the material on this topic in the limited scope of the post, so I did not set such a task.

A short excursion into the history of portraiture

Portrait(from French portrait) - This is a genre of fine art, as well as works of this genre that show the appearance of a particular person. A portrait conveys individual characteristics, unique features inherent only in one model (a model is a person posing for a master while working on a work of art).

"Parisian". Fresco from the Palace of Knossos, 16th century BC.

But external resemblance is not the only and, perhaps, not the most important property inherent in a portrait . A true portrait painter is not limited to reproducing the external features of his model, he strives convey the properties of her character, reveal her inner, spiritual world . It is also very important to show the social position of the person being portrayed, to create a typical image of a representative of a certain era.
As a genre, portraiture appeared several thousand years ago in ancient art. Among the frescoes of the famous Knossos Palace, found by archaeologists during excavations on the island of Crete, there are a number of picturesque images of women dating back to the 16th century BC. Although researchers called these images “court ladies,” we do not know who the Cretan masters were trying to show - goddesses, priestesses, or noble ladies dressed in elegant dresses.
The most famous portrait of a young woman, called by scientists "Parisian". We see in front of us a profile (according to the traditions of the art of that time) image of a young woman, very flirtatious and not neglecting cosmetics, as evidenced by her eyes, outlined in a dark outline, and brightly painted lips.
The artists who created fresco portraits of their contemporaries did not delve into the characteristics of the models, and the external similarity in these images is very relative.

"Portrait of a Young Roman", early 3rd century AD.

IN Ancient Greece and in Ancient Rome, easel painting did not exist, so the art of portraiture was expressed mainly in sculpture. Ancient masters created plastic images of poets, philosophers, military leaders and politicians. These works are characterized by idealization, and at the same time, among them there are also images that are very accurate in their psychological characteristics.
Of great interest are the picturesque portraits created in Egypt in the 1st-4th centuries AD. Based on the place of discovery (the tombs of Hawara north of Cairo and the necropolises of the Fayum oasis, called Arsinoe under the Ptolemies) they are called Fayum. These images performed ritual and magical functions. They appeared in the Hellenistic era, when Ancient Egypt was captured by the Romans. These portrait images, executed on wooden boards or on canvas, were placed along with the mummy in the tomb of the deceased.
In the Fayum portraits we see Egyptians, Syrians, Nubians, Jews, Greeks and Romans who lived in Egypt in the 1st-4th centuries AD. From Ancient Rome The custom came to Egypt to keep portraits of the owners painted on wooden tablets in the house, as well as sculptural masks of deceased relatives.

Portrait of a Fayum mummy

Fayum portraits were created using tempera or encaustic techniques, which is especially typical for earlier images. Encaustic is painting with paints, where the main connecting link was wax. The artists used melted wax paints (on many tablets with portrait images there are traces of the dripping of such paints). This technique required special techniques. On the areas of the cheeks, chin and nose, paint was applied in dense layers, and the rest of the face and hair were painted with thinner paint. The masters used thin planks of sycamore (mulberry fig tree) and Lebanese cedar for portraits.

G. Bellini. "Portrait of a Donor" Fragment

Among the most famous portraits made using the encaustic technique are “Portrait of a Man” (second half of the 1st century AD) and “Portrait of an Elderly Man” (late 1st century AD), which are lifetime images. In these works, the skillful light and shadow modeling and the use of color reflex are striking. Probably, the masters unknown to us who painted the portraits went through the Hellenistic school of painting. Two other paintings were executed in the same manner - “Portrait of a Nubian” and a beautiful female image, the so-called. "Mistress Alina" (2nd century AD). The last portrait is made on canvas using a brush and liquid tempera.
During the Middle Ages, when art was subordinated to the church, mainly religious images were created in painting. But even at this time, some artists painted psychologically accurate portraits. Wide use received images of donors (givers, customers), who were most often shown in profile, facing God, the Madonna or a saint. The images of the donors had an undoubted external resemblance to the originals, but did not go beyond the iconographic canons, playing in the composition minor role. Profile images coming from the icon retained their dominant positions even when the portrait began to acquire independent meaning.
The heyday of the portrait genre began during the Renaissance, when main value world has become an active and purposeful person, capable of changing this world and going against the odds. In the 15th century, artists began to create independent portraits, which showed models against the backdrop of panoramic majestic landscapes. This is the “Portrait of a Boy” by B. Pinturicchio.

B. Pinturicchio. "Portrait of a Boy", Art Gallery, Dresden

However, the presence of fragments of nature in portraits does not create integrity, unity of a person and the world around him; the person being portrayed seems to obscure the natural landscape. Only in portraits of the 16th century does harmony emerge, a kind of microcosm.

Many famous Renaissance masters turned to portrait painting, including Botticelli, Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci. The greatest work world art became Leonardo's famous masterpiece - the portrait "Mona Lisa" ("La Gioconda", ca. 1503), in which many portrait painters of subsequent generations saw a role model.
Titian played a huge role in the development of the European portrait genre, creating a whole gallery of images of his contemporaries: poets, scientists, clergy, and rulers. In these works, the great Italian master acted as a subtle psychologist and an excellent expert human soul.

Titian: Empress Isabella of Portugal.

During the Renaissance, many artists who created altar and mythological compositions turned to the portrait genre. The models are distinguished by their deep penetration into the inner world psychological portraits Dutch painter Jan van Eyck ("Timothy", 1432; "The Man in the Red Turban", 1433). A recognized master of the portrait genre was the German artist Albrecht Durer, whose self-portraits still delight viewers and serve as an example for artists.

Albrecht Durer, Self-Portrait

During the Renaissance, various forms of portraiture appeared in European painting. The full-length portrait was very popular at that time, although half-length, side-length images and full-length portraits also appeared. Noble couples ordered paired portraits in which the models were depicted on different canvases, but both compositions were united by a common concept, color, and landscape background. A striking example of paired portraits is the image of the Duke and Duchess of Urbino (Federigo da Montefeltro and Battista Sforza, 1465), created by the Italian painter Piero della Francesca.
Group portraits also became widespread, when the artist showed several models on one canvas. An example of such a work is “Portrait of Pope Paul III with Alessandro and Ottavio Farnese” (1545-1546) by Titian.

Based on the nature of the image, portraits began to be divided into ceremonial and intimate. The first ones were created with the aim of exalting and glorifying the people represented on them. Ceremonial portraits were commissioned from famous artists by reigning persons and members of their families, courtiers, and clergy who occupied the upper steps of the hierarchical ladder.
When creating ceremonial portraits, painters depicted men in rich uniforms embroidered with gold. The ladies who posed for the artist wore the most luxurious dresses and adorned themselves with jewelry. The background played a special role in such portraits. The masters painted their models against the backdrop of the landscape, architectural elements (arches, columns) and lush draperies.
The greatest master of ceremonial portraits was the Flemish P.P. Rubens, who worked at the royal courts of many states. His noble and wealthy contemporaries dreamed of the painter capturing them on his canvases. Rubens' commissioned portraits, striking with their richness of colors and virtuosity of design, are somewhat idealized and cold. The images of family and friends that the artist created for himself are full of warm and sincere feeling; there is no desire in them to flatter the model, as in ceremonial portraits for wealthy customers.

A student and follower of Rubens was the talented Flemish painter A. van Dyck, who created a gallery of portrait images of his contemporaries: scientists, lawyers, doctors, artists, merchants, military leaders, clergy, and courtiers. These realistic images subtly convey the individual uniqueness of the models.
Portraits painted by van Dyck in late period, when the artist worked at the court of the English King Charles, they were less artistically perfect, because The master who received many orders could not cope with them and entrusted the image of some parts to his assistants. But even at this time, van Dyck painted a number of quite successful paintings (Louvre portrait of Charles I, ca. 1635; “The Three Children of Charles I,” 1635).

A. van Dyck. "The Three Children of Charles I", 1635, Royal Collection, Windsor Castle

In the 17th century, an intimate (chamber) portrait occupied an important place in European painting, the purpose of which was to show state of mind a person, his feelings and emotions. The Dutch artist Rembrandt, who painted many soulful images, became a recognized master of this type of portrait. “Portrait of an Old Lady” (1654), “Portrait of the Son Titus Reading” (1657), “Hendrickje Stoffels at the Window” (portrait of the artist’s second wife, c. 1659) are imbued with sincere feeling. These works present the viewer with ordinary people who have neither noble ancestors nor wealth. But for Rembrandt, who opened a new page in the history of the portrait genre, it was important to convey the spiritual kindness of his model, her truly human qualities.

Unknown artist. Parsun "Sovereign of All Rus' Ivan IV the Terrible", late 17th century.

Rembrandt's skill was also evident in his large-format group portraits ("Night Watch", 1642; "Syndics", 1662), conveying different temperaments and bright human personalities.
One of the most remarkable European portraitists of the 17th century was the Spanish artist D. Velazquez, who painted not only a great many ceremonial portraits representing Spanish kings, their wives and children, but also a number of intimate images of ordinary people. The tragic images of court dwarfs - wise and restrained or embittered, but always maintaining a sense of human dignity ("Portrait of the Jester Sebastiano Mora", c. 1648) appeal to the best feelings of the viewer.

The portrait genre received further development in the 18th century. Portraits, unlike landscapes, gave artists good income. Many painters who created ceremonial portraits, trying to flatter a rich and high-born customer, tried to highlight the most attractive features his appearance and obscure his flaws.
But the most courageous and talented masters were not afraid of the wrath of the rulers and showed people as they really were, without hiding their physical and moral shortcomings. In this sense, the famous “Portrait of the Family of King Charles IV” (1801) by the famous Spanish painter and graphic artist F. Goya is interesting. The National School of Portraiture appeared in England. Its largest representatives are the artists J. Reynolds and T. Gainsborough, who worked in the 18th century. Their traditions were inherited by younger English masters: J. Romney, J. Hopner, J. Opie.
The portrait occupied an important place in the art of France. One of the most talented artists of the second half of the 18th - first quarter of the 19th century was J.L. David, who created, along with paintings of the ancient and historical genre, many beautiful portraits. Among the master’s masterpieces are the unusually expressive image of Madame Recamier (1800) and the romantically elevated portrait “Napoleon Bonaparte at the Saint-Bernard Pass” (1800).

An unsurpassed master of the portrait genre was J.O.D. Ingres, who glorified his name with ceremonial portraits, distinguished by their sonorous color scheme and grace of lines.
Excellent examples of romantic portraiture were presented to the world by such French artists as T. Gericault and E. Delacroix.
French realists (J. F. Millet, C. Corot, G. Courbet), impressionists (E. Degas, O. Renoir) and post-impressionists (P. Cezanne, W. van Gogh) expressed their attitude to life and art in portraits.
Representatives of the modernist movements that emerged in the 20th century also turned to the portrait genre. The famous French artist Pablo Picasso left us many portraits. From these works one can trace how the master’s work developed from the so-called. blue period to cubism.

In his “Blue Period” (1901-1904), he creates portraits and genre types in which he develops the theme of loneliness, grief, and human doom, permeating the spiritual world of the hero and the environment hostile to him. This is the portrait of the artist’s friend, the poet X. Sabartes (1901, Moscow, Pushkin Museum).

A significant contribution to the development of Russian portraiture was made by the talented artist of the first half of the 18th century I.N. Nikitin, who with the skill of a psychologist showed in “Portrait of a Floor Hetman” (1720s) the complex, multifaceted image man of the Petrine era.

Painting of the second half of the 18th century is associated with the names of such famous portrait painters as F.S. Rokotov, who created many inspired images of his contemporaries (portrait of V.I. Maykov, ca. 1765), D.G. Levitsky, the author of beautiful ceremonial and chamber portraits that convey the integrity of the models’ nature (portraits of students of the Smolny Institute, ca. 1773-1776), V.L. Borovikovsky, whose amazingly lyrical portraits of women still delight viewers.

Borovikovsky, Vladimir Lukich: Portrait of Elena Alexandrovna Naryshkina.

The 1860-1870s were the time of the formation of realism in Russian painting, most clearly manifested in the work of the Itinerant artists. During this period, in the portrait genre, the type portrait, in which the model received not only a psychological assessment, but was also considered from the point of view of her place in society, enjoyed great success among the democratically minded public. In such works, the authors paid equal attention to both the individual and typical features of those portrayed.
An example of this type of portrait was painted in 1867 by the artist N.N. Ge portrait of A.I. Herzen. Looking at the photographs of the democratic writer, one can understand how accurately the master captured the external resemblance. But the painter did not stop there; he captured on canvas the spiritual life of an individual striving to achieve happiness for his people through struggle. In the image of Herzen, Ge showed the collective type of the best people of his era.

N.N. Ge portrait of A.I. Herzen

Ge's traditions of portraiture were taken up by such masters as V.G. Perov (portrait of F.M. Dostoevsky, 1872), I.N. Kramskoy (portrait of L.N. Tolstoy, 1873). These artists created a whole gallery of images of their outstanding contemporaries.
Wonderful type portraits were painted by I.E. Repin, who managed to very accurately convey the unique individuality of each person. With the help of correctly noted gestures, poses, and facial expressions, the master gives social and spiritual characteristics of those being portrayed. A significant and strong-willed person appears in the portrait of N.I., executed by Repin in 1881. Pirogov. The viewer sees the deep artistic talent and passion of nature in his canvas depicting actress P.A. Strepetov (1882).

Portrait of actress Pelageya Antipovna Strepetova in the role of Elizabeth. 1881

Glazunov_ Portrait of Ilya Reznik, 1999

A.M. made a huge contribution to the development of Russian portraiture. Shilov (“Portrait of Academician I.L. Knunyants”, 1974; “Portrait of Olya”, 1974).

A.M. Shilov. "Portrait of Olya", 1974

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