In 1911, Ivan Silych Goryushkin-Sorokopudov took a short but memorable trip to Europe, which left him with many new impressions. During his journey, he had the opportunity to see the works of the old masters and appreciated their ability to deeply capture the human spirit. He was particularly inspired by the Spanish artist Diego Velázquez and Italian painters Titian and Raphael.
Visiting the museums and viewing the original works of European masters was an experience akin to a second education at the Academy of Arts for Ivan Goryushkin-Sorokopudov. It sparked his creative thoughts. As a lifelong explorer of art, he was keen to incorporate the techniques and ideas of these masters into his own work.
In the 1910s and 1920s, Ivan Goryushkin-Sorokopudov worked on theme-based compositions, paying special attention to the portrait genre. In his painting “A Girl with Apples”, he tried to convey the cheerful character of his model. The artist saw the highly decorative effect of the color palette as a way to express an optimistic perception of the world.
The painter succeeded in creating the green foliage that resembles a fancy pattern. Ivan Goryushkin-Sorokopudov often used this background for his portraits, many of which can be found in the museum collection. The tree strewn with red apples emphasizes the overall optimistic mood of the painting.
The artist created a knee-length portrait of a young girl wearing a bright purple headscarf, which is tied under her chin. The girl is dressed in a white apron, a dark blue skirt, and gray long-sleeved blouse. A yellow wicker basket for apples hangs from her left arm. With her blue eyes, the girl looks at the viewer. There is a slight blush on her cheeks.
This painting by Ivan
Goryushkin-Sorykopudov brings to mind the optimistic works of his friend Fedot
Vasilyevich Sychkov. That artist was known to care deeply for his models. He
sought to convey the inner state of his subjects through subtle facial features
and expressions and was attentive to every detail of their appearance.
