Ceremonial portrait. The cultural studies course, which is studied at the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, was introduced in order to fill in the gaps in knowledge of the requirements of military and civil etiquette
Diego Velazquez (?), copy of the original by Rubens, Equestrian Portrait of Philip IV
Ceremonial portrait, representative portrait- a subtype of portrait, characteristic of court culture. Received special development in the period of developed absolutism. Its main task is not only to convey visual similarity, but also to exalt the customer, likening the depicted person to a deity (in the case of portraying a monarch) or a monarch (in the case of portraying an aristocrat).
Characteristic
As a rule, it involves showing a person in full height(on a horse, standing or sitting). In a formal portrait, the figure is usually given against an architectural or landscape background; greater elaboration makes it close to the narrative picture, which implies not only impressive dimensions, but also an individual figurative system.
The artist depicts a model, focusing the viewer's attention on the social role of the depicted. Since the main role of the ceremonial portrait was ideological, this caused a certain one-dimensional characterization: an emphasized theatricality of the pose and a rather magnificent entourage (columns, draperies, regalia, symbols of power in the portrait of the monarch), which overshadowed the spiritual properties of the model. Yet in the best works genre, the model appears in an emphatically given version, which turns out to be very expressive.
The ceremonial portrait is characterized by frank demonstrativeness and the desire to "historicize" the depicted. This affects the range of colors, which is invariably elegant, decorative and meets the coloristic features of the interior (although it changes depending on the style of the era, becoming local and bright in Baroque, softened and full of halftones in Rococo, restrained in Classicism).
Subtypes
Depending on the attributes, the front portrait can be:
- Coronation (less common throne)
- equestrian
- In the form of a commander (military)
- The hunting portrait adjoins the front one, but it can also be chamber.
- Semi-ceremonial - has the same concept as the formal portrait, but usually has a half-length or generational cut and fairly developed accessories
Coronation portrait
Coronation portrait - a solemn image of the monarch "on the day of his coronation", accession to the throne, in coronation regalia (crown, mantle, with a scepter and orb), usually in full growth (sometimes there is a seated throne portrait).
“The imperial portrait was conceived as a capture for centuries of the most important currently state idea. essential role immutable forms played in demonstrating the enduring value of the present, the stability of state power, etc. In this sense, a special position was occupied by the so-called. “coronation portrait”, which suggests the image of the ruler with attributes of power and claims to be as sacred constancy as the coronation ceremony itself. Indeed, from the time of Peter the Great, when Catherine I was first crowned according to the new rules, until the era of Catherine II, this type of portrait underwent only slight variations. The empresses - Anna Ioannovna, Elizaveta Petrovna, Catherine II - majestically rise above the world, becoming like an unshakable pyramid in silhouette. The royal immobility is also emphasized by the heavy coronation robe with a mantle, the significant weight of which is equivalent to the crown, scepter and orb, which invariably accompanied the image of the autocrat.
Ceremonial portrait, representative portrait- a subtype of portrait, characteristic of court culture. Received special development in the period of developed absolutism. Its main task is not only to convey visual similarity, but also to exalt the customer, likening the depicted person to a deity (in the case of portraying a monarch) or a monarch (in the case of portraying an aristocrat).
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Mysteries of the "French Ambassadors" by Hans Holbein.
The role of color in a portrait
Subtitles
Characteristic
As a rule, it involves showing a person in full growth (on a horse, standing or sitting). In a formal portrait, the figure is usually given against an architectural or landscape background; greater elaboration makes it close to the narrative picture, which implies not only impressive dimensions, but also an individual figurative structure.
The artist depicts a model, focusing the viewer's attention on the social role of the depicted. Since the main role of the ceremonial portrait was ideological, this caused a certain one-dimensional characterization: an emphasized theatricality of the pose and a rather magnificent entourage (columns, draperies, regalia, symbols of power in the portrait of the monarch), which overshadowed the spiritual properties of the model. Nevertheless, in the best works of the genre, the model appears in an emphatically given version, which turns out to be very expressive.
The ceremonial portrait is characterized by frank demonstrativeness and the desire to "historicize" the depicted. This affects the range of colors, which is invariably elegant, decorative and meets the coloristic features of the interior (although it changes depending on the style of the era, becoming local and bright in Baroque, softened and full of halftones in Rococo, restrained in Classicism).
Subtypes
Depending on the attributes, the front portrait can be:
- Coronation (less common throne)
- equestrian
- In the form of a commander (military)
- The hunting portrait adjoins the front one, but it can also be chamber.
- Semi-ceremonial - has the same concept as the formal portrait, but usually has a half-length or generational cut and fairly developed accessories
Coronation portrait
Coronation portrait - a solemn image of the monarch "on the day of his coronation", accession to the throne, in coronation regalia (crown, mantle, with a scepter and orb), usually in full growth (sometimes there is a seated throne portrait).
“The imperial portrait was conceived as a capture for centuries of the most important state idea at the moment. An essential role in demonstrating the enduring value of the present, the stability of state power, etc., was played by immutable forms. In this sense, a special position was occupied by the so-called. “coronation portrait”, which suggests the image of the ruler with attributes of power and claims to be as sacred constancy as the coronation ceremony itself. Indeed, from the time of Peter the Great, when Catherine I was first crowned according to the new rules, until the era of Catherine II, this type of portrait underwent only slight variations. The empresses - Anna Ioannovna, Elizaveta Petrovna, Catherine II - majestically rise above the world, becoming like an unshakable pyramid in silhouette. The royal immobility is also emphasized by the heavy coronation robe with a mantle, the significant weight of which is equivalent to the crown, scepter and orb, which invariably accompanied the image of the autocrat.
Permanent attributes:
- columns designed to emphasize the stability of the government
- draperies, likened to a theater curtain that has just opened, revealing a wonderful phenomenon to the audience
Ceremonial portrait in the work of Levitsky
In Russia, the flourishing of the art of formal portraiture falls on the second half of the 18th century. The largest representative genre was Dmitry Grigorievich Levitsky. One of the best works of the artist, as well as one of the most unusual ceremonial portraits in all world art, was the “Portrait of Prokofy Akinfievich Demidov”.The famous philanthropist is depicted against the background of the columns of the Orphanage, one of the trustees of which he was. At the same time, Demidov himself is dressed in a dressing gown, he leans on a watering can and is surrounded by indoor plants. Levitsky says here that his hero is as caring towards the orphans from the Orphanage as he is towards tender houseplants.
This genre should also include a series of portraits of pupils of the Smolny Institute for Noble Maidens. Charming young people are depicted during performances on theater stage as well as science and art. This series has become a new type of formal portrait for Russia - the so-called "portrait in role", where the subject of the image is not real, but emphatically theatrical life.
Artistic originality of the portrait of Catherine II Borovikovsky
One of the most original examples of a ceremonial portrait was the painting by Levitsky's younger contemporary, Vladimir Lukich Borovikovsky, "Catherine II on a walk in Tsarskoye Selo Park." The artist depicted the Empress in ordinary clothes, in no way reminiscent of her royal greatness. At Catherine's feet, her beloved dog frolics.Interestingly, although the empress herself reacted very coolly to her portrait by Borovikovsky, later it was recognized as one of the best. It is in this image that Catherine appears before Masha Mironova on the pages of Pushkin's story "The Captain's Daughter".
Thus, talented artists it was often possible to overcome the rather rigid limits of the formal portrait genre.
1 What is a front portrait
2 How to look at a formal portrait - an example
3 Independent task
1. What is a formal portrait
“He [Harry Potter] was very sleepy and was not even surprised that the people depicted in the portraits hung in the corridors were whispering among themselves and pointing at the freshmen with their fingers.<…>They stood at the end of the corridor in front of a portrait of a very fat woman in a pink silk dress.
- Password? the woman asked sternly.
— Kaput Draconis Percy replied, and the portrait slid aside, revealing a circular hole in the wall.
Probably, many people remember this episode from the book by JK Rowling "Harry Potter and philosopher's Stone". In Hogwarts Castle, any miracles, including living portraits, are commonplace. However, this motif appeared in English literature long before JK Rowling, in the middle of the 18th century: it was introduced by the writer Horace Walpole in the novel The Castle of Otranto (1764). The very mysterious atmosphere of castles and palaces, an indispensable attribute of which are family portraits, silent witnesses of the past, intrigues, passions and tragedies, invites such fantasies.
The work, built as a conversation of animated portraits, is also in Russian literature of the 18th century. Its author was Empress Catherine II herself. This is a play called "Chesme Palace", in which a conversation between paintings and medallions is played out, as if overheard at night by a watchman. The heroes of the work were not fictional canvases from a fictional castle, but really existing portraits historical figures, mostly monarchs of Europe - contemporaries of Catherine and members of their families.
Benjamin West. Portrait of George, Prince of Wales, and Prince Frederick, later Duke of York. 1778State Hermitage
Mariano Salvador Maella. Portrait of Carlos III. Between 1773 and 1782State Hermitage
Mariano Salvador Maella. Portrait of Carlos de Bourbon, Prince of Asturias. Between 1773 and 1782State Hermitage
Miguel António do Amaral. Portrait of Maria Francisco, Princess of Brazil and Beiran. Around 1773State Hermitage
Miguel António do Amaral. Portrait of José Manuel, King of Portugal. Around 1773State Hermitage
Miguel António do Amaral. Portrait of Marianna Victoria, Queen of Portugal. Around 1773State Hermitage
These paintings adorned the travel palace on the road from St. Petersburg to Tsarskoye Selo, built by architect Yuri Felten in 1774-1777. The Chesme Palace still exists today, one of the St. Petersburg universities is located in it. But now there are no portraits in it: they are kept in various museums, most of them in the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg.. The gallery was very representative - it included 59 pictorial portraits. Above them were placed marble medallions with bas-relief images of Russian grand dukes, tsars and emperors, executed by the sculptor Fedot Shubin - there were almost the same number of them, 58 Now the medallions are stored in the Armory of the Moscow Kremlin.. Catherine's portrait was also in the gallery, in the first room from the main staircase - her image, as it were, greeted guests as a hostess. By placing her portrait in this palace, Catherine sought to demonstrate her involvement in the European ruling dynasties (the monarchs of Europe were related to each other by family ties, so the collection was a kind of family gallery) and at the same time inscribe herself in the series of Russian rulers. Thus, Catherine II, who ascended the throne as a result and, moreover, was not of Russian origin, tried to prove her rights to the throne.
In the play, Catherine does not present the European rulers in the best light, making fun of their weaknesses and shortcomings, but in the portraits themselves, the rulers are presented in a completely different way. Looking at them, it is hard to believe that the depicted monarchs can have such insignificant conversations.
These are the most characteristic examples of a ceremonial portrait - the artists were filled with reverence towards their models. In Russia, this type of portrait appeared just in the 18th century.
What changed in Russian art in the 18th century
For six centuries (from the 11th century to the 17th), ancient Russian painting, continuing the Byzantine tradition, developed almost exclusively in the ecclesiastical mainstream. What is the difference between an icon and a painting? Not at all in the fact that the plots for icon painting are drawn from the Holy Scriptures and other church texts and that Jesus, his disciples and canonized saints are depicted on the icons. The same can be seen in the pictures - in religious painting. More importantly, an icon is an image intended for prayer; through it the believer turns to God. The icon painter paints not a face, but a face, an image of holiness; the icon is a sign of the heavenly world, spiritual being. Hence the special rules (canon) and artistic means icon painting. The task of a portrait painter is different - this is, first of all, a story about a person.
In the 17th century, the first secular portraits began to appear in Rus' - images of tsars and their entourage. They were called "parsuns", from the Latin word persona- personality, face. But the goal of the parsuna was still not so much to capture specific person(although the facial features in these images are individualized), how much to glorify a person as a representative of a noble family. Appeared new technology: writing in tempera on wood was replaced by oil painting on canvas. But the artistic means of parsuna go back to icon painting: the first portraits were created by people from the Armory ( the most important center artistic life XVII century), more precisely - from her icon-painting workshop.
Unknown artist. Portrait (parsun) of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. Late 1670 - early 1680s State Historical Museum The first decades of the 18th century were marked by the grandiose transformations of Peter I, which covered all spheres of the country's life. Much of what Peter did had a beginning, but he gave a decisive acceleration to these processes, wanting to reform Russia now, immediately. Solution of new state tasks was accompanied by the creation new culture. The two main trends were secularization (the leading art was not religious, but secular, which met new interests and needs) and familiarization with European traditions, including in the visual arts.
Peter began to acquire works of antiquity and European art His companions followed suit. He invited European masters to Russia, who were supposed not only to fulfill orders, but also to educate Russian students. Russian artists were sent to study abroad at the expense of the state (this was called "pensioning", since the students received a "pension" for the trip). Peter also dreamed of creating the Academy of Arts. This was already achieved by his daughter Elizaveta, who founded in 1757 in St. Petersburg the Academy of the Three Most Noble Arts (painting, sculpture and architecture). The founding of the Academy was the logical conclusion of the transformations in art. Foreign artists-teachers were invited here, the tradition of pensioners, interrupted by the first successors of Peter, was revived. But the main thing - was adopted European system artistic education, that is, a special sequence and teaching methods.
For the implementation of reforms, Peter needed active associates. Now a person was evaluated from the point of view of the benefits that he brings to the state - "according to personal merit", and not by virtue of belonging to ancient family. A new understanding of the role of the individual was reflected in the development of the portrait genre, and above all in its ceremonial form, directly related to state tasks.
What is a front portrait
The main task of the ceremonial portrait is to show the audience the high social position of a person. Therefore, in such portraits, the model appears in that costume, in that interior and surrounded by those “accessories” that indicate her high status: always in luxurious attire and against the background of magnificent palace halls, if this is a monarch, then with attributes of power, if the sovereign -stvenny figure or commander - sometimes with orders and other insignia that determine the place of a person in the state hierarchy.
However, not only attributes allow the artist to indicate the social prestige of a person. There is a whole set of artistic means that the masters of the 18th century used in formal portraits to inspire the viewer with the idea of the significance of the hero. First, these are large-format paintings. And this already determines the distance in relations with the viewer: if a miniature can be picked up, brought closer to oneself, then such a portrait must be viewed from a distance. Secondly, in the dress portrait, the model is depicted in full growth. Another technique is a low horizon. Horizon - the visible boundary of the sky and the earth's surface, which is approximately at the level of the human eye; in painting, a conditional, imaginary horizon line becomes a guideline for the artist when building a composition: if it is set low in the composition of the picture, the viewer has the feeling that he is looking at the image from the bottom up. The low horizon highlights the figure, gives it power, grandeur.
Ceremonial portraits, framed in gilded frames, were placed in the palace halls; there could be a canopy over the portrait of the monarch. The very environment in which they were demonstrated dictated the style of behavior to the audience. The picture, as it were, replaces the one who is represented on it, and the viewer should behave in front of it in the same way as in the presence of the model herself.
A ceremonial portrait is always characterized by a panegeric (that is, solemn, praising) intonation: a model is necessarily a perfect monarch, or a great commander, or an outstanding statesman, the embodiment of those virtues that should be characteristic of his rank and occupation. Therefore, a set of stable formulas was formed quite early - iconographic schemes (postures, gestures, attributes) that expressed certain ideas. They turned into a kind of coded messages, which were repeated with minor variations from one portrait to another. On the other hand, deviations from such canons were felt especially sharply and were always full of meaning.
What is an allegory
Allegory became widespread in the art of the 17th-18th centuries. Allegory (from the Greek. allegoria- "to speak differently") is artistic image, in which abstract concepts (justice, love, and others), which are difficult to convey in a visible form, are presented allegorically, their meaning conveys some object or living being. The allegorical method is built on the principle of analogy. For example, in the world of allegories, the lion is the embodiment of strength, since this beast is strong. Any allegorical image can be perceived as a text translated into the language of painting. The viewer must carry out a reverse translation, that is, decipher the meaning of the allegorical composition. As an artistic device, allegory is still used today. And you can try to depict this or that concept allegorically, based on own ideas and knowledge. But will everyone understand? An essential feature of the art of the 17th-18th centuries was the regulation of the meaning of allegories. The image was assigned specific meaning and this provided mutual understanding between the artist and the viewer.
Jacopo Amiconi. Portrait of Emperor Peter I with Minerva. 1732-1734 years State Hermitage Ancient mythology was the most important source of allegories. For example, in a portrait Italian artist Jacopo Amiconi Peter I is presented with Minerva, the goddess of the wise war (she can be recognized by her attributes: chain mail and a spear). Cupid crowns Peter with the imperial crown - in 1721 Russia was proclaimed an empire. Thus, the picture glorifies Peter as a wise ruler who defeated the Swedes in northern war and thanks to this raised the international status of Russia.
But the same object or being can different situations act as allegories of different concepts, so they should be interpreted depending on the context. For example, an owl can act as a companion of both Minerva, the goddess of wisdom (the owl was considered an intelligent bird), and the allegory of the Night (the owl is a night bird). To make it easier for viewers to read the meanings, special reference books (or “iconological lexicons”) were compiled.
Johann Gottfried Tannauer. Peter I in the Battle of Poltava. 1724 or 1725 In the work visual arts the allegory could be present as a separate motif. So, in the painting by Johann Gottfried Tannauer “Peter I in the Battle of Poltava”, Peter is depicted on horseback against the backdrop of a battle depicted quite realistically. But above him, the winner, the winged figure of Glory with a trumpet and a crown soars.
However, more often allegories formed into a whole system, within which they entered into complex relationships with each other. Such allegorical systems were usually invented not by the artists themselves, but by "inventory". IN different time representatives of the clergy, members of the Academy of Sciences, teachers of the Academy of Arts, historians and writers could act in this role. They, like screenwriters today, composed a “program” that the artist should have embodied in the work.
In the second half of the 18th century, artists and spectators mastered the allegorical language to such an extent that a witty rethinking of traditional images, understatement, hint began to be appreciated. And by the end of the century, allegorical images of virtues in the form of gods or people gradually and completely disappeared from the front portrait. Their place was taken by an object-attribute, which, like an allegory, communicated the idea of the composition, but at the same time did not violate the principle of lifelikeness - in the language of the 18th century, it befitted the presented situation.
Johann Baptist Lampi the Elder. Portrait of Catherine II with allegorical figures of History and Chronos. No later than 1793 State Russian Museum
Johann Baptist Lampi the Elder. Portrait of Catherine II with allegorical figures of Truth and Strength (Fortress). 1792–1793 State Hermitage
Let's compare, for example, two portraits of Catherine II by Johann Baptist Lampi - "Portrait of Catherine II with figures of History and Chronos" and "Portrait of Catherine II with allegorical figures of Truth and Strength (Fortress)". They were created almost at the same time. But in the first, History and Chronos (Time) are depicted as people - a woman and an old man with the corresponding attributes: History records Catherine's deeds in her writings, and Chronos with a scythe at the foot of her throne looks at the empress with admiration - time does not rule over her. These are creatures of flesh and blood, they can interact with Ekaterina, communicate with her. In the second portrait, Truth and Fortress are also shown allegorically - in the image female figures: one - Truth - with a mirror, the second - Fortress - with a column. But here the animated embodiments of ideas are presented not as living people, but as their sculptural images. The picture, on the one hand, becomes lifelike (such sculptures could well have been present in the interior, where the empress appeared to the eyes of her subjects), and on the other hand, it still conveys the idea encrypted in an allegorical image. At the same time, the allegorical image is now "hidden" as an image in an image.
2. How to look at a formal portrait - an example
What do we know about the portrait
Before us is “Portrait of Catherine the Legislator in the Temple of the Goddess of Justice”, the author’s version of 1783. Dmitry Levitsky created several versions of this portrait, and later it was repeatedly repeated by other artists.
Dmitry Levitsky. Portrait of Catherine the Legislator in the Temple of the Goddess of Justice. 1783 State Russian Museum Several works written by Levitsky himself and his contemporaries help to understand the allegorical program of the portrait. In 1783, the poems of the poet Ippolit Bogdanovich were published in the journal Interlocutor of Lovers of the Russian Word:
Levitsky! drawing a Russian deity,
By which the seven seas rest in joy,
With your brush you revealed in Petrovgrad
Immortal beauty and mortal triumph.
Wishing to imitate the union of Parnassian sisters,
I would call, like you, to help me muse
Russian deity to depict with a pen;
But Apollo is jealous of praising him himself.
Without revealing the portrait program in detail, Bogdanovich expressed the main idea: the artist, in creative union with a muse, portrayed Catherine, likening her to a goddess, thanks to whom the whole country prospers, washed by seven seas.
In response, the artist wrote his own, more detailed explanation of the meaning of the portrait, which was published in the same publication:
“The middle of the picture represents the inside of the temple of the goddess of Justice, before whom, in the form of the Legislator, Her Imperial Majesty, burning poppy flowers on the altar, sacrifices her precious peace for the general peace. Instead of the usual imperial crown, she is crowned with a laurel crown adorning the civil crown placed on her head. The insignia of the Order of St. Vladimir depict the distinction famous for the labors done for the benefit of the Fatherland, of which the books lying at the feet of the Legislator testify to the truth. The victorious eagle rests on the laws, and the guard, armed with a thunderbolt, wails about their integrity. In the distance you can see the open sea, and on the waving Russian flag, the rod of Mercury depicted on the military shield means protected trade.
Interlocutor of lovers of the Russian word. SPb., 1783. T. 6
Levitsky also pointed out that he owed the concept of the portrait to "one lover of arts, who asked him not to name his name." Subsequently, it turned out that the "inventor" was Nikolai Alexandrovich Lvov - a master gifted on a Renaissance scale: he was an architect, draftsman, engraver, poet, musician, theorist and art historian, the soul of a literary circle, which included outstanding poets that time.
Another text that arose in connection with this portrait is the famous ode by Gabriel Derzhavin "The Vision of Murza" Murza- a noble title in the Tatar medieval states. In "Vision of Murza" and in the ode "Felitsa" Derzhavin calls himself Murza, and Catherine II - Felitsa: this is the name of the fictional "Princess of the Kirghiz-Kaisatsky Horde" from a fairy tale composed by the Empress herself for the grandson of Alexander.(1783).
I saw a wonderful vision:
The wife descended from the clouds,
Came down - and found herself a priestess
Or a goddess in front of me.
White clothes flowed
On it a silver wave;
Gradskaya crown on the head,
The golden belt shone with the Persians;
From black-fiery fine linen,
Rainbow-like outfit
From the shoulder of the gum line
Hung on the left thigh;
With outstretched hand on the altar
On the sacrificial she heat
Burning fragrant poppies,
Served the highest deity.
The midnight eagle, huge,
Companion of lightning to triumph,
Heroic herald of glory,
Sitting before her on a pile of books,
Sacred kept her statutes;
Extinct thunder in their claws
And a laurel with olive branches
He held it as if asleep.Who do I see so boldly
And whose mouth smashes me?
Who are you? Goddess or priestess? —
Dream standing I asked.
She told me: “I am Felitsa” ...
What do we see in the portrait?
What does the Order of St. Vladimir say?
The portrait of Levitsky is connected with the history of the Order of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir. This order was established on September 22, 1782, its statute (that is, a document describing the procedure for awarding the order and related ceremonies) was written by Alexander Andreevich Bezborodko, the actual head of the Russian foreign policy. And this is no coincidence: the creation of the order was associated with one of the most important foreign policy plans of Catherine -. According to this project, Russia was supposed to expel the Turks from Europe, take possession of Constantinople and form in the Balkans, firstly, an independent Greek Empire (which was to be headed by the grandson of the Empress Grand Duke Constantine), and secondly, the state of Dacia under the auspices of Russia, which was to include the Danubian principalities, liberated from the rule of the Turks.
In addition to purely practical goals, the idea had great ideological significance. Russian empire, being the most powerful Orthodox state, positioned itself as the heir to the great Byzantium, destroyed by the Turks (in 1453 they captured Constantinople). Rus' adopted Orthodoxy from Byzantium under Prince Vladimir in 988. This explains the establishment by Catherine of the Order dedicated to Prince Vladimir just when she was obsessed with thoughts of Greek project.
Ekaterina failed to realize the Greek project. But monuments of art remind of him. In the early 1780s, an exemplary city of Sofia was built near Tsarskoye Selo according to the project of Charles Cameron (a Scottish architect who worked in Russia). The center of this city was the monumental St. Sophia Cathedral (the project was also developed by Cameron) - in memory of the main Christian shrine, which was in the possession of the Turks, the church of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople. Next to the Tsarskoye Selo temple, they were going to build a house of the Cavalier Duma of the Order of St. Vladimir for meetings of his gentlemen. In the early 1780s, their portraits were ordered from Levitsky - the paintings were intended for the “order house”, and the portrait of Catherine was to be in the center of the ensemble. However, the construction of the temple was completed only in 1788, and the construction of the “order house”, apparently, did not even begin. After the death of the empress in 1796, the idea was completely forgotten.
But in 1783, when the portrait of Catherine was created, the Greek project was in the spotlight. In that year, Crimea was annexed to Russia (formerly Crimean Khanate was a vassal Ottoman Empire). This foreign policy success will prove to be one of the few real results of the project. And this explains why it is the Order of St. Vladimir that occupies such an important place in the portrait.
How does the portrait of Levitsky differ from the portrait of Borovikovsky
Vladimir Borovikovsky. Portrait of Catherine II on a walk in Tsarskoye Selo park. 1794 "Portrait of Catherine the Legislator" is often compared with "Portrait of Catherine II on a walk in Tsarskoye Selo Park" by Vladimir Boro-vikovsky. Both pictures show the same model, but they are completely different. First - a prime example ceremonial imperial portrait, the second is an eloquent example of a chamber portrait.
What is the difference between front and chamber types of portrait? A ceremonial portrait is created in order to demonstrate the high status of the model, her place in the social hierarchy. In a chamber portrait, the artist reveals another side of a person's life - the private one. Different tasks cause a difference artistic techniques. “Portrait of Catherine II on a walk” is small in size (94.5 x 66 cm), and this immediately orients the viewer towards chamber perception. To view the portrait, you need to approach it. He seems to be inviting us to come closer without being shy, while a large-format portrait makes us freeze at a respectful distance. Catherine in a dressing gown and cap, with her beloved Italian greyhound at her feet, without the usual attributes of imperial power, not in the magnificent palace halls, but in a secluded garden - she appears not as a god-like ruler, but as if a simple landowner. The portrait celebrates the beauty of being human in a natural setting.
But what kind of reflections can the empress indulge in the bosom of nature? The artist, as it were, offers us to solve the riddle. Ekaterina is located in Tsarskoye Selo Park. With her hand, she points to the Chesme Column - a monument to the victory of Russia over Turkey in the Battle of Chesme in 1770, towering on an island in the middle of the Big Pond. The opposite bank is hidden behind the trees. But if we went around the pond and continued to move in the direction indicated by Catherine, then there, already outside the park, we would have a view of St. Sophia Cathedral (the same one that was built by Charles Cameron). He is not depicted in the picture, but every enlightened viewer knew that he was, and knew about the importance that he had in the political and architectural program of Catherine. The meaning of the gesture of the empress in the portrait becomes clear: through naval victories (and the column rises in the middle of the water surface), Russia should open the way to Sofia, to the Orthodox empire with its capital in Constantinople.
And what do we see? chamber portrait, by its nature turned to the sphere of the private, and not the public, serves as an expression of the imperial ambitions of the supreme Russian "landowner", whose lands should extend to Constantinople itself. The idea, traditionally expressed by means of a formal portrait, is clothed in the form of a chamber one. Why? There is no firm answer to this question. But one can speculate. Large ceremonial portraits were usually created by order of the empress herself, one of the nobles or some institution. It is known that this portrait was not commissioned by Catherine. It was probably written to testify to the skill of the artist for presentation to the palace. Perhaps the inventor (most likely, it was the same Nikolai Lvov) deliberately disguised the political content in an unusual form. A witty paradox (a landowner, but what are her possessions!) Should have attracted the attention of the audience. At the same time, the portrait responded to a new artistic taste (it was called sentimentalism) - the desire for natural, interest in the inner life of a person, his feelings, as opposed to boring rationality. However, the Empress did not like the portrait. Perhaps because he unwittingly resurrected memories of her political failure. Let the monument to the brilliant victory over Turkey be the dominant feature in the portrait, but it also makes you think about further development events, about the Greek project - a plan that Catherine, despite successful military operations, failed to implement. Constantinople never became the capital of the new Orthodox empire.
3. Independent task
Now you can try to analyze one of the other three portraits yourself. Supporting questions may help you choose the direction of your searches.
1. Godfrey Neller. Portrait of Peter I. 1698. From the British Royal Collection (Queen's Gallery, Kensington Palace, London)
Godfrey Neller. Portrait of Peter I. 1698 Royal Collection Trust / Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II Portraits of Peter I were painted not only by Russian artists. This portrait was created for the King of England William III (Oran) by Sir Godfrey Neller (1646-1723), a master from Lübeck who studied in Amsterdam and Venice, and spent most of his life in Great Britain, where he enjoyed great success as a portrait painter.
Supporting questions
1. The portrait was commissioned from life in The Hague. English king William III, who at the same time was the stadtholder of the Netherlands. The portrait may have been completed in London. When and under what circumstances did Peter I visit The Hague and London?
2. What makes it possible to characterize this portrait as a formal one?
3. Compare the portrait created European master, with contemporary Russian parsun portraits. Where is more attention paid to the personal beginning?
4. What means are involved in order to show the social position of the model, and what - for its psychological characteristics?
5. What reformist undertakings of Peter does the portrait testify to? How are they related to England?
2. Alexey Antropov. Portrait of Emperor Peter III. 1762. From the collection of the State Tretyakov Gallery
Alexey Antropov. Portrait of Emperor Peter III. 1762 State Tretyakov Gallery/ Wikimedia Commons Supporting questions
1. Describe the setting in which the model is presented. How does the image of the emperor relate to this situation? What artistic means does the artist use to characterize the model?
2. Compare the image of Peter III, created by Antropov, with what is known about the personality and reign of the emperor.
3. Dmitry Levitsky. Ursula Mnishek. 1782. From the collection of the State Tretyakov Gallery
Dmitry Levitsky. Ursula Mnishek. 1782 State Tretyakov Gallery / Google Art project Ursula Mnishek (circa 1750 - 1808) - Polish aristocrat, niece of Stanislaw August Poniatowski, countess, wife of the Lithuanian crown marshal Count Mnishek, state lady of the Russian imperial court.
Key question
This type of portrait is usually called intermediate between chamber and front. What are the features of these genre varieties does he combine?
Dmitry Levitsky
Portrait of Catherine the Legislator in the Temple of the Goddess of Justice
1783
The majestic, stately figure of the empress, the ideal, “unearthly” beauty of her face, the magnificent decoration - as well as the significant size of the portrait itself (261 x 201 cm), should have inspired the viewer with reverence for the model.
Most often, picturesque representations of royalty (and especially in the 18th century) are formed on the basis of ceremonial portraits, from which copies were actively removed and distributed. Such portraits can be “read”, because the model on them is always placed in such an environment that contributes to creating a feeling of significance, unusualness, solemnity of the image, and each of the details contains a hint of the real or imaginary merits and qualities of the person we see in front of us.
Most of the formal portraits are impossible not to admire. But the question of how true the portrait is, remains open.
So, for example, the image of Catherine I, created by Jean-Marc Nattier in 1717:
But the more intimate portrait of Catherine in a peignoir, written by Louis Caravacom in the 1720s.
It seems that the researchers came to the conclusion that initially the empress was depicted in the portrait with a neckline, and then a blue ribbon appeared, which can be understood as a hint at the ribbon of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called and the high status of the person. The only hint.
Louis Caravaque received the appointment of the official court painter - Hoffmaler only under Anna Ioannovna, but before that he managed to paint a number of portraits of the family of Peter the Great. Among them are some unusual by modern standards.
Firstly, I personally immediately remember the portrait Tsarevich Peter Petrovich as Cupid
Here, of course, it should be said that Russia took over from Europe the gallantry of the rococo, along with its special atmosphere of a masquerade, playing heroes and gods of ancient mythology, and manners, which could not but affect the painting tradition.
And yet there is something peculiar in the fact that we see little Peter, “Shishechka”, as his loving parents called him, who had high hopes for him, we see just like that. But the birth of this boy, who did not live even four years, as well as his relatively strong health at first, actually sealed the fate of Tsarevich Alexei.
We can also imagine the elder sister of Pyotr Petrovich Elizaveta, remembering the portrait of the work of the same Caravak, written in 1750: 
Or a portrait by his student Ivan Vishnyakov, painted in 1743:
But even during the life of the Empress, another portrait of Elizaveta Petrovna, painted in the middle of the 1710s by Caravak, in which she is depicted in the form of the goddess Flora, enjoyed great success: 
The future empress is depicted naked and lying on a blue robe lined with ermine - a sign of belonging to the imperial family. In her right hand she holds a miniature with a portrait of Peter I, to the frame of which is attached St. Andrew's blue ribbon.
Yes, a tradition, but there is a certain kind of piquancy in such an image. An interesting remark about the portrait was left by N. N. Wrangel: "Here is a little girl, an eight-year-old undressed child with a body adult girl. She is reclining, coquettishly holding a portrait of her father and smiling so affectionately and tenderly, as if she is already thinking about Saltykov, Shubin, Sievers, Razumovsky, Shuvalov and all the others whom this beautiful creature loved after.
However, he also noted that Elizabeth had many images.
Here is Elizaveta Petrovna in men's suit, which went like this to her:
A.L. Weinberg considered the portrait to be the work of Caravaque and dated it to 1745. S.V. Rimskaya-Korsakova believed that this was Levitsky's student's copy of Antropov's work, going back to the iconographic type of Caravak.
And here is another portrait of Elizabeth in a man's costume - the textbook "Portrait of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna on a horse with a black child", written by Georg Christoph Groot in 1743:
This portrait can be called front. Here is the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called, a blue moire sash with a badge, a marshal's baton in the hand of the Empress, a Transfiguration uniform, and also the fact that Elizaveta Petrovna sits on a horse like a man, and the navy seen in the bay.
Caravak also has a “Portrait of a boy in a hunting suit”, about which various versions were built. They called it both the Portrait of Peter II, and the portrait of Peter III and ... the portrait of Elizabeth. For some reason, the latest version is very close to me.
There are a lot of ceremonial portraits of Catherine II. They were painted both by foreigners invited to Russia and by Russian artists. We can recall, for example, a portrait of Catherine painted by Vigilius Eriksen in front of a mirror, in which the artist uses a peculiar technique that allows him to show the Empress both in profile and in full face.
The profile image of the empress was used for the ceremonial portrait painted by Rokotov:
Catherine herself apparently loved another portrait painted by Eriksen, depicting her on horseback: 
Still would! After all, the portrait symbolizes the fateful day for the Empress on June 28, 1762, when she, at the head of the conspirators, goes to Oranienbaum to carry out a palace coup. Catherine sits astride her famous horse Brilliant and is dressed in a military style - she is wearing the uniform of an officer of the guards infantry.
The portrait was a huge success at court; by order of the Empress, he repeated his work three times, varying the size of the canvas.
Eriksen also painted a portrait of Catherine II in shugay and kokoshnik:
One can recall the informal portrait of Catherine II in a traveling suit, painted by Mikhail Shibanov, an artist about whom almost nothing is known. Is it just that he was close to Potemkin?:
I remember the non-ceremonial portraits of Catherine the Great, it is impossible to pass by the image created by Borovikovsky.
The artist showed Catherine II “at home”, in a fur coat and a cap. old age the lady slowly walks along the alleys of Tsarkaselsky park, leaning on a staff. Next to her is her beloved dog, an English greyhound.
The idea of such an image probably originated in the literary and artistic circle of Nikolai Lvov and is closely connected with a new trend in art, called sentimentalism. It is significant that the portrait of Catherine II was not executed from nature. There is evidence that the artist was dressed in the dress of the empress by her beloved camera-jungfer (room servant) Perekusikhina, who posed for the artist.
By the way, the fact that in the 18th century only 8 official court painters worked in Russia, among which only one was Russian, and even then ended his life almost tragically, is quite interesting. Therefore, it is not surprising that Russian artists did not have the opportunity to paint emperors and empresses alive.
For this work, Borovikovsky, about which Lumpy fussed, was awarded the title of "appointed" to academicians. However, despite the recognition of the Academy of Arts, the empress did not like the portrait and was not acquired by the palace department.
But it was in this image that Pushkin captured her in the "tale of honor" "The Captain's Daughter".
