Russian painter Lukian Popov was born in a poor peasant family in the village Arkhangelskoe near Orenburg in 1873. He received his first painting lessons from Hierotheos Mekhed, a self-taught painter, who ran his own icon workshop and photo shop. Later in his memories Lukian Popov wrote that it was Mekhed who had taught him how to mix colors and locate them on the palette and ‘absolutely unexpectedly it turned out very useful’. The future painter first heard about and decided to enter the Imperial Academy of Arts in his workshop.
Portrait of the Artist H. R. Mekhed’s Wife
Creation period
1897
Dimensions
76,5x60 cm
76.5 х 60 сm
76.5 х 60 сm
Technique
Canvas, oil
Collection
Exhibition
0
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Lukian Vasilievich Popov
Portrait of the Artist H. R. Mekhed’s Wife
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During his study in Saint Petersburg Lukian Popov came to Orenburg and painted portraits of his close friends. In 1887, he wrote portraits of Mekhed and his wife Maria, the portraits are practically of the same size and have many common features.
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Maria Mekhed posed sitting, she appears as if Lukian Popov was painting her looking upwards what made the portrait looked elevated or even monumental.
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However, due to the neutral background of wooden house walls and green foliage Maria Mekhed’s portrait does not look official and posed.
The artist used precise and small brushstrokes to paint the model’s face, her hands and a fluffy scarf from Vologda lace.
The artist used precise and small brushstrokes to paint the model’s face, her hands and a fluffy scarf from Vologda lace.
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Woman with a Ring, the 1900s
At the same time Lukian Popov refused to paint carefully the background in order to attract all attention to Maria Mekhed and her warm-hearted, soft and comforting nature. The painter showed similar features in many other women’s portraits, for example, Woman with a Ring or Portrait of the Artist’s Wife in a Colorful Kerchief on which he painted his wife Vera Popova, a peasant (Kryuchkova by maiden name). They have another similarity with the portrait of Maria Mekhed as the background determines the general atmosphere of the picture and contributes to the model’s image.
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Lukian Popov always tried to convey the internal condition of his characters in his portraits. The painter was interested in psychological plots, the picture Grief painted in late 19th - early 20th centuries depicts a woman who must be grieving for the loss of her husband. The painting Flooded Meadows created in 1908 and Under the Red Light painted in the 1910s demonstrate the growing discontent with the Russian Revolution of 1905. The Itinerants (the Peredvizhniki) whom Lukian Popov joined in 1903 considered him a real psychologist.
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Grief, late 1890s - early 1900s
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In 1912, the Imperial Academy of Arts awarded the title of Academician to Lukian Popov and he became known both in Orenburg and in the capital. Nevertheless, the painter had close relations with his first teacher during all his life. In the 1900s, he painted two more his portraits, namely Mekhed at Work and Man in a Black Hat. Lukian Popov completed the last portrait Sketch of a Man Head not long before his sudden death in 1914.
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Orenburg Regional Museum of Fine Arts
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Portrait of the Artist H. R. Mekhed’s Wife
Creation period
1897
Dimensions
76,5x60 cm
76.5 х 60 сm
76.5 х 60 сm
Technique
Canvas, oil
Collection
Exhibition
0
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