Russian nobles through the eyes of foreign artists. Court painter See what "Court painter" is in other dictionaries
Christina Robertson (née Sanders)
Scottish portrait painter
worked at the court of Nicholas I in 1839-1841
and in 1849-1851.
self-portrait
Christina Robertson is the niece of London-based artist George Sanders. Probably, he taught Christina painting, and helped her find customers at the beginning of her journey. Since May 23, 1822 - the wife of the portrait painter James Robertson, the wedding took place in Marylebone Church in London. In marriage, she gave birth to eight children, but only four children reached adulthood - two sons, John and William, and two daughters, Agnes and Mary.
Portrait of Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna
British artist Christina Robertson (née Sanders, 1796-1854) was born in the small town of Kinghorn (Fife), near Edinburgh. It is believed that she studied art with her uncle, the portrait painter George Sanders, with whom she lived for some time in London at the same address. Sanders, in all likelihood, helped her at first with customers, among whom the still inexperienced young artist had influential clients early on. She was successful. In just ten years since she first showed her work at the Royal Academy in London in 1823, her reputation as a portrait painter had been greatly strengthened, prices for her work had risen, and she could afford a studio in the very prestigious area of London on Harley Street. Now she was approached mostly by representatives of the British aristocracy, wealthy landowners, entrepreneurs and bankers. From the 1830s, her name became known on the continent, which was facilitated not only by her trips to Paris, but also by the distribution of illustrated publications published in the 1830s and 1840s, J. Burke's Portrait Gallery of Distinguished Females, Heath's Book of Beauty", "La Belle Assemble". They were accompanied by engraved images of secular beauties, some of which were based on the work of Christina Robertson. These publications were known in Russia. So, for example, in the "Heath's Book of Beauty" for 1840, a portrait of one of the first beauties of St. Petersburg Countess E.M. Zavadovskaya, performed by Alfred Chalon, was even reproduced. By the way, the Countess is mentioned in the account book of Christina Robertson along with other Russian customers: Princess Wittgenstein and Countess Pototskaya1. She executed their miniature portraits in Paris in 1837. Several volumes of Heath's Book of Beauty have been preserved in the Hermitage Library. They belonged to Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, who, flipping through them, of course, could not pay attention to the name of the artist, whose works differed little in their style from the works of other fashionable painters of that time. But it was precisely the full compliance with the spirit of the era, the requirements of fashion, that made the fine art of the British portrait painter recognizable and received with enthusiasm when she arrived in Russia in 1839.
Portrait of Grand Duchesses Olga Nikolaevna and Alexandra Nikolaevna
Among her first customers in Russia were the Orlovs-Davydovs, the Baryatinskys, the Yusupovs, the Kurakins, the Beloselsky-Belozerskys, the Buturlins - the flower of Russian aristocratic society. One of the examples of her work at that time is the portrait of E.P. Beloselskaya-Belozerskaya in the Almanac of V. Vladislavlev "Morning Dawn" for 1841, engraved by G. Robinson from the portrait of K. Robertson. (The engraver Robinson, who published many of his engravings in Heath's Book of Beauty, worked extensively for Dawn.) Especially her popularity increased after she began to receive orders from the royal family2. From the documents of the Ministry of the Imperial Court, among which the artist’s original letters have been preserved, it is known that in the spring of 1840 she “painted the Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna, the Duke and the baby in a small size for Her Majesty the Empress” (i.e. eldest daughter Nicholas I with her husband, the Duke of Leuchtenberg and a child - E.R.), that for the portrait of the heir Alexander Nikolayevich she was paid 1572 rubles in silver, and for the portraits of the emperor and empress - 4285 rubles with kopecks3. Where these portraits are currently unknown. We managed to find a rare lithograph from one of the portraits of Nicholas I, and Christina Robertson performed several of them. The type of face was used by her later in 1843, when she depicted Nikolai reading a newspaper, next to Alexandra Feodorovna, busy knitting, in the Empress's office in winter palace. This small touching picture, reproducing the “family idyll”, was taken with her by the youngest daughter of Nicholas I, Alexandra, when she left for the homeland of her husband, the Prince of Hesse-Kassel, where the picture is still located.
Alexandra Feodorovna, 1841
B. N. Yusupov, 1850
"Children with a parrot", 1850
The most widespread of the numerous images of the Empress was a full-length portrait in a white dress with a rose in her hand. It was engraved, repeated by the artist herself, copied by Russian masters. In 1841, the “Portrait of Alexandra Feodorovna” was shown at an exhibition at the Academy of Arts along with portraits of her daughters, Maria, Olga and Alexandra, also executed by C. Robertson in natural growth. For these works, the artist received the title of honorary member of the Imperial Academy of Arts. At the end of the exhibition, the portrait of the Empress was placed in the Winter Palace, rebuilt after the fire, in the Rotunda. Portraits of the daughters adorned the so-called Romanov Gallery, where Nicholas I collected images of representatives of the imperial house. Alexandra Fedorovna is captured in a difficult period for her. She felt deeply the inevitable separation from her grown children, which threatened to disturb the cozy atmosphere of the family circle, the center of which she felt herself to be. She believed that the best, happiest part of her life was gone, along with the old palace that had turned to ashes and her health was failing5. Nevertheless, in the portrait from the Rotunda, she seems young and blooming. Her melancholy mood is felt only in the sad tilt of her head and in the gesture of her hand with a crumbling rose. Count M.D. Buturlin recalled in his “Notes”: “The fashionable British actress painted, in turn, the entire royal family to her full height and received about a hundred thousand silver rubles for that. From the Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, who then of course considered herself all 40 years old, the flattering brush of the British made a twenty-year-old beauty; but it was difficult for her to flatter the Grand Duchesses...: here nature itself could argue with the ideal of art. But due to the insidiousness of everything worldly, not even six years have passed, as all these famous works moved from the palace halls into the semi-dark corridors, and hardly anyone remembers Mrs. Robertson today. Buturlin turned out to be right that the name of the British artist was thoroughly forgotten, although she twice lived in Russia for quite a long time (1839-1841 and 1847-1854), died here and was buried at the Volkovo cemetery in St. Petersburg. He was wrong about something else: her works remained in the interiors of St. Petersburg palaces until the beginning of the 20th century. They could be seen in the Yusupov Palace on the Moika, in the Shuvalovsky and Sheremetev Palaces. During the life of Alexander II, watercolor portraits of his mother and wife by Christina Robertson were always on his desk in the Winter Palace and Tsarskoye Selo. "Portrait of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna", remained in the Rotunda of the Winter Palace until the October Revolution, during which it suffered from bayonets.
Alexandra Feodorovna
After October revolution portraits by Robertson, kept in private collections, were scattered in provincial museums. The State Hermitage Museum holds thirteen works by Robertson, of which twelve are accurately attributed, and one is presumably. These are seven portraits of the Romanov family, four portraits of representatives of the Yusupov family from the collection of the Yusupov Palace, a portrait of Yu. F. Kurakina and, according to E. P. Renne, one of the best works Robertson - "Children with a Parrot". Who exactly is depicted in this double portrait of 1850 is not known. It is likely that the face of Maria Alexandrovna in the Hermitage portrait was rewritten in the manner of Franz Winterhalter after Robertson's death. Three portraits, which caused dissatisfaction with Nicholas I in 1850, are kept in the museums of Peterhof.
Alexandra Fyodorovna
Alexandra Feodorovna (Charlotte of Prussia)
Maria Nicolaevna, Duchess of Leuchtenberg
Maria Alexandrovna
Prince Yulia Fedorovna Kurakina, ur. Golitsyna. 1841
Grand Princess Maria Nikolaevna
Empress Alexandria Fedorovna
Portrait of Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna
Olga Ivanovna Orlova-Davydova, daughter of Prince Ivan Ivanovich Baryatinsky
Elena Pavlovna Bibikova (1812-1888) - stepdaughter of A.Kh. Benkendorf
Zinaida Yusupova
Olga Ivanovna Orlova-Davydova
Portrait of Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna
Count Shuvalov Pavel Petrovich
Great Duchess Elena Pavlovna
Maria Buturlina
Tatiana Vasilievna Yusupova
Countess Anna Sergeevna Sheremeteva
Maria Alexandrovna
Estonians are very proud of the work of this artist, arranging his exhibitions from time to time and call him a German of Baltic origin. But for some reason, they almost forgot about his estate and house on the Muuga manor, where the artist built his house in 1860-1870, worked and collected a collection of paintings by Western European masters. However, Timofei Andreyevich Neff spent most of his life in Russia, painting Orthodox churches and serving as a court painter for Emperor Nicholas I.
Neff T.A. Portrait of Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna in the form of an angel with a candle and a censerm
Neff's painting is a vivid example of academicism in the art of the mid-19th century in Russia. These are mythological and religious subjects, beautiful female nudes and, of course, portraits. All of them are very bright and have a good compositional solution. As a court painter, Neff left us many portraits of women from the imperial family and court ladies. Also good are his Italian and religious paintings on biblical subjects.
Artist Timofei Andreevich Neff
Karl Timoleon von Neff (Carl Timoleon von Neff) - this is the real name of Timofey Andreevich Neff - was born on October 2, 1804 in the estate of Püssi, Estland province (now it is the territory of Northern Estonia). Digging through my link archive, I found interesting article from the Estonian newspaper "Pärnu Express" by Tatyana Ilyina dated December 26, 2006, dedicated to the life of Timofey Andreevich Neff. It is more interesting than Wikipedia chewing gum, and I will allow myself to quote a few excerpts from it, illustrating them with wonderful paintings by the artist.
Carl's mother, 19-year-old Felicite Neff, came from France to teach the language to children from wealthy families, to serve as a governess. According to the documents, in February 1804 she went to Russia with Madame Berg. They reached Estonia only in the summer and stopped at the Sangaste estate, which belonged to Madame Berg's son. By this time, Felicity's pregnancy was already quite noticeable, and the expectant mother decided to part with Madame and arrange her own life on her own. She took a job as a governess at von Krüdener's house on the Püssy estate, where on October 2 she gave birth to a son. On October 9, the boy was christened Charles Timoleon, and his godparents, despite the fact that his mother was an ordinary teacher, were representatives of well-known noble families: Major Paul von Krüdener, the tenant of the Pussi estate, Captain Anton Wrangel from Meidl and Major von Essen from Erra.
Felicity soon met with the young Baron Heinrich Sege von Manteuffel. The young man fell in love seriously, but his father did not allow him to marry a teacher French unknown origin. And then in 1809, the young, taking little Karl Timoleon, left together for Russia, in the town of Volsk, where a good friend of Heinrich, the artist Karl Kugelgen, lived. But the unexpected happened: Filicite fled to France, leaving her son in the arms of Baron Manteuffel. And he had no choice but to return home to the Kyuti manor together with the boy. There were various rumors about the flight of the mother. It was said that she was carried away by a French officer, Count Segyu, who was returning to his homeland. However, these rumors were later denied. According to the documents, Segyu was in a Russian prison, from where he was released in 1807 under the Treaty of Tilsit, and in 1808 he was again in the army and served in Spain. That is, he left Russia two years before Felicity ended up in Volsk.
On April 1, 1815, Karl Timoleon went to study at the Rakvere district school. He was a very capable and diligent student, and every year he received gratitude from the school. In February 1822 he was confirmed in the church of Viru-Jaagupi. During this ceremony, Pastor Friedrich August Hörschelmann publicly named Karl as the adopted son of Heinrich Sege von Manteuffel for the first time.
Neff T.A. Drawing-Portrait of Lady Helena, Baroness Krudener 1857
Neff T.A. Bacchus Etude
(Nizhny Novgorod Art Museum)
Neff T.A. In the eastern harem
In the summer of 1816, Karl Kugelgen arrived at the Kuti estate, who became Neff's first painting teacher. Despite the fact that the teacher was a landscape painter, and the student preferred to paint portraits, this did not interfere with successful learning. Already in January 1824, Karl Neff painted a portrait of Professor Morgenstern of the University of Tartu, and, having completed it, he began work on a portrait of his wife Miina Morgenstern. In the same year, he painted the ruins of Paide Castle, the Kolga-Jaani Church, the ruins of the Cēsis Castle, painted a portrait of Pastor Hörschelmann. It was a stubborn preparation for the University of Dresden, where he entered in September 1824. And here he showed extraordinary zeal and a rare talent as an artist, having completed a three-year course of study in eight months. After graduating in February 1825, Neff went to Rome for the first time. .
Neff T.A. Girl with a jug
Neff T.A. Two girls in the grotto
In the second half of 1827, Neff went to St. Petersburg, where he painted portraits on private orders. Chance decided his fate. Some sources say that he was ordered a portrait of Countess Baranova - allegedly the daughter of Emperor Nicholas I. In others - that he completed a group portrait of the emperor's children, Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna, Olga Nikolaevna and Alexandra Nikolaevna. The second is more likely, because, judging by the official website noble families, none of the daughters of Nicholas I was married to Count Baranov. But be that as it may, for successfully completed work in 1832, Neff was invited to the court and appointed court painter. The Baltic youth honored Emperor Nicholas. Thanks to the paternal approval of the king and a large number of orders, the young man was able to fully display his talent. As a court painter, Neff was supposed to teach the royal children how to draw. The memoirs of one of the emperor's daughters have been preserved about how, during breaks, the artist told them "touching and awkward stories", played "all sorts of harmless games."
Neff T.A. Portrait of the Grand Duchesses Maria Nikolaevna and Olga Nikolaevna 1838
Neff T.A. young mother 1843
First big order became the image for the Gothic chapel at the dacha "Alexandria" in Peterhof. For this work, Charles Timoleon received a life pension and permission to travel to Rome. While in Italy, Neff copied the works of the old masters of the 16th century, especially studying the work of Raphael.
Neapolitan shepherd on the seashore illuminated by the rising sun
In the same period, he also wrote a copy of Titian's painting "Catarina", as well as 22 sketches based on Italian national clothes. .
Neff T.A. Frescoes on religious subjects from St. Isaac's Cathedral in St. Petersburg
Returning to St. Petersburg in 1837, he set about restoring images for the small church of the Winter Palace, which had been damaged in a fire. Having rented a large apartment on the corner of Nevsky Prospekt and Admiralteyskaya Square, Neff turned it into an atelier. The work was very responsible: the emperor himself monitored its implementation, constantly visiting the artist. This was followed by icons for St. Isaac's Cathedral in St. Petersburg - over 20 large-format paintings: this is the design of the main altar and the iconostasis, icons in the Royal Doors, images in the niches of pylons. For this work he received the title of professor of history and portrait painting and began to teach in the painting, nature, drawing and etude classes of the Academy of Arts.
Neff T.A. Dreaming 1840
Portrait of the Olsufiev children.
In 1839, Karl Timoleon Neff received the title of academician, and on April 19, 1844 he was granted the title of nobility. At the same time, he was already listed under the name of Timofey Andreevich Neff. Where such a middle name came from remains a mystery, but in Russian catalogs it is written that way. In the 50s of the XIX century, by order of the Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna, he made a composition music hall Mikhailovsky Palace. At the same time they wrote famous paintings"Mermaid" and "Bather",
which Emperor Alexander II bought for the Hermitage. After that, Neff proceeds to create a gallery of portraits of the Romanov family, paints a portrait of Peter I as an emperor, who confirmed the privileges of the Baltic nobles in 1710, which the Riga noble assembly ordered for him. decoration of the walls of the royal rooms.
Neff T.A. Portrait of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna(Irkutsk Regional Art Museum named after V.P. Sukachev)
Neff T.A. Portrait of the Great Prince. Maria Nikolaevna 1846(State Tretyakov Gallery)
Neff T.A. Portrait of the great prince. Maria Nikolaevna (work from auction)
Neff T.A. Portrait of a court lady 1830
Neff T.A. Portrait of the chambermaid Empress Alexandra Feodorovna
Neff T.A. Portrait Grand Duchess Ekaterina Mikhailovna 1850
Exaltation of the cross
On May 20, 1838, in the church of Viru-Jaagupi, he married Mademoiselle Louise Augusta Dorothea von Kaulbars from Mydriku. In 1850, Neff bought the Piira manor near Rakvere in the name of his wife, where he set up an atelier. It was there that most of his paintings were created. After 10 years, the Neff family also acquired the Muuga manor from the heirs of their adoptive father. And in 1866 Neff started building master's house. The project of the house and the park was drawn up by the owner himself. The court artist did everything to turn the family estate into a real art museum. Here he collected his the best works, copies of paintings by Titian, Rubens, Van Dyck and others, installed a copy of the sculpture "Venus de Milo". A marble staircase was placed in the vestibule of the manor - a gift to the artist from Emperor Alexander II. Karl Timoleon himself began to paint the walls and ceilings of the rooms, but did not have time to finish, so his son Heinrich von Neff continued this work for him.
Neff T.A. Portrait of a young lady 1849
Abroad, the skill of painters from Russia is highly valued, they succeed there and do well.
earn, for example, Ivan Slavinsky, who made a name for himself in France, and for 10 years
worked on contracts European galleries. Then he returned to St. Petersburg, where some critics
consider him a genius.
Ivan Slavinsky Still life
Some portrait painters have become, as it were, modern court painters.
So, for example, Muscovite Natalya Tsarkova, a student of Glazunov, became the official artist of the Vatican, she is the only one who managed to paint portraits of three popes: John Paul I (succeeded the throne in 1978 and died 33 days later), John Paul II and Benedict XVI . Portraits of dads Tsarkova writes from photographs, since dad is not supposed to pose.
The Last Supper
For the first time this picture of Tsarkova was shown before Easter in Rome, and she
the message of peace was blessed by Pope John Paul II himself.
Georgy Shishkin - artist of Monaco,
the prince of Monaco wrote about him: "I am glad that this artist of great talent chose the principality for his art."
Actress E. Gogoleva
And the artist Sergei Pavlenko became famous in London.
"In Russia even now it is bad for the artist.
Russia is losing people, does not protect and does not preserve its talents - this is the worst thing. In our country
Today there is so much money and money people, but their capital does not work for their native art."
The name of the Russian artist Sergei Pavlenko, a graduate of the Petersburg
art academy, is known to the British for a very good reason -
he is the author of the ceremonial portrait of Elizabeth II.
Pavlenko was chosen by the charitable foundation among 200 artists who commissioned the portrait.
competitive basis. There is a very old tradition in England that portraits were usually
visiting artists, ranging from Holbein, Van Dyck and so on to the present.
The talent of the artist was appreciated at Buckingham Palace after the queen recognized the portraitist
the best of all who she had ever posed for. And for half a century of history her reign portrait
queens wrote more than 100 different artists. Draw a portrait of Her Majesty great luck
and a huge risk. The artist's career depended largely on what the crowned person would say.
The problem was, says the artist, that in this case he had a total
only six hours. The queen posed only six times an hour, and that was it.
Failed - no one is to blame.
Among the six portraits of the Queen, which were on stamps, there is this portrait of Pavlenko.
Stamps (in the bottom row, the middle stamp is a portrait of Pavlenko)
A group portrait of the British monarchy is exhibited in one of the London galleries.
To portray the royal family at the graduation parade at the Military Academy, where Princes William and Harry studied, was also entrusted to an emigrant from Russia, Sergei Pavlenko.
The portrait represents three generations of the Windsor dynasty - the young princes Harry and William,
their father Prince Charles with his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, and the reigning monarch proper -
Queen Elizabeth II with her husband, Prince Phillip.
The composition, details, poses and even the number of trumpeters on group portrait royal family
argued at Buckingham Palace.
According to Sergei Pavlenko, Elizabeth II and all members of the royal family liked the portrait.
Royal recognition brought Sergei Pavlenko recognition in the circles of the world aristocracy.
Such a flattering review of the queen became his recommendation for representatives of the European
aristocracy and ruling dynasties that now line up for the artist,
the master regularly receives interesting orders.
His work appeared with the Duke of Marlborough, Prince of Hanover, owner of the auction house
Sotheby's by Alfred Taubman, King Abdullah II of Jordan.
Sergei Pavlenko does not consider himself a court (or royal) artist,
because he does not live at the court.
This man could often be seen in the retinue of the king. Clean-shaven, in a black cloth caftan, embroidered with a gold camisole, with a dagger at the waist, he looked like an officer. The difference was that this officer was constantly sketching something. Now standing, then moving away and sitting down. Sometimes these were sketches of a new shipyard, sometimes sketches of curious types and landscapes of the new capital, but most often - the face of Peter himself. The king often approached the artist, as always, impetuous, praised, clapped on the shoulder, sometimes hugged and kissed:
Well done! Here we have our good masters! - shouted passionately to foreigners.
Birth of the first Hoffmaler
Russian court
Ivan Nikitin was one of the nestlings of Petrov's nest - smart and intelligent people, devoted assistants to the harsh reformer of Russia. Despite the increased invitation to the Court of foreign artists, hope domestic art there were young painters who, by decree of Peter, went abroad to study.
Ivan Nikitin came from the environment of the Moscow clergy, close to Peter and his entourage. One of his relatives, Pyotr Vasiliev, was the tsar's confessor. Father - priest Nikita Nikitin, for a long time served in the palace church of the village of Izmailovo, owned by Tsarina Praskovya Feodorovna, the widow of Peter's elder brother, Tsar Ivan Alekseevich. In the royal village of Izmailovo, a picturesque corner of the Moscow region, with its tower, orchards, vegetable gardens, ponds, groves filled with various curiosities, the Nikitin brothers, Vanya and Roman grew up. Both early began to draw, sang in the church choir. Peter often came to Izmailovo with his noisy company, and then the obedient daughter-in-law, Tsaritsa Praskovya, hastily hid from him traces of old Moscow Rus', jesters and jokers, the poor, holy fools and his favorite, the prophet Timothy Arkhipovich, and he jokingly and without malice called her mansions "hospital for freaks." Together with Peter, or his sister Tsarevna Natalya, foreign guests came to Izmailovo and there were artists among them. The famous Dutch traveler and painter Cornelius Le Bruyne painted portraits of Tsarina Praskovya and her daughters, the Izmailovo princesses, Svet-Katyushka, Pashenka and Anna. It can be assumed that the young Vanya Nikitin watched the work of Le Bruin and studied with him. The king himself was also familiar with the boy and followed his progress.
Ivan Nikitin received his initial education at the typographic school at the Armory under the Dutch engraver Adrian Schonebeck. It is quite possible that he acquired the skills of parsing, that is, portrait painting, from an unknown Russian artist, but the influence of le Bruyne and another famous foreigner, Tannauer, on Nikitin's early works is obvious. Apparently, his youthful work represented a well-established artist, and Peter was proud of him. The further, the more the skill of the painter Ivan grew. Not without reason, Peter Alekseevich instructs him to paint portraits of his daughters, Anna and Elizabeth. The youngest princess Lizeta is only three years old. For some reason, the future cheerful queen is too serious in Nikitin's portrait. A small child with round cheeks and plump lips is discharged like an adult. in silver robron with a scarlet mantle. Blond hair combed and whipped high. This is how she looked at her parents' wedding on February 19, 1712. Born before marriage, both princesses were married and walked with their parents around the lectern. Princess Lisette has always been very mobile. Wow, she probably got tired of posing, but you can’t jump up and play pranks. Mother threatens with her finger. Here she became silent, and her face became sad. With light touches of the brush, the artist sculpts her round face with a convex childish forehead, plump ruddy cheeks, a snub nose, and a soft chin.
Truthfulness and realism cannot be denied to the author of children's portraits of the daughters of Peter I. He was not only a judicious connoisseur of certain qualities of the model. There lived in him great kindness to life and to those who in this life were absolutely natural. No coquetry, cutesy mannerisms, angelic. The artist sees the artlessness of childhood, squeezed into adult frames. Little girls are uncomfortable in lush adult outfits. The images of Peter's daughters, created by the brush of the young Ivan Nikitin, are the first truly children's portraits in Russian painting. Probably, the little princesses adored the artist and could not wait for Vanya to finally put down his brush and play pranks with them.
Twenty-year-old princess Praskovya Ivanovna, Peter's niece, looks benevolently and dreamily. She was reputed to be sick and unfit for marriage with a foreign prince, but her face was beautiful and not stupid. Her elongated face is friendly with a slight smile hidden in the corners of her lips. Red robe in brittle folds. Deep-cut dress in iridescent brocade. A rich outfit gives the girl a special significance, moderating her inherent shyness.
 |
I. Nikitin. Portrait of Princess Praskovia Ioannovna |
The dark eyes of Peter's younger and beloved sister, Natalia Alekseevna, a sensible and creative woman, look thoughtfully. She organized a theater, was engaged in directing, she composed plays herself. She brought up, although she did not achieve success, her nephew and heir to the throne, Alexei Petrovich. Natalya was beautiful, but unhealthy fullness betrays a physical ailment. Nikitin creates two portraits of her. Both were probably written in 1716, shortly before the death of the princess.
Truthfulness, accuracy in the transfer of facial features, are combined with the deep sympathy of the artist for the models. There is almost no idealization in them. Nikitin emphasizes not nobility and high origin, not secular courtesy, but the originality and individuality of people he knows well. The artist captured and captured not only the habits and mannerisms of each of the subjects, but also how differently they wear outfits. Praskovya Ioannovna - with light grace, Natalya Alekseevna - with ponderous grace. The princess girls are a little awkward, clumsy. The figure of Natalya Alekseevna is large, occupies the entire space of the canvas and looks impressive, monumental. The small figures of Anna and Lisette seem fragile. The color of the portraits is bright, juicy. But the pictorial language of the canvases is still somewhat constrained, close to the parsuna of the 17th century. The head is written in volume, but the figure is somewhat flattened. However, already in early works Nikitin manifested humanity and humanism, which in the future will be the main distinguishing features of his work.
Already a master, Ivan Nikitin, at the behest of Tsar Peter, was sent to improve his education abroad, along with his brother Roman and two other artists. Ambassador Beklemishev accompanied them. The trip was exciting, despite financial difficulties and turmoil with the payment of a pension. In the same year, 1716, Peter, with his wife and retinue, also made a trip abroad. Here is what he writes to Catherine, who has lagged behind him: “Katerinushka, my friend, hello, I came across a meeting between Beklemishev and the painter Ivan, and when they come to you, then ask the king to tell him to write off his person, as well as others whom if you want ... so that they know that there are good craftsmen among our people." Pensioners of Peter go to Italy, copy paintings in the Vatican, attend classes at the Academy of Arts in Venice and Florence. Ivan improves his skills under the guidance of Professor of the Florentine Academy Tomaso Redi. "Ivan Nikitin was sent to Italy to study and in Italy he was a glorious master. Upon arrival, the sovereign ordered one hundred rubles to take half-length portraits for each of their majesties and ordered all the nobles to have sovereign portraits" - says the first historiographer of Russian painting, Jacob von Stehlin, in his notes .
Nikitin returned to St. Petersburg in 1720 with a certificate from the Florentine Academy of Arts, a master of personal affairs, dreaming of becoming a Russian Titian. Peter liked the works he brought. The king elevated him to the rank of "Hoffmaler", which, according to the Table of Ranks, was equal to the rank of colonel and gave him a plot to build a house near his palace. The courtiers rushed to fill Nikitin with orders, and he willingly and wrote a lot, easily and almost effortlessly. The artist was young and full of energy. A clear horizon stretched before him, the wind of Fortune merrily inflating the sails. Honor and happiness awaited ahead.
To be continued
On October 1, 1710, in Vienna, the artist Johann Gottfried Tannauer signed an agreement concluded with him on behalf of the Russian court by Baron Urbich. By mutual agreement, Tannauer agreed for the sum of 1,500 guilders "to accept the service of his royal majesty, and to his majesty by painting portraits of large and small in miniature, having art in both, to serve my best art" (1). At the same time, Tannauer's right to leave Russia was stipulated if "his work is not pleasing or the custom of the earth and air will not allow him to continue to stay." Then the artist was hardly aware of his honorable mission: he was destined to become the first court painter in Russian history.
The position of a court painter appeared in Russia in the Petrine era, during the period of assimilation of European court culture and the formation of modern art. The “royal isographer” (this name was given to Simon Ushakov, Karp Zolotarev, Ivan Refusitsky) was replaced by “hoffmaler”. His status was formalized, his rights and obligations were determined.
According to the "Table of Ranks", the position of court painter did not assign any class. When enrolling in the Russian service, a court painter, usually a foreigner, signed a contract, which informed about the professional capabilities and qualifications of the applicant and declared the joint intentions of the court and the artist. In Russia, the Hoffmaler's salary was usually paid from the Cabinet of His Imperial Majesty for the thirds of the year (January, May and September). Necessary materials(paints, brushes, canvases), an apartment (workshop), firewood and candles were also paid for by the treasury. The court painter, as a recorder of events, a servant and associate "at work", acted as an important object that "decorated" the new royal life (2).
Johann Gottfried Tannauer arrived in Russia at the age of 30 as a well-established master. In March 1711, in Smolensk, he met for the first time with the Russian tsar, who was on his way to the Prut campaign. Peter I immediately demanded the artist to accompany him. Being an active and creative person by nature, the reformer tsar highly appreciated the role of the artist as a person needed to strengthen the prestige of the sovereign and the state.
The Prut campaign ended in failure. Tannauer lost property and works brought with him. Passing through literally baptism of fire», german artist witnessed the fearless behavior of Peter I in a tragic situation. It is natural that in the early images of Peter by Tannauer, he appeared in the form of a hero - a commander against the backdrop of battles ("Peter in the Battle of Poltava", 1710s, Russian Museum; "Portrait of Peter the Great", 1716, State Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve " Moscow Kremlin"). In November 1711, I. Tannauer painted a portrait of Peter I for the House of the Blackheads in Riga (3). The court painter Tannauer acted as the creator of a certain canon of the emperor, which was repeated many times by the artist himself and other masters. Thus, the typology of Peter I, developed by Tannauer, became a model for the novice Russian painter I. Nikitin (“Portrait of Peter I against the backdrop of a sea battle”, 1715, Catherine Palace, Tsarskoye Selo).
The activities of Hoffmaler Tannauer at the St. Petersburg court were wide and varied: he painted portraits and miniatures, performed ink drawings, and also repaired watches (4). Note that such universalism of the court master was commonplace in other courts of Europe. So, Johann Christoph Groot, was not only the Hoffmaler of the Württemberg court, but also acted as a “Hofmusiker” and keeper of the art gallery. He worked on sketches for new liveries, masquerade dresses, fireworks, designed carriages and carriages, gilded grilles, decorated furniture, and even “designed” curly cakes. In the court hierarchy, the Hoffmaler occupied approximately the same position as a life doctor, cook or laundress. IN in a certain sense he was among the select servants admitted "to the body" of the emperor. It is significant that any official appeal to the Russian monarch by a court painter, even as a foreign citizen and a free man, had to end like this: "Your Majesty's lowest slave." However, in a creative sense, the Hoffmaler, despite the dependence on the taste of the monarch, was quite free. An important part of his profession was to predict the desire of a high customer, and sometimes literally "impose" his vision of the "object".
The activity of Louis Caravaque can serve as an example of the dialogue between artistic French culture and the Russian tsar-customer. November 13, 1715 in Paris P.B. Lefort entered into a contract with him to be accepted into the service to write "works in oil painting, historical paintings, portraits, forests, trees and flowers, animals both large and small" (5). Like Tannauer, Caravak was in the prime of his creative powers and could count on the fact that the age (32 years) and experience of the painter would be noted by the Russian tsar. However, upon arrival in St. Petersburg, Caravak did not receive the position of "hoffmaler", but served in the department of the City Chancellery (according to other sources - in the St. Petersburg Provincial Chancellery), then in the Chancellery from the buildings. His salary was much less than that of Tannauer (only 500 rubles a year). Nevertheless, the French artist constantly performed royal orders. So, he was instructed to paint pictures on the plots of the Russian-Swedish war, but he painted only the Battle of Poltava. Not being formally a court painter, Louis Caravaque was nevertheless honored to paint the sovereign from nature (in 1722 he accompanied Peter I to Astrakhan). Currently, two canvases are associated with the name of L. Caravaca: “Portrait of Emperor Peter I” (1717, Russian Museum) and “Portrait of Emperor Peter I” (1720s, Presidium of the Academy of Sciences, Moscow). Unlike the baroque depictions of Peter I by I. Tannauer, who glorified the monarch-commander, the works of Caravaque are of a “businesslike nature” and give an idea of the monarch-creator. The first Russian court painter was Ivan Nikitin, who was introduced to the court staff as a Hoffmaler in March 1721, shortly after his return from Italy. In relation to him, Peter I showed not only personal sympathy, but also civic pride "for the good master" of the Russian people. The emperor insistently "recommended" those around him to order portraits from Nikitin, ordered him to build a Stone House at the expense of the state treasury. For this, the painter was given a plot now occupied by house number 70 along the Moika River embankment (opposite the Mariinsky Palace). However, the salary of the Russian artist remained less than that of foreigners (6). The stay at the court of Peter the Great at the same time of two official court painters, as well as other foreign masters, created an atmosphere of creative competition. This state of affairs forced everyone to work more actively, to show their abilities more vividly, speaking modern language, to "give the best". Despite the rivalry, the court masters had to cooperate.
So, Johann Tannauer and Ivan Nikitin participated in the burial ceremony (March 1725) of Peter the Great. Several images of the emperor “in his deceased form” have been preserved (I.N. Nikitin “Peter I on his deathbed”, 1725, Russian Museum; I.G. Tannauer “Peter I on his deathbed”, 1725, GE). Unlike Nikitin, who keenly felt the pain and grief of the loss of the country's great reformer and personal patron of the artist, Tannauer is more objective and drier. The court painter-foreigner only fixes the event, physiologically accurately conveys the deathly pallor of the face, the pointed nose. The Russian artist chose an unusual angle, thanks to which the dead Peter remains majestic, and also used hot red-brown tones, emphasizing the tragedy of what is happening.
After Peter's death, the position of Tannauer and Nikitin worsened. Under Empress Catherine I, the court painters were very irregularly paid from the treasury their salaries due to them, and they came "in no small ruin." The workshop promised to the Russian artist was never built. The term of the contract with Tannauer had expired by that time, and he sent a petition in which he wrote in rather harsh terms: “I ask only for my free apshit. For in this case, I do not intend to stay here anymore, but I want to look for my happiness in other places ”(7). On January 20, 1727, Catherine I issued a special decree on the release of Hoffmaler Tannauer from office. After the departure of Tannauer and Nikitin did not stay in this post. He was fired in August 1729 already under Emperor Peter II, "who did not need his services." The end of the life of the Russian master was tragic: in August 1732, Ivan Nikitin was arrested for possession of a notebook with a libel on Feofan Prokopovich, beaten with whips and exiled to Tobolsk.
Much more successful was the fate of Louis Caravaque, who was appointed under Empress Anna Ioannovna "the court's first master of painting" (at first with a salary of 1,500 rubles, then - 2,000 rubles a year). The art of the Rococo style portrait, which he mastered to perfection french painter, met the tastes of other empresses. Therefore, as a Hoffmaler, Caravak remained both under the ruler Anna Leopoldovna and under the Empress Elizaveta Petrovna. In the reign of Elizabeth Petrovna, a strict regulation of the royal image was legally fixed. According to the law of the Russian Empire, the "free" images of the reigning person, who did not pass the "approbation" (approval) of the empress, were destroyed, and the performers were severely punished. The court painter Caravaque, who painted Princess Elizabeth as a girl, became the author of her official image as the new empress. In May 1743, he was entrusted with a responsible order - to execute fourteen portraits of Elizaveta Petrovna for Russian embassies abroad (8).
In the reign of Elizabeth Petrovna, along with Louis Caravaque, another Hoffmaler, the German Georg Christoph Groot (son of the court painter I.Kh. Groth from Württemberg), worked. He entered the service during brief reign Anna Leopoldovna. With the accession of the daughter of Peter the Great, Groot remained at the court "in the same conditions." His salary was 1,500 rubles a year, “and besides that, an apartment, or instead of an apartment, ten rubles a month, and thirty rubles a year for firewood” (9). In translation, this amount was three thousand guilders, which was a fantastic amount compared to the salary of Father Grotto (300 guilders). In 1743, G. Groot was appointed "director of the gallery." The court painter actively formed the first imperial art galleries in the Hermitage and Tsarskoye Selo. G.H. Groot achieved success thanks to “small” portraits-paintings, in which the “merry Elizabeth” appeared in a variety of images and vestments: a colonel on horseback in the Transfiguration uniform, a noble lady at a ball, in a masquerade domino, or a naked goddess (“Portrait of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna in Image of Flora”, 1748, Tsarskoye Selo State Artistic and Architectural Palace and Park Reserve). By imagining the queen naked, the German artist admitted the unseen in the eyes of the Russians. Orthodox people blasphemy and hitherto unfamiliar liberty. Of course, a court portrait painter could afford such a composition only with the permission of the Empress herself; thereby the Russian court was attached to the courtly European culture. When writing such plots in France, the motifs of a gallant eclogue, erotic overtones, the entire arsenal of “careless pranks of French wit” (A.S. Pushkin) were brilliantly used. In Russia, Groot created an elegant "little thing" of the Rococo style. In Ludwigsburg, where the German artist was formed, there were special "particular cabinets" in the duke's palace. Their interiors were painted with "jolly" motifs, and miniatures and small-format paintings of obscenely erotic content were kept in special showcases. Groot's "Portrait of Elizabeth Petrovna as Flora" was intended for the empress's private apartments and was hidden from prying eyes by a curtain.
After the sudden death of Georg Christoph Groot in 1749, a new court painter was urgently needed. In 1750, on the recommendation of Count N. Bjelke, who had M.I. Vorontsov requested a "strong portrait painter", the Austrian painter Georg Gaspard Prenner, who worked in Rome in those years, was identified. The contract was concluded for three years on the same "conditions" as with the painter Grotto (10). Prenner stayed in Russia for five years and painted "Portrait of Empress Elizaveta Petrovna" (1754, Tretyakov Gallery), in which the Russian Empress is presented in a floral frame (in accordance with the tradition of depicting the Madonna in Western European art). The ceremonial portrait by Prenner can serve as a vivid illustration of the reflection of the theory of "complementation", which is very common in Germany and Austria. In one of H. Weise's treatises, it was said that nature itself teaches complements: flowers open in the morning, welcoming the sunrise, their lord; the iron moves as soon as it senses the magnet. “The whole world is full of compliments,” and therefore skillful flattery is an important and necessary science (11). Hoffmaler Prenner used a rich arsenal of pictorial complements. He likens Elizaveta Petrovna to the sun (it is no coincidence that there is a sunflower over her head), thanks to which exotic plants and simple wild flowers flourish. Speaking allegorically, thanks to the wisdom of the Empress, all classes prosper.
During the reign of Catherine the Great, the position of the court painter changes. The Danish artist Vigilius Eriksen, who failed in 1757 at home in the competition of the Royal Academy, came to seek his fortune in Russia. After accession to the throne of Catherine II, he made a brilliant career. According to Jakob Stehlin, “from the beginning of the reign of Empress Catherine II, Eriksen was kept as the first court painter. He was never on a salary, but forced to pay for each painting separately and in excess. His annual earnings at court alone were estimated at 5,000 rubles” (12). Eriksen's "Portrait of Catherine II on Horseback" (HE), painted for the audience hall in the Peterhof Palace, became an important artistic evidence of the fateful days of the historical upheaval on June 28, 1762. During the coronation period, in the autumn of 1762, Vigilius Eriksen was in Moscow, where he executed another portrait of the Empress. In "Portrait in front of a mirror" (GE), he used a kind of artistic technique. Reflection in the mirror allows you to see the Empress at the same time in profile and full face.
“Two hypostases of Catherine are captured: the firm, almost stern, abstract, as minted on coins, profile of the Empress of All Russia and the friendly, albeit secularly cold, face of an intelligent and charming woman turned towards the viewer” (13).
The profile image of Catherine II was also used in the portrait of the Empress by the Russian master Fyodor Rokotov (1763, State Tretyakov Gallery). Not being a court painter, he also painted the coronation portrait of the Empress, where she was first presented in full regalia. royal power. The large ceremonial canvas was based on a profile sketch (TG), which has an inscription on the back: “Written in 1763: the year of Maya, 20 days. Painter of the academy adjunct Fedor Rokotov painted. Thirty rubles were paid for the work. Camera Fourier journals testify that on the day indicated on the canvas, the Empress was in Rostov Veliky. Could a Russian artist accompany her on her journey? In this work, Rokotov managed to get away from the hackneyed methods of the usual "representative" portraits of the previous time. It is significant that the portrait painted by Rokotov was recognized as the official image of the Empress. In 1766, by order of the Collegium of Foreign Affairs, he performed six copies, which were sent to a number of Russian embassies abroad (14).
The Empress was very fond of the work of Mikhail Shibanov, where she is presented in a travel suit. Catherine II and willingly gave these images, translated by P.G. Zharkov in miniature.
Simultaneously with Danish and Russian artists, the Italian master Stefano Torelli worked on the coronation portrait of Catherine the Great. Italian master. In 1768 he assumed the position of court painter. He remained in this position until his death in 1780. The Englishman Richard Brompton was taken in place of "the painter Thorellius, who was in the service." Two years later, having executed portraits of the Empress and her grandchildren Alexander and Constantine, the court painter died suddenly in Tsarskoye Selo "from a rotten fever."
During the reign of Paul I, Martin Kvadal, a portrait painter of the Viennese court, was invited to St. Petersburg, with whom the “Prince Severny” (pseudonym of Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich) could have met during a trip abroad. His painting, dedicated to the coronation of Maria Feodorovna, is kept in the Saratov Museum. A.N. Radishchev. However, he did not have an official title. The post of court painter was taken in 1798 by Gebhard Kugelchen. He received the special favor of the emperor, having painted it in the circle of his family (the work is kept in the Pavlovsk State Artistic and Architectural Palace and Park Museum-Reserve).
Thus, only eight court painters worked in Russia during the entire 18th century. Among them are foreigners: the Saxon I. Tannauer, the Gascon L. Caravak, the Swabian Georg Christoph Groot, the Austrian Georg Gaspard Prenner, the Italian Stefano Torelli, the Briton Richard Bromton, the German Gebhard Kügelchen and the only Russian, Ivan Nikitin, who was trained in Italy. All outstanding Russian portrait painters of the second half of the century (Fyodor Rokotov, Dmitry Levitsky and Vladimir Borovikovsky), as well as pensioners of the Academy of Arts who improved their skills in European countries (Anton Losenko, Ivan Akimov), did not receive such a high status.
The court painter in Russia of the 18th century served as a kind of "guide" between Western European and Russian court culture. young Russian empire attracted foreign craftsmen primarily by favorable material and living conditions, an abundance of guaranteed orders, and most importantly, by the fact that in a distant country it was easier to realize oneself creatively.
The court painter, in order not to lose a profitable position, like a sensitive meteorologist, had to have a kind of internal barometer predicting changes in the court climate. Each of the court masters, by virtue of national temperament, brought up on certain artistic traditions his country and the aesthetic aspirations of the time, could not transgress the rules developed in society and in art. However, due to own ideas about artistic truth, with all the strength of his talent, he asserted the inviolability of the monarch's generic qualities, emphasized his high position, and in general, contributed to the strengthening of the state ideals of enlightened absolutism in Russia.
IN XIX century historical setting has changed. The institution of court painters in that era was not so attractive to foreign masters. Increasingly, fashionable painters in Europe came to Russia for short period and worked at the court, fulfilling a specific order, without burdening themselves with additional obligations. Thus, the English artist George Doe came to St. Petersburg at the invitation of Alexander I to work on portraits of the military gallery of the Hermitage. In 1828 he was awarded the honorary title of "the first portrait painter" of the Russian court. As a connoisseur of copyright law, Dow meticulously observed legal formalities and did not allow his creative enslavement. One of the most popular battle painters and portrait painters in Berlin, Franz Krueger, visited St. Petersburg six times, but, despite the favorable offers, he did not commit himself to being a court painter.
Increasingly, the position of a court painter in Russia "got" to domestic masters. In 1823, this post was taken by the historical painter Vasily Shebuev. In 1829, Grigory Chernetsov was recorded in the Cabinet of His Imperial Majesty as a court painter. In 1832 - Timothy Neff. Emperor Nicholas I, who himself A.S. Pushkin preached "diligent service and diligence", impressed by people who are modest, diligent and devoted. The Baltic youth Neff "honored the emperor, Nicholas, thanks to paternal approval and large orders, gave him the opportunity to fully develop." As a court painter, Neff was supposed to teach the royal children how to draw. His daughter's touching reminiscences have been preserved of how, during breaks, the artist told them "touching and absurd stories", played "all sorts of harmless games" (15). G.G. Chernetsov, having received news of the appointment, wrote in his diary with undisguised delight: “This is something extraordinary, something incomprehensible. God! My!" (16).
And there was something to rejoice at: how good things rained down on Chernetsov from a cornucopia. He was given new apartment on the second line of Vasilyevsky Island, in 1830 he received a gold watch and a diamond ring from the sovereign. In addition, the court painter had a workshop in the center of St. Petersburg. The artist's atelier was often visited by the emperor himself and members of the imperial family, V.A. Zhukovsky, N.V. Puppeteer. Grigory Chernetsov became a true chronicler of the events of court life. He painted parades (“Parade on the occasion of the end of hostilities in the Kingdom of Poland on Tsaritsyn Meadow in St. Petersburg on October 6, 1831”, 1832–1837, Russian Museum), scenes of divine services and memorial services. The duties of the court painter included depicting the interiors of the Winter Palace (“The Study of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna”, “Gallery in the Winter Palace”). Nicholas I, who himself drew beautifully, constantly pointed out to the artists mistakes in the formation of regiments, made sure that the details of the military uniform were correctly depicted.
Thus, both in the 18th and at the beginning of the 19th century, there were masters in Russia who fruitfully combined service at the royal court and creativity. Moreover, the high status of the customer determined the special degree of responsibility of the artist both to the depicted ruler and to the subjects of the country, for whom this ruler was imprinted for centuries. Over time, in the process of changing the professional self-awareness of the creator, his relationship with the authorities will also change, which, of course, will be reflected in the interpretation of images - his own, different in each case. But this is a topic for independent research.
