Interesting fates of women depicted in the paintings of Russian artists. Female portrait in Russian painting Drawing portrait of a Russian beauty

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The fate of beauties from famous portraits

We know them by sight and admire beauty in the prime of youth. But how did these women live after the painting was finished? Sometimes their fate is surprising. We remember with Sofia Bagdasarova.

Sarah Fermor

AND I. Vishnyakov. Portrait of Sarah Eleonora Fermor. Around 1749–1750. Russian Museum

Vishnyakov's painting is one of the most charming examples of Russian Rococo and one of the most famous portraits of the era of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna. The contrast between the childish charm of a 10-year-old girl and the fact that she is trying to do everything “like an adult” is especially effective: she takes the right pose, holds the fan according to etiquette, diligently maintains her posture in the corset of a court dress.

Sarah is the daughter of General Willim Fermor, a Russified Scot in the Russian service. It was he who took Königsberg and all of East Prussia to us, and in the civil service after the fire he rebuilt the classic Tver in the form that delights us now. Sarah's mother was also from a Scottish family - from the Bryuses, and she was the niece of the famous Jacob Bruce, "the sorcerer from the Sukharev Tower."

Sarah was married at that time late, at the age of 20, to her peer Jacob Pontus Stenbock, a representative of a Swedish count family (one Swedish queen even came out of it). Stenbocks by that time had moved to Russian Estonia. The couple lived, frankly, not bad: suffice it to say that it is in their palace in Tallinn that the premises of the Estonian Prime Minister and the government meeting room are now located. Sarah, according to some instructions, became the mother of nine children and died already under Emperor Alexander I - either in 1805, or even in 1824.

Maria Lopukhina

V.L. Borovikovsky. Portrait of M.I. Lopukhina. 1797. Tretyakov Gallery

Borovikovsky painted many portraits of Russian noblewomen, but this one is the most charming. In it, all the techniques of the master are applied so skillfully that we don’t even notice exactly how we are bewitched, how the charm of this young lady is created, to whom Yakov Polonsky dedicated poems almost a hundred years later (“... but Borovikovsky saved her beauty”).

Lopukhina in the portrait is 18 years old. Her ease and slightly haughty look seem either the usual pose for such a portrait of the era of sentimentalism, or signs of a melancholy and poetic disposition. But what her character really was, we do not know. At the same time, Maria, it turns out, was the sister of Fyodor Tolstoy (American), known for his defiant behavior. Surprisingly, if you look at the portrait of her brother in his youth (the State Museum of Leo Tolstoy), we will see the same impressiveness and relaxation.

The portrait was commissioned by her husband, Stepan Lopukhin, shortly after their marriage. Lopukhin was 10 years older than Maria and came from a rich and noble family. Six years after painting the picture, the girl died - from consumption. Her husband also died 10 years later. Since they were childless, the painting was inherited by the only surviving daughter of Fyodor Tolstoy, from whom Tretyakov bought it in the 1880s.

Giovannina Pacini

K.P. Bryullov. Rider. 1832. Tretyakov Gallery

Bryullov's "Horsewoman" is a brilliant ceremonial portrait in which everything is luxurious - the brightness of colors, the splendor of draperies, and the beauty of models. Russian academism has much to be proud of.

Two girls with the surname Pacini are written on it: the eldest Giovannina is sitting on a horse, the youngest Amacilia is looking at her from the porch. But whether they had the right to this surname is still not clear. The painting was commissioned by their adoptive mother, Countess Yulia Samoilova, one of the most beautiful women in Russia and heiress to the colossal fortunes of the Skavronskys, Litt and Potemkin, to Karl Bryullov, her long-term lover. Leaving her first husband, Samoilova went to live in Italy, where both Rossini and Bellini visited her salon. The Countess did not have her own children, although she married twice more, once to the young and handsome Italian singer Peri.

According to the official version, Giovannina and Amacilia were sisters - the daughters of the author of the opera "The Last Day of Pompeii", the composer Giovanni Pacini, a friend (and, according to rumors, a lover) of the Countess. She took them to her house after his death. However, according to the documents, Pacini had only one daughter, the youngest of the girls. Who was the eldest? There is a version that she was born out of wedlock by the sister of that same tenor Peri, the second husband of Samoilova. Or maybe the countess and the girl had a closer family relationship ... It was not for nothing that the "Horsewoman" was first considered a portrait of the countess herself. Growing up, Giovannina married an Austrian officer, captain of the hussar regiment Ludwig Aschbach, and went with him to Prague. Samoilova guaranteed her a large dowry. However, since the countess went bankrupt by old age (she had to pay huge alimony to her third husband, a French aristocrat), both “daughters” collected the promised money from the old “mother” through a lawyer. Samoilova died in poverty in Paris, but the fate of her pupils is unknown.

Elizaveta Martynova

K.A. Somov. Lady in blue. 1897–1900 Tretyakov Gallery

Somov's "Lady in Blue" is one of the symbols of Silver Age painting, in the words of the art historian Igor Grabar - "Gioconda of modernity." As in the paintings of Borisov-Musatov, here is not only the enjoyment of beauty, but also admiration for the fading charm of landlord Russia.

Elizaveta Martynova, who posed for Somov in the portrait, was apparently one of the few female sympathies of the artist. The artist met her, the daughter of a doctor, while studying at the Imperial Academy of Arts - she was among the students of the 1890 enrollment, when women were first allowed to enter this educational institution. Surprisingly, the works of Martynova herself, it seems, have not been preserved. However, her portraits were painted not only by Somov, but also by Philip Malyavin and Osip Braz. Anna Ostroumova-Lebedeva studied with her, who in her memoirs casually noted that although Martynova was always written as a tall, stately beauty, in fact she was small in stature. The character of the artist was emotional, proud and easily hurt.

Somov painted her several times: in 1893 in watercolor in profile, two years later in pencil, and in 1897 he created a small oil portrait of her against the backdrop of a spring landscape (Astrakhan Art Gallery). He created the same picture intermittently for three years: the artist spent two of them in Paris, and Martynova settled in Tyrol for a long time to treat lung disease. The treatment did not help: about four years after the end of the canvas, she died of consumption at the age of about 36 years. Apparently she didn't have a family.

Galina Aderkas

B.M. Kustodiev. Merchant for tea. 1918. Russian Museum

Although Kustodiev's The Merchant for Tea was written in post-revolutionary 1918, for us it is a real illustration of that bright and well-fed Russia, where there are fairs, carousels and the "crunch of French bread." However, after the revolution, Kustodiev did not change his favorite subjects: for a person confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life, this became a form of escapism.

Galina Aderkas, a natural baroness from a family that traces its history back to a Livonian knight of the 13th century, posed for the merchant's wife in this portrait-picture. One of the Baronesses von Aderkas was even the tutor of Anna Leopoldovna.

In Astrakhan, Galya Aderkas was a housemate of the Kustodievs, from the sixth floor; the artist's wife brought the girl to the studio, noticing a colorful model. During this period, Aderkas was very young, a first-year medical student. And to be honest, in the sketches, her figure looks much thinner and not so impressive. She studied, as they say, surgery, but her hobbies for music took her to another area. The owner of an interesting mezzo-soprano, in the Soviet years Aderkas sang as part of the Russian choir in the Music Broadcasting Department of the All-Union Radio Committee, participated in dubbing films, but did not achieve great success. She married, apparently, for a certain Boguslavsky and, perhaps, began to perform in the circus. The Manuscript Department of the Pushkin House even contains handwritten memoirs by G.V. Aderkas, entitled "The circus is my world...". How her fate developed in the 30s and 40s is unknown.

Petr Fedorovich Sokolov (1791-1848)

The vast expanses of Russia, the diversity of nature and the diversity of the peoples that inhabited it, gave rise to special, diverse types of female beauty. Russia absorbed everything, and southern Turkish blood, and western German, and northern Polish ... What beauties you will not meet in its open spaces ...

"Portrait of an unknown woman in a red beret"

Sokolov is the founder of the genre of Russian watercolor portrait from nature, which supplanted in the 1820-40s. portrait miniature. His watercolor portraits are windows into the past, through which secular beauties who have long since left the world look into the 21st century. The beauty of soft colors, the charm inherent in the images, make us, even now, after more than a hundred and fifty years, highly appreciate his art.

"Portrait of a girl in a red dress"

Pyotr Fedorovich graduated from the Academy of Arts in 1809 in the class of historical painting. For "Andromache's Lament over the body of Hector" he received a second (small) gold medal. At first he was in poverty, but pretty soon he began to give painting lessons and began to study watercolor, which was a great success because of the speed of execution, the ability to write without tiring posing. Having your own collection of watercolors before 1917 was considered a sign of good taste and wealth. But, creating beautiful portraits, the artist actually killed himself with the thought that he was not writing large plot canvases that should have immortalized him...

"Portrait of I.G. Poletika" Second half of the 1820s

Idalia Grigorievna Poletika (1807–1890), illegitimate daughter of Count G.A. Stroganov. At the age of 19, she married the cavalry guard A.M. Poletika and over the years became quite a prominent lady of St. Petersburg society. She personified the type of a charming woman not so much with her pretty face as with the turn of a brilliant mind, cheerfulness and liveliness of character, which brought her constant, undoubted success everywhere. She played a tragic role in the pre-duel story of A.S. Pushkin, was his worst enemy.

"Portrait of A.S. Glinka-Mavrina"

Alexandra Semyonovna Glinka-Mavrina (1825-1885) - wife of Boris Grigoryevich Glinka, St. Andrew's Knight, adjutant general, nephew of V.K. Kuchelbecker. In 1830, Glinka served as an intermediary between Pushkin and Kuchelbecker in an attempt to publish works. Pushkin was acquainted with his wife.

"Portrait of P.N. Ryumina" 1847

Praskovya Nikolaevna Ryumina (1821-1897). The portrait was commissioned for the wedding. V.A. Sollogub wrote that the groom “obliges himself to the most ridiculous extravagance ... Indispensable gifts are coming. A portrait painted by Sokolov, a delicate bracelet, a Turkish shawl…”

"Portrait of S.A. Urusova" 1827

Princess Sofya Alexandrovna Urusova (1804–1889) “... The daughters of Prince Urusov were rightly considered an adornment of the Moscow society of that time,” wrote the French historian Marc Runier. In the spring of 1827, Pushkin often visited the Urusovs’ house, on whom “the beauty and courtesy of the young housewives acted excitingly, and he was very cheerful, sharp, talkative”

"Portrait of Grand Duchess Alexandra Feodorovna" 1821

Grand Duchess Alexandra Feodorovna (1798–1860) was the wife of Grand Duke Nikolai Pavlovich, the future Emperor Nicholas I, from 1817. She became the idol of a whole generation, many poets of the Pushkin era dedicated their poems to her.

This portrait is one of the undoubted masterpieces. The airy mother-of-pearl-pearl outfit of the august person, masterfully drawn out, contrasts with the cold look of her eyes, creating a very ambiguous image.

"Portrait of E.K. Vorontsova" about 1823

This portrait is one of Sokolov's masterpieces. The famous St. Petersburg beauty was painted by many artists, but no one portrayed her as charming and feminine. The artist uses the surface of white paper in the image, creating an airy background with a light watercolor fill. The portrait of Vorontsova delights with the perfection of the filigree finish, the sophistication of subtle color combinations.

"Portrait of Yu.P. Sokolova" Around 1827

Yulia Pavlovna Sokolova (1804–1877), wife of P.F. Sokolov since 1820. “Live, flirtatious, almost a child, she never got bored with him. She loved secular life, and her husband, who was in love with her to the point of adoration, apparently completely shared her tastes, ”recalled their granddaughter A.A. Isakova. This, one of the most soulful portraits, was created "in one session, in one morning"

"Portrait of A.O. Smirnova - Rosseti"

Alexandra Osipovna Smirnova (1809–1882), a friend of Pushkin, Gogol, Zhukovsky, Vyazemsky, Aksakov… Almost all the poets of the Pushkin era dedicated poems to her. Gogol was the first to read to her the chapters of the 2nd volume of Dead Souls. She left the most interesting memories of the secular, literary and spiritual life of the XIX century.

"Portrait of E.M. Khitrovo"

Elizaveta Mikhailovna Khitrovo (1783–1839), daughter of M.I. Golenishchev-Kutuzov. European-educated, Elizaveta Mikhailovna was at the same time a sincere patriot, a devoted guardian of her father's glory, an ardent admirer of Russian literature and an enthusiastic admirer of Pushkin's genius. The artist managed to convey in the portrait the great spiritual generosity, kindness and nobility of the nature of this outstanding woman. The portrait was painted a year before the death of Elizabeth Mikhailovna.

"Portrait of M.T. Pashkova with her daughter Alexandra"

"Portrait of an unknown woman in a blue cape with an ermine" 1843

"Portrait of a Woman" 1847

"Portrait of Countess A.P. Mordvinova"

"Portrait of Countess Shuvalova"

"Portrait of Chertkova E.G."

Chertkova Elena Grigorievna (1800-1832), nee Countess Stroganova. Paternal sister of I.G. Poletiki.

"Portrait of a Woman" 1830

Portrait of Alexandra Grigoryevna Muravyova (1804-1832)

"Portrait of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna"

"Princess Golitsyna Alexandra Alexandrovna" 1840s

"Portrait of S.F. Tolstoy"

Sarra Feodorovna (1821-1838) - daughter of Count Fyodor Ivanovich Tolstoy. The girl was known for her extraordinary talent as a poetess.

"Portrait of Countess Sologub N.L."

Sologub Nadezhda Lvovna (1815-1903) countess, maid of honor.

"Portrait of Countess O. A. Orlova" 1829

Countess Olga Alexandrovna Orlova (1807–1880) In 1826 she married Count A.F. Orlov. In 1847 she was granted the status of ladies

The majestic and diverse Russian painting always pleases the audience with its inconstancy and perfection of art forms. This is the peculiarity of the works of famous masters of art. They always surprised with their unusual approach to work, reverent attitude to the feelings and sensations of each person. Perhaps that is why Russian artists so often depicted portrait compositions that vividly combined emotional images and epicly calm motifs. No wonder Maxim Gorky once said that an artist is the heart of his country, the voice of the entire era. Indeed, the majestic and elegant paintings of Russian artists vividly convey the inspiration of their time. Like the aspirations of the famous author Anton Chekhov, many sought to bring into Russian paintings the unique flavor of their people, as well as the unquenchable dream of beauty. It is difficult to underestimate the extraordinary canvases of these masters of majestic art, because truly extraordinary works of various genres were born under their brush. Academic painting, portrait, historical painting, landscape, works of romanticism, modernism or symbolism - all of them still bring joy and inspiration to their viewers. Everyone finds in them something more than colorful colors, graceful lines and inimitable genres of world art. Perhaps such an abundance of forms and images that Russian painting surprises with is connected with the huge potential of the surrounding world of artists. Levitan also said that in every note of lush nature there is a majestic and unusual palette of colors. With such a beginning, a magnificent expanse appears for the artist's brush. Therefore, all Russian paintings are distinguished by their exquisite severity and attractive beauty, from which it is so difficult to break away.

Russian painting is rightly distinguished from world art. The fact is that until the seventeenth century, domestic painting was associated exclusively with a religious theme. The situation changed with the coming to power of the tsar-reformer - Peter the Great. Thanks to his reforms, Russian masters began to engage in secular painting, and icon painting separated as a separate direction. The seventeenth century is the time of such artists as Simon Ushakov and Iosif Vladimirov. Then, in the Russian art world, the portrait was born and quickly became popular. In the eighteenth century, the first artists appeared who switched from portraiture to landscape painting. The pronounced sympathy of the masters for winter panoramas is noticeable. The eighteenth century was also remembered for the birth of everyday painting. In the nineteenth century, three trends gained popularity in Russia: romanticism, realism and classicism. As before, Russian artists continued to turn to the portrait genre. It was then that world-famous portraits and self-portraits of O. Kiprensky and V. Tropinin appeared. In the second half of the nineteenth century, artists more and more often depict the simple Russian people in their oppressed state. Realism becomes the central trend of painting of this period. It was then that the Wanderers appeared, depicting only real, real life. Well, the twentieth century is, of course, the avant-garde. The artists of that time significantly influenced both their followers in Russia and around the world. Their paintings became the forerunners of abstractionism. Russian painting is a huge wonderful world of talented artists who glorified Russia with their creations

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First of all, we know two things about the painting: its author and, possibly, the history of the canvas. But about the fate of those who look at us from canvases, we know not so much.

website I decided to talk about women whose faces are familiar to us, but their stories are not.

Jeanne Samary
Auguste Renoir, Portrait of the Actress Jeanne Samary, 1877

The actress Jeanne Samary, although she could not become a stage star (she played mainly maids), was lucky in something else: for some time she lived not far from the workshop of Renoir, who painted four portraits of her in 1877-1878, thereby glorifying much more than her acting career could have done. Zhanna played in performances from the age of 18, at 25 she got married and had three children, then even wrote a children's book. But this charming lady, unfortunately, did not live long: at the age of 33 she fell ill with typhoid fever and died.

Cecilia Gallerani
Leonardo da Vinci, Lady with an Ermine
1489-1490

Cecilia Gallerani was a girl from a noble Italian family who was already engaged at the age of 10 (!) years. However, when the girl was 14, the engagement was canceled for unknown reasons, and Cecilia was sent to a monastery, where she met (or it was all set up) the Duke of Milan, Ludovico Sforza. An affair began, Cecilia became pregnant and the duke settled the girl in his castle, but then it was time to enter into a dynastic marriage with another woman, who, of course, did not like the presence of her mistress in their house. Then, after the birth of Gallerani, the duke took his son for himself, and married her to an impoverished count.

In this marriage, Cecilia gave birth to four children, kept almost the very first literary salon in Europe, visited the duke and played with pleasure with his child from a new mistress. After a while, Cecilia's husband died, the war broke out, she lost her well-being and found shelter in the house of the sister of the same wife of the duke - in such a wonderful relationship she managed to be with people. After the war, Gallerani returned to her estate, where she lived until her death at the age of 63.

Zinaida Yusupova
V.A. Serov, "Portrait of Princess Zinaida Yusupova", 1902

The richest Russian heiress, the last of the Yusupov family, Princess Zinaida was incredibly good-looking, and, despite the fact that august persons, among others, sought her favor, she wanted to marry for love. She fulfilled her desire: the marriage was happy and brought two sons. Yusupova spent a lot of time and energy on charitable activities, and after the revolution she continued it in exile. The beloved eldest son died in a duel when the princess was 47 years old, and she could hardly bear this loss. With the onset of unrest, the Yusupovs left St. Petersburg and settled in Rome, and after the death of her husband, the princess moved to her son in Paris, where she spent the rest of her days.

Maria Lopukhina
V.L. Borovikovsky, “Portrait of M.I. Lopukhina", 1797

Borovikovsky painted many portraits of Russian noblewomen, but this one is the most charming. Maria Lopukhina, a member of the Tolstoy count family, is depicted here at the tender age of 18. The portrait was commissioned by her husband Stepan Avraamovich Lopukhin shortly after the wedding. Ease and a slightly haughty look seem to be either the usual pose for such a portrait of the era of sentimentalism, or signs of a melancholy and poetic disposition. The fate of this mysterious girl turned out to be sad: just 6 years after the painting, Maria died of consumption.

Giovannina and Amacilia Pacini
Karl Bryullov, Horsewoman, 1832

Bryullov's "Horsewoman" is a brilliant ceremonial portrait in which everything is luxurious: the brightness of colors, the splendor of draperies, and the beauty of models. It depicts two girls who bore the surname Pacini: the eldest Giovannina is sitting on a horse, the youngest Amacilia is looking at her from the porch. The painting to Karl Bryullov, her lover of many years, was ordered by their adoptive mother, Countess Yulia Pavlovna Samoilova, one of the most beautiful women in Russia and heiress to a colossal fortune. The Countess guaranteed a large dowry for her grown-up daughters. But it turned out that by old age she was practically ruined, and then the adopted daughters of Jovanin and Amacilia, through the court, collected the promised money and property from the countess.

Simonetta Vespucci
Sandro Botticelli, The Birth of Venus
1482–1486

The famous painting by Botticelli depicts Simonetta Vespucci, the first beauty of the Florentine Renaissance. Simonetta was born into a wealthy family, at the age of 16 she married Marco Vespucci (a relative of Amerigo Vespucci, who “discovered” America and gave the continent his name). After the wedding, the newlyweds settled in Florence, were received at the court of Lorenzo Medici, in those years famous for lavish feasts and receptions.

Beautiful, at the same time very modest and benevolent Simonetta quickly fell in love with Florentine men. The ruler of Florence, Lorenzo himself, tried to take care of her, but his brother Giuliano was the most active in seeking her. The beauty of Simonetta inspired many artists of that time, among whom was Sandro Botticelli. It is believed that from the moment they met, Simonetta was the model for all Madonnas and Venuses by Botticelli. At the age of 23, Simonetta died of consumption, despite the efforts of the best court doctors. After that, the artist depicted his muse only from memory, and in his old age he bequeathed to be buried next to her, which was done.

Vera Mamontova
V.A. Serov, "Girl with peaches", 1887

The most famous painting by the portrait master Valentin Serov was painted in the estate of the wealthy industrialist Savva Ivanovich Mamontov. Every day for two months, his daughter, 12-year-old Vera, posed for the artist. The girl grew up and turned into a charming girl, married out of mutual love Alexander Samarin, who belongs to a famous noble family. After a honeymoon trip to Italy, the family settled in the city of Bogorodsk, where three children were born one after another. But unexpectedly in December 1907, just 5 years after the wedding, Vera Savvishna died of pneumonia. She was only 32 years old, and her husband never remarried.

Alexandra Petrovna Struyskaya
F.S. Rokotov, "Portrait of Struyskaya", 1772

This portrait by Rokotov is like an airy hint. Alexandra Struyskaya was 18 when she was married to a very rich widower. There is a legend that for the wedding her husband gave her nothing less than a new church. And all his life he wrote poetry to her. Whether this marriage was happy is not known for certain, but everyone who has been in their house paid attention to how dissimilar the spouses are. For 24 years of marriage, Alexandra gave birth to her husband 18 children, 10 of whom died in infancy. After the death of her husband, she lived another 40 years, firmly managed the estate and left a decent fortune to the children.

Together with her husband, Lisa raised five children and, most likely, her marriage was based on love. When her husband died of the plague and Lisa was also struck by this serious illness, one of the daughters was not afraid to take her mother to her and let her go. Mona Lisa recovered and lived for some time with her daughters, dying at the age of 63.