What is a portrait? Styles and Genres of Portrait

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Portrait in painting. Types of human portrait. Presentation prepared by: Bazanova Elena Mikhailovna

Portrait is an image or description of a person or group of people who exist or existed in reality. Portrait is one of the main genres of painting, sculpture, and graphics; its meaning is precisely to reproduce the individual qualities of a particular person. The name of this genre comes from an old French expression meaning “to reproduce something point by point.”

watercolor PORTRAIT pencil ENGRAVED PAINTING (OIL, TEMPERA, GOUACHE) SCULPTURE RELIEF (on medals and coins)

Pencil portrait Watercolor portrait Engraving Painting portrait (oil) Relief Sculptural portrait

TYPES OF PORTRAIT: Chamber; Psychological; Social; Front; Individual, double, group. Self-portrait

Chamber portrait - a portrait using a waist-length, bust-length or shoulder-length image. The figure in a chamber portrait is usually shown against a neutral background.

A psychological portrait is designed to show the depth of a person’s inner world and experiences, reflect the fullness of his personality, and capture in an instant the endless movement of human feelings and actions.

A social portrait allows you to comprehend the content of professional activity, spending free time, and assess a person’s personality based on the characteristics of the environment in which he lives.

Ceremonial portrait - a portrait showing a person in full height, on a horse, standing or sitting. Typically, in a formal portrait, the figure is shown against an architectural or landscape background.

Individual, double, group.

Self-portrait is a graphic, pictorial or sculptural image of the artist, made by him himself using a mirror or a system of mirrors.

According to the format, portraits are distinguished: head-length (shoulder-length), waist-length, hip-length, knee-length, full-length

Head portrait Full-length portrait Half-length portrait Hip-length portrait Full-length portrait

According to the rotation of the head, portraits are: full-face (French en face, “from the face”) a quarter turn to the right or left, a half turn, three-quarters in profile

Assignment: Your task is to create a picturesque portrait. This could be a self-portrait or a portrait of someone close to you. Think about what color combinations better express character and state of mind.

PORTRAIT IN FINE ART is an artistic statement that has content and a method of expression (grammar, style). What is the theme of any portrait? The portrait depicts the external appearance (and through it the inner world) of a specific, real person who existed in the past or exists in the present. The general (invariant) theme of the portrait is the individual life of a person, the individual form of his being. Regardless of how many people are depicted in the portrait - two (pair portrait) or several (group portrait), each of them in the portrait has relative autonomy. A portrait may have two or three themes, etc., but each of them is a theme individual life. If the themes lose their independence, the portrait goes beyond its genre specificity. So, for example, if the theme is an event, we have before us not a portrait, but a painting, although its characters can be depicted in portraiture.

In addition to the theme, the portrait has a universal (invariant) plot, such a form of being as contemplation-thinking, intellectual, internal contemplation. In this state, the subject absorbs the whole world of objects and connections from the perspective of their meaning, meaning, and fundamental issues of human existence. Consciousness plunges into itself. At the same time, a person is freed from one-sidedness, from the narrowness of passion or random mood. The individual within himself is filled with poetry and fantasy, deep immersion in reflections and thoughts, in his own closed inner world.

Action and speech motor activity are contraindicated for this condition (in the portrait the person, as a rule, does not “speak.” In the portrait the person is silent, but this is eloquent silence. Affects (anger, rage, violent joy, etc.) are contraindicated for the portrait - a strong short-term feeling associated with an active motor reaction. The portrait is characterized by animated peace.

A person who contemplates assumes a diverse combination of other characteristics - social status, nationality, age, religious and moral characteristics, character, etc.

The contemplating and reflective individual is depicted in the portrait in external appearance. The main thing here is the mirror of the soul, the face, and in the face is the expression of the eyes. The gaze is directed into the distance or goes deep into the soul, it “passes” through the viewer.

What is the aesthetic invariant of the portrait genre? It is noticed that the model in the portrait does not laugh and does not cause laughter. The category of the comic is contraindicated in the “archetype” of the portrait genre. The aesthetic invariant of a portrait is the category of “serious”. The portrait is serious. The model in the portrait is depicted at a serious moment in her life. The portrait omits what belongs to mere chance, the fleeting situation inherent in a person in real life. In this sense, the portrait, as Hegel puts it, “flatters” the model. There is an internal connection between contemplation-reflection and aesthetic seriousness. When a person is serious, he does not laugh. Where the model is laughing in the portrait, the portrait genre is on the border with other genres - sketch, sketch, “genre”, etc. The spiritual aspect is the main thing in a portrait. The content of something serious can be both tragic and sublime.

A portrait, like every artistic statement, realizes itself through compositional form. It is specific to art. The compositional invariant of a portrait is such a construction, as a result of which the model’s face appears in the center of the composition, in the focus of viewer perception. It is no coincidence that the compositional symptom of the formation of the genre of European portraiture in the early Renaissance is called “Exit from the profile” in front. Historical canons in the field of portrait composition prescribe a certain interpretation of the central position of the face in relation to pose, clothing, surroundings, background, etc.

From the point of view of the content (semantics) of the genre portrait, “still life” and “decorative” portraits are considered incompatible with its archetype. “Still life” portraits, depicting individuality, interpret it as a “thing”; “decorative” ones - not from the standpoint of the category of “serious”, but from the point of view of “decorative sensation”.

The analysis of the “archetype” of the portrait genre from the point of view of methods of expression is carried out at three levels: communicative, aesthetic and compositional. The aesthetic form of expression must only be perfect, harmonious, “beautiful”; the compositional form must “technically” ensure the implementation of the aesthetic and communicative form. The communicative invariant of the portrait genre is the image. The main feature of the image is its resemblance to the displayed object, to the model. Similarity is similarity, but not identity. Deviation from identity within the boundaries of similarity is not only permissible, but necessary for the purposes of the portrait.

A portrait not only depicts a person's individuality, but also expresses individuality artistic personality author. Portrait is “self-portrait”. The artist gets used to the model’s appearance, thanks to which he comprehends the spiritual essence of human individuality. Such comprehension occurs only in the act of empathy (reincarnation) in the process of merging the “I” of the model and the “I” of the author. The result is a new unity, similar to that between the actor and his role. Thanks to this fusion, the model in the portrait looks as if she were actually alive. The animation of the model in the portrait is also among the features that make up the invariant of the portrait. Since a portrait is always somewhat similar to the author, at the same time it is in some way not similar to the model. Similarity and dissimilarity are equally important for a portrait.

Why is a portrait created, what is its purpose in life?

A portrait that does not turn a face into a “thing” and does not live only according to some completely abstract formal laws, contains the truth about the individuality of the person who contemplates (both the model and the author). That is why the cognitive function of a portrait is an essential and necessary feature of the portrait genre, its “archetype”. This does not interfere with other ways of using a portrait (memorial, representative, decorative, etc.) in accordance with the typology of portrait art existing in art history.

In contrast to the invariant (“archetype”), the canonical structure of the portrait does not apply to all eras, but only to some: through the canons, their historical change, the development of the portrait genre takes place. The canon should not be identified with a stamp; it is one of the forms of development of art and its genres. The requirements of the canon apply to all levels of form, which in their integrity characterize the style of the portrait. For example, the style of avant-garde portrait of the late 19th–20th centuries. characterized by such features as “still life”, expression of the generic principle (not “I”, but “WE”), self-expression, constructive resemblance to the model, grotesqueness as the leading aesthetic category. All this speaks of a crisis in the classical canon of the portrait genre in avant-garde art while preserving the “archetype”.

As a result, we can give following definition genre of portraiture in its classical form: a portrait reveals, from the standpoint of the aesthetic category of “serious” and within the framework of the pictorial style, the truth of human individuality through an animated image of the external appearance of a person (the composition of the image is such that the face and eyes are in the center), expressing the reflective and meditative state of the model and the author.

Evgeniy Basin

The word “portrait” appears very often in our vocabulary. We use it in relation to painting, literature, criminology, and also simply in everyday life. In this regard, there are various types portraits that relate to one or another area of ​​life or art. What is characteristic of a portrait, what are its features, what is its uniqueness in comparison with other genres of creativity? Let's look at these questions in more detail.

What is a portrait

This term refers to the image of a person who lives now, lived previously, or is fictional character any story or story. In art, portraits may be represented in sculpture or engraving. There are also types of portraits that relate to writing. These are descriptions of characters in works, characteristics of certain people, criminal data about a specific individual, information about which is necessary. The most popular are still considered to be various types of portraits. They differ from each other in style, color scheme, parameters, features of paint application, proportions and structure.

Parameters that a portrait can convey

This classification implies the following points: head portrait (only the human head is depicted); bust portraits or busts (a person is drawn or sculpted up to the chest); images of people up to their waists; a drawing that shows us a man up to the knee; finally, full-length paintings. If we consider the types of portraits from the point of view of the angle of rotation of the model that is depicted, we will highlight the following points. In a portrait, a person can face us - this is a front. His face or figure can be turned to us at three quarters or be sideways to the audience - this is a profile. Rarely in painting do we find portraits where a person’s back is turned to us. In all these cases, the main criterion for a portrait is the maximum resemblance of the model who posed to the result that turned out on the creator’s canvas or in his sculpture. This should maximally convey not only static facial features and proportions, but also the emotional aura of the person being portrayed.

How people were portrayed in ancient times

The very first types of portraits in painting are sculptures. They are found throughout the entire Ancient East, as well as in ancient countries. Such works of art in those days were made for people who occupied important positions in society. These were rulers, public figures and creators. The sculptures always accurately conveyed the emotional color of the person who was depicted with their help. Often such creations became tombstones for their owners. For us, the sculptures of these ancient times allow us to restore the picture of the past and understand what kind of people lived in those times.

Medieval painting

During the Middle Ages, certain types of portraits appeared in the fine arts. Rulers, church leaders and important secular people are already depicted on canvas. It was almost impossible to distinguish faces in such portraits - they all had similar features, as did human figures. The painting always conveyed more of an atmosphere that was imbued with religion and theology. Donor portraits were popular. They depicted a person who made a donation to a specific Catholic church. He was always surrounded by cherubim or with Jesus in his arms, like the Virgin Mary. An analogue of such images were ktitor portraits, which were popular not only among Catholics, but also in the Orthodox world.

Renaissance and subsequent centuries

Around the 15th century, people realized that portraiture was an art form and not just a means of conveying information. Since then, the creative boundaries of society have expanded significantly. Allegorical portraits began to become popular, where the model was always depicted in clothes that conveyed her emotions and character, and often such pictures were greatly exaggerated. A little later (18th century), artists began to draw on them people were depicted both in full height and chest-length. The essence of the work was that the whole picture had a certain color. It was either an aura of tenderness, or some kind of brutal picture, etc. Also during the Renaissance, various types of subjective portraits arose. And now we will look at what exactly such masterpieces are characterized by.

A portrait that is painted “from the head”

This term refers to those paintings of people in which they are depicted not as they look in reality, but as they appear to the artist. The creator can change proportions, change facial features, make a person more cheerful or sadder. Often in order to draw a model it is not required at all. An artist can reconstruct pictures of reality and his fantasies in his head, and then transfer it all to canvas. Nowadays, there are types of subjective portraits separate from painting. These include the following: an identikit, restoration of the facial features of the deceased thanks to technology and the memory of eyewitnesses, applying makeup to the face of one person so that he becomes like another.

Our days

The types of portraits that are found today are very different from those that were previously popular in society. All people today are photographed, not drawn, so their features and emotions are conveyed with maximum accuracy. Among modern portraits there are also genre portraits: public, intimate, individual, intimate, as well as selfies - the most common portrait of our time.

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. Widespread 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 for the purpose of exalting and glorifying the people represented on them. Ceremonial portraits were ordered from famous artists reigning persons and members of their families, courtiers, clergymen 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 reserved or embittered, but always maintaining a sense of human dignity - are addressed to the best feelings of the viewer ("Portrait of the Jester Sebastiano Mora", c. 1648).

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 the doom of man, which permeates 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, author of beautiful ceremonial and chamber portraits, conveying 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

Materials used in preparing the material

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 be painted only 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, his appearance, character and inner world are far from identical with what the artist thinks on 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 notice 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)