Everyday merchant portraits occupy a special place in the Zaraysk Kremlin museum collection. Most of them were created in the first half of the 19th century by now unknown local artists.
The main task of provincial painters was to uphold customer’s social significance, and not to demonstrate their inner world. In the portraits of women, special attention was paid to accurately conveying all the smallest details of jewelry and outfits. The merchants' wives are richly dressed in their best gowns. All this is intended to highlight the financial well-being and high status of their husbands. Typical signs that determine the belonging to the merchant class are numerous jewelry: amber and pearl beads, necklaces, rings, earrings, brooches.
Shawls, which were imported from Persia, were also a sign of wealth. Their price was quite high: a shawl cost from 600 to 800 rubles, while a purebred horse could be bought for 100 rubles.
The outfit of E.P. Tepitsyna, in addition to rings and earrings, includes a traditional decoration of Zaraysk merchantresses - a pearl netted scarf. To create such a decoration, medium-sized natural pearls from northern Russian rivers were used. The merchantress' hair is tucked under a silk shawl in the color of the dress, tied over the forehead in a knot with free ends - such a dress of married women was called the “head”. The symbol of a virtuous life, solicitude, and obedience of a wife to her husband is a handkerchief in the solemnly folded hands of a merchantress. The portrait is characterized by some detachment, immersion in thoughts. Tepitsyna does not cross her eyes with the artist, she musingly gazes somewhere past him. The painter does not seek to exaggerate the model: her facial features have a pronounced individuality.
Of course, for the merchants, material wealth has always been very important as evidence of success in their business. But education and enlightenment also played an important role. In the first half of the 19th century, the merchants became increasingly aware of the importance of education. In the portraits of that time, the artists tried to convey these trends; it is no coincidence that in many portraits the merchants are holding a book in their hands.
The main task of provincial painters was to uphold customer’s social significance, and not to demonstrate their inner world. In the portraits of women, special attention was paid to accurately conveying all the smallest details of jewelry and outfits. The merchants' wives are richly dressed in their best gowns. All this is intended to highlight the financial well-being and high status of their husbands. Typical signs that determine the belonging to the merchant class are numerous jewelry: amber and pearl beads, necklaces, rings, earrings, brooches.
Shawls, which were imported from Persia, were also a sign of wealth. Their price was quite high: a shawl cost from 600 to 800 rubles, while a purebred horse could be bought for 100 rubles.
The outfit of E.P. Tepitsyna, in addition to rings and earrings, includes a traditional decoration of Zaraysk merchantresses - a pearl netted scarf. To create such a decoration, medium-sized natural pearls from northern Russian rivers were used. The merchantress' hair is tucked under a silk shawl in the color of the dress, tied over the forehead in a knot with free ends - such a dress of married women was called the “head”. The symbol of a virtuous life, solicitude, and obedience of a wife to her husband is a handkerchief in the solemnly folded hands of a merchantress. The portrait is characterized by some detachment, immersion in thoughts. Tepitsyna does not cross her eyes with the artist, she musingly gazes somewhere past him. The painter does not seek to exaggerate the model: her facial features have a pronounced individuality.
Of course, for the merchants, material wealth has always been very important as evidence of success in their business. But education and enlightenment also played an important role. In the first half of the 19th century, the merchants became increasingly aware of the importance of education. In the portraits of that time, the artists tried to convey these trends; it is no coincidence that in many portraits the merchants are holding a book in their hands.
