People’s Artist of Russia Nikolai Sysoev was a master of psychological portraiture. In each of his works, regardless of whether they were portraits of ordinary residents of the village of Slanskoye, peasants from the village of Gorodok, or famous political figures, the painter keenly captured the character and mood of the people he was painting.
Many of the portraits and studies served as material for large canvases for the artist. Sysoev created large-scale paintings on historical themes in which there were several dozen characters. Such work required thorough preparation. The initial stage could sometimes take more than a year. The artist always made a large number of portrait drawings and studies and searched for images that he could later use in his paintings. In these sketches, he solved problems with the composition, angles, and location of the light source. Many of his studies are just as good as the finished works in terms of artistic value.
The painting I.N. Syromolotov depicts a young peasant man in a fur coat. This work was probably a preparatory part for a larger project. The fact that the image is chest-high and the main focus is on the model himself could be evidence of this. The background is painted in broad strokes. The artist did not try to add any decorative effect to the image, nor did he add details that might be appropriate in this work. He only painted what he saw, filling the portrait with profound psychologism.
Sysoev studied at a serious painting school with an emphasis on portrait painting. He studied with famous artists of his time, such as Igor Grabar, Pyotr Pokarzhevsky, and Nikolai Ulyanov. The artist liked to drawn on reality and sincerely considered realism the key trend in art: “The waves of leftist trends in art come and go, but realism remains.”
According to contemporaries such as Yury Kugach, Sysoev was distinguished by his special love for people, their lives, feelings and moods. He did not judge, but merely passed on what he saw to the canvas. The artist truly loved his country, its discreet corners, and nature – everything that surrounds a person and creates a familiar atmosphere.
Many of the portraits and studies served as material for large canvases for the artist. Sysoev created large-scale paintings on historical themes in which there were several dozen characters. Such work required thorough preparation. The initial stage could sometimes take more than a year. The artist always made a large number of portrait drawings and studies and searched for images that he could later use in his paintings. In these sketches, he solved problems with the composition, angles, and location of the light source. Many of his studies are just as good as the finished works in terms of artistic value.
The painting I.N. Syromolotov depicts a young peasant man in a fur coat. This work was probably a preparatory part for a larger project. The fact that the image is chest-high and the main focus is on the model himself could be evidence of this. The background is painted in broad strokes. The artist did not try to add any decorative effect to the image, nor did he add details that might be appropriate in this work. He only painted what he saw, filling the portrait with profound psychologism.
Sysoev studied at a serious painting school with an emphasis on portrait painting. He studied with famous artists of his time, such as Igor Grabar, Pyotr Pokarzhevsky, and Nikolai Ulyanov. The artist liked to drawn on reality and sincerely considered realism the key trend in art: “The waves of leftist trends in art come and go, but realism remains.”
According to contemporaries such as Yury Kugach, Sysoev was distinguished by his special love for people, their lives, feelings and moods. He did not judge, but merely passed on what he saw to the canvas. The artist truly loved his country, its discreet corners, and nature – everything that surrounds a person and creates a familiar atmosphere.
