“The Studio of the Chernetsov Brothers” — a painting created by Alexey Vasilievich Tyranov in 1828 — gained significant popularity in the 19th century. There are eight known versions of the painting, each differing slightly in minor details. Seven of these are kept in museums and one canvas is privately owned. Only the name of one copyist is known — Yevgraf Fedorovich Krendovsky. His work can be seen at the Tyumen Museum and Education Association. Other paintings are housed by the Perm State Art Gallery (two copies), the Kaluga United Museum-Reserve, the State Hermitage, the State Pushkin Museum (two more copies), and the State Russian Museum (the original).
The painting depicts the interior of a studio in Vasilyevsky Island, St. Petersburg. It shows two artists, Grigory Grigoryevich Chernetsov playing the guitar and his brother Nikanor Grigoryevich Chernetsov seated on a sofa. The original painting features a portrait of Alexey Tyranov reflected in a mirror on the wall. This element is repeated in most of the reproductions kept in the aforementioned museums.
Grigory Chernetsov was a painter, draftsman, and lithographer who specialized in landscape, portrait, and history painting. He painted multi-figure compositions and interiors. He was also an academician. His most famous work is the painting “Parade Celebrating the End of Military Action in the Kingdom of Poland on Tsaritsyn Meadow”. The canvas was painted in 1837 and features images of over 200 individuals who, most likely, took part in the event, including Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin, Ivan Andreyevich Krylov, Vasily Andreyevich Zhukovsky, Denis Vasilyevich Davydov and many others.
Nikanor Grigoryevich Chernetsov was a painter, draftsman, watercolorist, and lithographer. He painted landscapes, cityscapes, and interiors. He was the younger brother of the painter Grigory Grigoryevich Chernetsov. From 1833 to 1836, he served under the Novorossiysk Governor Count Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov in Odessa. He produced numerous drawings and watercolors, achieving the status of an academic landscape painter.
The Chernetsov brothers had a friendly relationship with Alexander Pushkin, whose office in St. Petersburg was decorated with the landscape “The Darial Gorge” by Nikanor Chernetsov (1832). Pushkin’s sketch for a portrait of Grigory Chernetsov can be found in the margins of his manuscript “Onegin’s Travels”.
