Ivan Kramskoy plays one of the key roles in the history of 19th century Russian art culture. The future painter began his career as an assistant photographer, retouching photographs. Not surprisingly, later on he was recognized as a specialist of chamber portrait. Kramskoy created a number of images of prominent Russian writers, artists, and public figures. His portraits amazed contemporaries with a rare insight and psychologism. Most of the works were commissioned, but the artist always managed to find the ‘meaning of the face’ of the portrayed person, to penetrate into the depths of the human heart, revealing the hidden, eliminating the veil of everyday life.
The Vrubel Museum collection’s “Portrait of the cellist Sergey Morozov” belongs to a series of portraits of figures of Russian culture. The whole life of Morozov was connected with the Mariinsky Theater of Saint Petersburg, where he worked for over forty years, starting in 1865. Morozov was part of the perfect large musical collective - one of the best orchestras in Europe, led by conductor Eduard Napravnik. The portrait was painted at the Kramskoy’s country house not far from Gatchina town. With this portrait Morozov wanted to capture a significant event in cellist’s life. In 1885, he celebrated twenty years of the musician’s service in the theater. Morozov not only performed, but also wrote plays and romances for cello, created transcriptions, and worked as a teacher.
The neutral background of the picture and the formal suit guide the viewer to focus on the face of the subject that reflects intense spiritual and creative energy. Kramskoy believed that the most important of a person, ‘the human in man’, is written on one’s face. The artist didn’t give much attention to the details of the costume and the external environment. He primarily portrayed faces and hands, using his favorite technique of chiaroscuro to reveal ‘heart movements’.
