The heyday of Russian portraiture in the last decades of the 18th century was the result of previous periods when this art form was developing, which brought it noticeably closer to European culture, primarily to French art. Successful evolution of portraiture was facilitated by foreign artists who worked in Russia. Many of them were outstanding masters.
Among them was Jean-Louis Voille, who worked in the Russian Empire and painted mainly portraits of representatives of the “small court”: Emperor Paul I, his wife Maria Feodorovna, as well as mainly representatives of St. Petersburg nobility. His works were popular, they were copied, and, one must add, sometimes the copies were almost indistinguishable from the originals.
Russian high society at that time particularly enjoyed the works of the Swedish portrait painter Alexander Roslin, who worked in Russia for some time. In 1775–1777, he created a number of portraits of royalty, as well as Russian nobles. The most remarkable of his canvases is an oval portrait of an unknown man in a red caftan, which is housed in the State Hermitage Museum. Alexander Roslin’s work by its features resembles the chest-length portrait of Ilya Bogdanovich Bibikov, a Kazan governor, later a senator, painted on canvas with pastels.
The image is distinguished by high artistic qualities, clean and vibrant color palette. The artist was able to masterfully model the face with light and shadows, and to convey the material nature of a green half-buttoned caftan with red lapels and orders. At the same time, this is a characteristic image of a Catherine’s era nobleman, whose expression speaks to his satisfaction with the position and complacency.
The portrait was housed in the gallery of the Polotnyany Zavod estate, similar to those that were in various landowners’ manors in Russia. Sometimes the works created by outstanding Russian and Western painters were exhibited with the works of court artists who came from the serfs. Their paintings were quite simple and artless. These were the cultural peculiarities of Russia at that time.
Among them was Jean-Louis Voille, who worked in the Russian Empire and painted mainly portraits of representatives of the “small court”: Emperor Paul I, his wife Maria Feodorovna, as well as mainly representatives of St. Petersburg nobility. His works were popular, they were copied, and, one must add, sometimes the copies were almost indistinguishable from the originals.
Russian high society at that time particularly enjoyed the works of the Swedish portrait painter Alexander Roslin, who worked in Russia for some time. In 1775–1777, he created a number of portraits of royalty, as well as Russian nobles. The most remarkable of his canvases is an oval portrait of an unknown man in a red caftan, which is housed in the State Hermitage Museum. Alexander Roslin’s work by its features resembles the chest-length portrait of Ilya Bogdanovich Bibikov, a Kazan governor, later a senator, painted on canvas with pastels.
The image is distinguished by high artistic qualities, clean and vibrant color palette. The artist was able to masterfully model the face with light and shadows, and to convey the material nature of a green half-buttoned caftan with red lapels and orders. At the same time, this is a characteristic image of a Catherine’s era nobleman, whose expression speaks to his satisfaction with the position and complacency.
The portrait was housed in the gallery of the Polotnyany Zavod estate, similar to those that were in various landowners’ manors in Russia. Sometimes the works created by outstanding Russian and Western painters were exhibited with the works of court artists who came from the serfs. Their paintings were quite simple and artless. These were the cultural peculiarities of Russia at that time.
