Portrait of the famous artist. The Garden of Earthly Delights Hieronymus Bosch
Mysterious world art may seem confusing to an inexperienced person, but there are masterpieces that everyone should know. Talent, inspiration and painstaking work over each stroke, they give birth to works that are admired centuries later.
It is impossible to collect all the outstanding creations in one collection, but we tried to choose the most famous paintings, gathering giant queues in front of museums around the world.
The most famous paintings by Russian artists
"Morning in a pine forest", Ivan Shishkin and Konstantin Savitsky
Year of creation: 1889Museum
Shishkin was an excellent landscape painter, but he rarely had to draw animals, so Savitsky, an excellent animal painter, painted the figures of the cubs. At the end of the work, Tretyakov ordered Savitsky's signature to be erased, believing that Shishkin had done much more extensive work.
"Ivan the Terrible and his son Ivan on November 16, 1581" by Ilya Repin
Years of creation: 1883–1885Museum: Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow
To create a masterpiece, better known as "Ivan the Terrible kills his son", Repin was inspired by the symphony "Antar" by Rimsky-Korsakov, namely, its second movement called "The Sweetness of Revenge". Under the influence of the sounds of music, the artist depicted a bloody scene of murder and subsequent repentance, observed in the eyes of the sovereign.
Seated Demon, Mikhail Vrubel
Year of creation: 1890Museum: Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow
The painting was one of thirty illustrations drawn by Vrubel for the anniversary edition of the works of M.Yu. Lermontov. The "seated demon" personifies the doubts inherent in the human spirit, the subtle, elusive "mood of the soul." According to experts, the artist was to some extent obsessed with the image of a demon: this painting was followed by "Demon flying" and "Demon defeated".
"Boyar Morozova", Vasily Surikov
Years of creation: 1884–1887Museum: Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow
The plot of the Old Believer life "The Tale of the Boyar Morozova" formed the basis of the picture. Understanding key image came to the artist when he saw a crow spread its black wings like a spot on a snowy canvas. Later, Surikov searched for a prototype for the noblewoman’s face for a long time, but could not find anything suitable, until one day he met an Old Believer woman with a pale, frantic face in the cemetery. The portrait sketch was completed in two hours.
"Bogatyrs", Viktor Vasnetsov
Years of creation: 1881–1898Museum: Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow
The future epic masterpiece was born as a small pencil sketch in 1881; for further work on the canvas, Vasnetsov painstakingly collected information about the heroes from myths, legends and traditions for many years, and also studied authentic ancient Russian ammunition in museums.
Analysis of Vasnetsov's painting "Three Heroes"
"Bathing the Red Horse", Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin
Year of creation: 1912Museum: Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow
Initially, the painting was conceived as an everyday sketch from the life of a Russian village, but during the work the artist’s canvas acquired a huge number of symbols. By the red horse, Petrov-Vodkin meant "The Fate of Russia"; after the country joined the First world war he exclaimed, "So that's why I painted this picture!". However, after the revolution, pro-Soviet art critics interpreted the key figure of the canvas as a "harbinger of revolutionary fires."
"Trinity", Andrey Rublev
Year of creation: 1411Museum: Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow
The icon that laid the foundation for the tradition of Russian icon painting of the 15th-16th centuries. The canvas depicting the Old Testament trinity of angels who appeared to Abraham is a symbol of the unity of the Holy Trinity.
The Ninth Wave, Ivan Aivazovsky
Year of creation: 1850Museum
A pearl in the "cartography" of the legendary domestic marine painter, who can be without hesitation classified as one of the most famous artists in the world. We can see how miraculously surviving sailors after the storm cling to the mast in anticipation of a meeting with the "ninth wave", the mythical apogee of all storms. But the warm shades that dominate the canvas give hope for the salvation of the victims.
"The Last Day of Pompeii", Karl Bryullov
Years of creation: 1830–1833Museum: Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
Completed in 1833, Bryullov's painting was originally exhibited in largest cities Italy, where it caused a real sensation - the painter was compared with Michelangelo, Titian, Raphael ... At home, the masterpiece was met with no less enthusiasm, securing the nickname "Charles the Great" for Bryullov. The canvas is truly great: its dimensions are 4.6 by 6.5 meters, which makes it one of the largest paintings among the creations of Russian artists.
The most famous paintings by Leonardo da Vinci
"Mona Lisa"
Years of creation: 1503–1505Museum: Louvre, Paris
A masterpiece of Florentine genius that needs no introduction. It is noteworthy that the painting received cult status after the incident with the abduction from the Louvre in 1911. Two years later, the kidnapper, who turned out to be a museum employee, tried to sell the painting to the Uffizi Gallery. The events of the high-profile case were covered in detail in the world press, after which hundreds of thousands of reproductions went on sale, and the mysterious Mona Lisa became an object of worship.
Years of creation: 1495–1498Museum: Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan
After five centuries, a fresco with a classical plot on the wall of the refectory of the Dominican monastery in Milan is recognized as one of the most mysterious paintings in history. As conceived by Da Vinci, the picture depicts the moment of the Easter meal, when Christ notifies the disciples of the imminent betrayal. The sheer quantity of hidden symbols has given rise to an equally vast array of studies, allusions, borrowings, and parodies.
"Madonna Litta"
Year of creation: 1491Museum: Hermitage, St. Petersburg
Also known as the "Madonna and Child" painting for a long time was kept in the collection of the Dukes of Litta, and in 1864 was bought by the St. Petersburg Hermitage. Many experts agree that the figure of the baby was not painted personally by da Vinci, but by one of his students - a pose that is too uncharacteristic for a painter.
The most famous paintings of Salvador Dali
Year of creation: 1931Museum: Museum contemporary art, NY
Paradoxically, the most famous work of the surrealist genius was born from the thought of Camembert cheese. One evening, after a friendly dinner that ended with appetizers with cheese, the artist immersed himself in thoughts about the “spreading pulp”, and his imagination painted a picture like a melting clock with an olive branch in the foreground.
Year of creation: 1955Museum: National Gallery art, Washington
A traditional plot that received a surreal canvas using arithmetic principles studied by Leonardo da Vinci. The artist put the original magic of the number "12" at the forefront, moving away from the hermeneutical method of interpreting the biblical story.
The most famous paintings by Pablo Picasso
Year of creation: 1905Museum: Pushkin Museum, Moscow
The painting became the first signs of the so-called "pink" period in the work of Picasso. A rough texture and a simplified style are combined with a sensitive play of lines and colors, a contrast between the massive figure of an athlete and a fragile gymnast. The canvas was sold along with 29 other works for 2 thousand francs (in total) to the Parisian collector Vollard, changed several collections, and in 1913 it was acquired by the Russian philanthropist Ivan Morozov, already for 13 thousand francs.
Year of creation: 1937Museum: Reina Sofia Museum, Madrid
Guernica is the name of a city in the Basque country that was bombed by the Germans in April 1937. Picasso had never been to Guernica, but was stunned by the scale of the catastrophe, like a "blow of a bull's horn." The artist conveyed the horrors of war in an abstract form and showed the real face of fascism, veiling it with bizarre geometric shapes.
The most famous paintings of the Renaissance
"Sistine Madonna", Raphael Santi
Years of creation: 1512–1513Museum: Old Masters Gallery, Dresden
If you look closely at the background, at first glance consisting of clouds, you can see that in fact Raphael depicted the heads of angels there. The two angels located at the bottom of the picture are known almost more than the masterpiece itself, due to the wide circulation in mass art.
The Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli
Year of creation: 1486Museum: Uffizi Gallery, Florence
At the heart of the painting ancient greek myth about the birth of Aphrodite from the sea foam. Unlike many masterpieces of the Renaissance, the canvas has survived to this day in excellent condition thanks to a protective layer of egg yolk with which Botticelli prudently covered the work.
The Creation of Adam by Michelangelo Buonarotti
Year of creation: 1511Museum: Sistine Chapel, Vatican
One of the nine frescoes on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, illustrating the chapter from Genesis: "And God created man in his own image." It was Michelangelo who first portrayed God as a wise-haired old man, after which this image became archetypal. Modern scientists believe that the contours of the figure of God and angels represent the human brain.
"Night Watch", Rembrandt
Year of creation: 1642Museum: State Museum, Amsterdam
The full title of the painting is "Speech of the Rifle Company of Captain Frans Banning Cock and Lieutenant Willem van Ruytenbürg." Modern name the picture received in the 19th century, when it was found by art historians, who, because of the layer of dirt covering the work, decided that the action in the picture takes place under the cover of night darkness.
The Garden of Earthly Delights Hieronymus Bosch
Years of creation: 1500–1510Museum: Prado Museum, Madrid "Black Square"
Malevich wrote Black Square for several months; the legend says that a painting is hidden under a layer of black paint - the artist did not have time to finish the work on time and, in a fit of anger, smeared over the image. There are at least seven copies of the "Black Square" made by Malevich, as well as a kind of "continuation" of the Suprematist squares - "Red Square" (1915) and " White square» (1918).
"Scream", Edvard Munch
Year of creation: 1893Museum: National Gallery, Oslo
Due to the inexplicable mystical effect on the viewer, the painting was stolen in 1994 and 2004. There is an opinion that the picture created at the turn of the 20th century anticipated numerous catastrophes of the coming century. The deep symbolism of The Scream inspired many artists, including Andy Warhol.
This painting still causes a lot of controversy. Some art historians believe that the hype around the painting, painted in the proprietary spatter technique, was artificially created. The canvas was not sold until all the other works of the artist were bought, respectively, the price for a non-objective masterpiece skyrocketed. Number Five was sold for $140 million, making it the most expensive painting in history.
Diptych Marilyn, Andy Warhol
Year of creation: 1962Museum: Tate Gallery, London
A week after the death of Marilyn Monroe, the scandalous artist began work on the canvas. 50 stencil portraits of the actress were applied to the canvas, stylized in the pop art genre based on a 1953 photograph.
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Of all, the most popular is the portrait, which allows you to capture a person or a group of people on canvas. According to an old legend, this one originated at the time Ancient Greece when the girl said goodbye to her lover who was leaving for the war and, in order to forever perpetuate his image in her memory, circled the shadow falling from him on the wall. Over the centuries, the art of painting improved and it reached the height of its mastery by the 18th century. It was at this time that portraits of famous artists began to appear, which depicted not only the appearance of the hero, but also conveyed his feelings, experiences, temperament.
Features of the paintings of the Peter the Great era
In European fine arts The 18th century is rightly called the time of domination portrait genre. It is this type of painting that becomes predominant, because everyone wanted to get paintings with their own image. In Russia, Peter I brought popularity to the portrait. The emperor's progressive reforms contributed to the beginning of close cooperation between the state and European countries, and Russian painting began to gradually enrich itself with elements of Western secular art. However, despite the influence of foreign culture, portraits of famous artists of the 18th century living in Russia have not lost their originality and expressiveness.
Types of paintings
Initially, portraits were divided into ceremonial and chamber ones. The first type included paintings in which a person was depicted in full height during the celebration (if the hero was painted to the waist, then the picture was considered half-dress). He was dressed in magnificent clothes and stood in a proud pose, surrounded by a luxurious background. Such canvases were exhibited in the reception hall for all to see.
Chamber portraits were the opposite of formal ones: here the sitter was depicted in a relaxed pose, immersed in his thoughts and activities. This type of artwork was intended to decorate the walls of small rooms, away from prying eyes.
In the 18th century, ceremonial and chamber paintings still did not lose their popularity, but another type of painting was added to them - intimate. Here the artist tried not only to depict a person, but also to convey his inner world with a brush. The luxurious background was ignored. Many famous portraits Russian artists were often written in an intimate style.
Transformation of paintings in the 18th century
Notable figures in the art of that time were such painters as I. Nikitin, F. Rokotov, I. Argunov, A. Antropov, D. Levitsky, V. Borovikovsky, A. Matveev and others. Portraits of famous artists are imbued with high respect for the personality of a person. If even in the first half of the 18th century the paintings of this genre were parsunas (flat, frozen images of noble people, made with icon-painting techniques), then gradually the masters begin to move away from this, introducing into their works the breath of life, light and emotions. creative legacy painters of the 18th century largely determined the fate of the Russian portrait.
Creativity I. Nikitin
The artist Ivan Nikitin (born in the mid-1680s - died around 1742) was the pride of Peter the Great. The emperor highly appreciated the creative skills of the painter, considering him a portrait painter European level. Early work The artist's paintings are made in a parsonic manner with its inherent gloom, flatness of the image, fuzzy play of light and shadow. But, despite this, the portraits of Nikitin, painted at the initial stage of his work, are particularly realistic and psychological, they completely lack flattery to the hero of the picture, which was abused by many ceremonial painters of that time. Gradually, Nikitin moved away from parsing and improved his skills, preserving in it the realism of the image and a subtle understanding inner peace person.
The painter's brush belongs to several paintings depicting Peter I, as well as many other noble people (the emperor's wife, his daughters Elizabeth, Anna and others). most good job the artist is considered to be "Portrait of the Floor Hetman" (circa 1725). The picture impresses with the tragic image of the hero - an old man, on whose face there is strength, power, experience and sorrow. Before today it is not known exactly who Ivan Nikitin painted on his canvas. The painter enhanced the dramatic effect of the painting with a skillful selection of shades of colors. This canvas, like other portraits of famous artists, depicts not just a person, but an entire era.
Rokotov - the creator of the half-dress style
If Ivan Nikitin was a particularly bright painter of the early 18th century, then the second half of the century became famous (1735 - 1808). He was especially good at portraits of women. There were not so many well-known artists who could convey feminine tenderness and grace on canvas, and Rokotov turned out to be in great demand. He wrote many of his works in a semi-ceremonial style.
The talent of the master conquered Catherine II, and in 1763 she specially invited him to create her coronation portrait. The painter depicted the Empress in profile, successfully emphasizing her stately figure and thoroughbred face. Catherine liked the picture so much that she continued to order artists to paint her portraits, copying the style of Rokotov. The brushes of the painter belong to Struyskaya, Princess Yusupova, Peter III and other noble persons of that time. He paid the main attention to the faces of customers, making them soft, gentle, as if glowing from within. Thanks to this approach, his portraits turned out to be realistic, they conveyed the feelings of the people from whom they were painted.
V. Borovikovsky - singer of the female image
Considering the portraits of girls by famous Russian artists, one cannot fail to mention Vladimir Borovikovsky (1757-1825). Fame came to him in last decade 18th century. Borovikovsky created chamber portraits, emphasizing the sentimentality and tenderness of their models. He painted not only rich women, but also simple peasant women, conveying on canvas all the female beauty of that era. Images of Lopukhina, Naryshkina, Arsenyeva, the peasant woman Khristinya, double portrait maids of the Lvov family Lizonka and Dashenka are the most masters. Women with soft hair, a gentle blush and a luminous look look touchingly from the canvases. Despite the fact that all the paintings of the author are written in the same style, they are a real work of art of that time.
D. Levitsky and his paintings
Dmitry Levitsky (1735-1822) is another famous portrait painter of the 18th century. Like other artists, he skillfully depicted in his works the beauty of the inner world of man. Levitsky became famous as a master of ceremonial style. He painted the characters very realistically, without flattery and embellishment of the client's appearance. Levitsky left behind a whole gallery of portraits, depicting Catherine II, E. Vorontsova, A. Kokorinov, P. Demidov, Ursula Mnishek and many other of his famous contemporaries.
Features of the preserved painting
The 18th century left as a memory of itself paintings-portraits of famous artists, which today can be seen in Tretyakov Gallery, Russian and Pushkin museums, private collections. The painted canvases are so realistic that they amaze art lovers with the level of skill of painters of past years. Portraits of women by famous artists look especially colorful, from which life, youth and extraordinary plausibility of the image breathe.
Portrait - the art of reproducing the image of a person or group of persons with absolute accuracy. As a rule, this is an artistic drawing that obeys a certain style. The artist who painted the portrait may belong to one or another school of painting. And his works are recognizable thanks to the individuality and style that the painter follows.
Past and present
Portrait painters depict real-life people by drawing from nature, or reproduce images from the past from memory. In any case, the portrait is based on something and carries information about specific person. Often, such a picture reflects some era, whether it be modernity or the past. In this case, instead of the usual background, portrait painters depict several accompanying conventional signs, such as the architecture of that time, indicated in the background, or other characteristic objects.
Rembrandt
The visual arts are varied and separate genres can exist independently of each other, and can be synthesized. So in the portrait, different subjects are combined into one whole, but at the same time the person's face always dominates. The great portrait painters of the past mastered the art of artistic representation to perfection. These masters include Dutch artist Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669), who painted many portraits. And each of them is recognized true art immortal, because the paintings of Rembrandt van Rijn are more than five hundred years old.
Engraving is a fine art
The great portrait painters of the past are National treasure those countries in which they were born, lived and created their paintings. He left a significant mark in the history of painting german artist Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528), who worked in the genre of engraving. His paintings are exhibited in the most prestigious museums in the world. Pictures painted by the artist different time such as "Portrait of a Young Venetian Woman", "Portrait of Emperor Maximilian", "Portrait of young man"and others, are unsurpassed masterpieces. Great portrait painters are different from all other artists high level self-expression. Their paintings are an example to follow.
Women's theme
Giovanni Boldini (1842-1931), italian artist, occupies one of the first places in the list of "Great portrait painters of the world". He is recognized as an unsurpassed master of the female portrait. His canvases can be viewed for hours, the images are so accurate and picturesque. Juicy colors, mostly cold shades, contrasting strokes, the play of halftones - everything is collected in his paintings. The artist manages to convey the character of the lady depicted on the canvas, and even her mood.
Famous Russian portrait painters
There have been great artists in Rus' at all times. Portrait art originated in the 14th century AD, when talented painters such as Andrei Rublev appeared and Their work did not fully correspond with the portrait genre, since these artists painted icons, however general principles image creations matched.
During the same period he created famous artist Dionysius (1440-1502), henchman of Ivan III, Tsar of Moscow. The monarch instructed the artist to paint the cathedral or church, and then watched how he creates his masterpieces. The king liked to participate in such a charitable work.
One of the first masters of Russian portrait art was Ivan Nikitin (1680-1742), who was trained in Europe. He enjoyed the favor of Emperor Peter the Great. The most famous works of Nikitin are portraits of August II, the King of Poland and the Duke of Mecklenburg.
Zubov Alexey (1682-1750), an outstanding master of portrait art. He was a favorite. Together with his father, the famous icon painter Fyodor Zubov, he participated in the design of the Armory of the Moscow Kremlin.
The great portrait painters of the 18th century in Russia, as a rule, painted to order.
Vasily Tropinin (1776-1857), famous Russian painter, really became famous in 1827. He created the belt Alexander Sergeevich, the brightest representative Russian poetry. The order was made by the poet himself. And the picture was intended for a friend of Alexander Sergeevich, Sobolevsky. The portrait became the most famous creation of all, which ever depicted Pushkin. The painting "Alexander Pushkin" by Tropinin has forever become a classic of the genre.
Orest Kiprensky (1782-1836) began writing at the age of 22. The first portrait was created by Kiprensky in the style of Rembrandt, A. K. Walbe was depicted on the canvas. The most famous work of the artist is "Portrait of E.V. Davydov", written in 1809. Several paintings by Orest Kiprensky are in the Tretyakov Gallery.
Alexei Venetsianov (1780-1847) is a Russian artist who is considered the founder of the narrative style in portraiture. He was a student of the venerable painter Vladimir Borovikovsky. Young became widely known thanks to the painting "Portrait of a Mother", created in 1801.
Borovikovsky Vladimir (1757-1825), a native of Mirgorod, became famous and famous after meeting with Catherine II, traveling as part of her 1787 tour. The painter created a series of artistic paintings in the palace, which was on the path of the empress. Catherine was delighted with the work of Borovikovsky and awarded him large sum money.
The list of "Great portrait painters of Russia of the 19th century" is headed by Ivan Nikolaevich Kramskoy (1837-1887), an outstanding painter, master of wall paintings religious nature. Portrait art of Kramskoy allowed him to create whole line images famous people, including P. M. Tretyakov, S. P. Botkin, I. I. Shishkin, M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin, L. N. Tolstoy and others.
The most famous portrait painters of modern Russia
Igor Belkovsky (born 1962), Corresponding Member of the Russian Art Academy, member of the Union of Artists of Russia, laureate of the "For a Bright Future" award established by the Governor Chelyabinsk region.
(born 1943), People's Artist USSR, member of the Presidential Council for Culture and Art. Author of numerous portraits of his contemporaries.
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First of all, we know two things about the painting: its author and, possibly, the history of the canvas. But about the fate of those who look at us from canvases, we know not so much.
website I decided to talk about women whose faces are familiar to us, but their stories are not.
Jeanne Samary
Auguste Renoir, Portrait of the Actress Jeanne Samary, 1877
The actress Jeanne Samary, although she could not become a stage star (she played mainly maids), was lucky in something else: for some time she lived not far from the workshop of Renoir, who painted four portraits of her in 1877-1878, thereby glorifying much more than it could make her actor career. Zhanna played in performances from the age of 18, at 25 she got married and had three children, then even wrote a children's book. But this charming lady, unfortunately, did not live long: at the age of 33 she fell ill with typhoid fever and died.
Cecilia Gallerani
Leonardo da Vinci, Lady with an Ermine
1489-1490
Cecilia Gallerani was a girl from a noble Italian family who was already engaged at the age of 10 (!) years. However, when the girl was 14, the engagement was canceled for unknown reasons, and Cecilia was sent to a monastery, where she met (or it was all set up) the Duke of Milan, Ludovico Sforza. An affair began, Cecilia became pregnant and the duke settled the girl in his castle, but then it was time to enter into a dynastic marriage with another woman, who, of course, did not like the presence of her mistress in their house. Then, after the birth of Gallerani, the duke took his son for himself, and married her to an impoverished count.
In this marriage, Cecilia gave birth to four children, kept almost the very first literary salon in Europe, visited the duke and played with pleasure with his child from a new mistress. After a while, Cecilia's husband died, the war broke out, she lost her well-being and found shelter in the house of the sister of the same wife of the duke - in such a wonderful relationship she managed to be with people. After the war, Gallerani returned to her estate, where she lived until her death at the age of 63.
Zinaida Yusupova
V.A. Serov, "Portrait of Princess Zinaida Yusupova", 1902
The richest Russian heiress, the last of the Yusupov family, Princess Zinaida was incredibly good-looking, and, despite the fact that august persons, among others, sought her favor, she wanted to marry for love. She fulfilled her desire: the marriage was happy and brought two sons. Yusupova spent a lot of time and effort on charitable activities, and after the revolution continued it in exile. The beloved eldest son died in a duel when the princess was 47 years old, and she could hardly bear this loss. With the onset of unrest, the Yusupovs left St. Petersburg and settled in Rome, and after the death of her husband, the princess moved to her son in Paris, where she spent the rest of her days.
Maria Lopukhina
V.L. Borovikovsky, “Portrait of M.I. Lopukhina", 1797
Borovikovsky painted many portraits of Russian noblewomen, but this one is the most charming. Maria Lopukhina, a member of the Tolstoy count family, is depicted here at the tender age of 18. The portrait was commissioned by her husband Stepan Avraamovich Lopukhin shortly after the wedding. Ease and a slightly haughty look seem to be either the usual pose for such a portrait of the era of sentimentalism, or signs of a melancholy and poetic disposition. the fate of this mysterious girl turned out to be sad: just 6 years after painting the picture, Maria died of consumption.
Giovannina and Amacilia Pacini
Karl Bryullov, Horsewoman, 1832
"Horsewoman" Bryullov - brilliant formal portrait, in which everything is luxurious: the brightness of colors, and the splendor of draperies, and the beauty of models. It depicts two girls who bore the surname Pacini: the eldest Giovannina is sitting on a horse, the youngest Amacilia is looking at her from the porch. The painting to Karl Bryullov, her lover of many years, was ordered by their adoptive mother, Countess Yulia Pavlovna Samoilova, one of the most beautiful women in Russia and heiress to a colossal fortune. The Countess guaranteed a large dowry for her grown-up daughters. But it turned out that by old age she was practically ruined, and then the adopted daughters of Jovanin and Amacilia, through the court, collected the promised money and property from the countess.
Simonetta Vespucci
Sandro Botticelli, The Birth of Venus
1482–1486
The famous painting by Botticelli depicts Simonetta Vespucci, the first beauty of the Florentine Renaissance. Simonetta was born into a wealthy family, at the age of 16 she married Marco Vespucci (a relative of Amerigo Vespucci, who “discovered” America and gave the continent his name). After the wedding, the newlyweds settled in Florence, were received at the court of Lorenzo Medici, in those years famous for lavish feasts and receptions.
Beautiful, at the same time very modest and benevolent Simonetta quickly fell in love with Florentine men. The ruler of Florence, Lorenzo himself, tried to take care of her, but his brother Giuliano was the most active in seeking her. The beauty of Simonetta inspired many artists of that time, among whom was Sandro Botticelli. It is believed that from the moment they met, Simonetta was the model for all Madonnas and Venuses by Botticelli. At the age of 23, Simonetta died of consumption, despite the efforts of the best court doctors. After that, the artist depicted his muse only from memory, and in his old age he bequeathed to be buried next to her, which was done.
Vera Mamontova
V.A. Serov, "Girl with peaches", 1887
The most famous painting portrait master Valentin Serov was written in the estate of a wealthy industrialist Savva Ivanovich Mamontov. Every day for two months, his daughter, 12-year-old Vera, posed for the artist. The girl grew up and turned into a charming girl, married for mutual love Alexander Samarin, who belongs to the famous noble family. After honeymoon trip in Italy, the family settled in the city of Bogorodsk, where three children were born one after another. But unexpectedly in December 1907, just 5 years after the wedding, Vera Savvishna died of pneumonia. She was only 32 years old, and her husband never remarried.
Alexandra Petrovna Struyskaya
F.S. Rokotov, "Portrait of Struyskaya", 1772
This portrait by Rokotov is like an airy hint. Alexandra Struyskaya was 18 when she was married to a very rich widower. There is a legend that for the wedding her husband gave her nothing less than a new church. And all his life he wrote poetry to her. Whether this marriage was happy is not known for certain, but everyone who has been in their house paid attention to how dissimilar the spouses are. For 24 years of marriage, Alexandra gave birth to her husband 18 children, 10 of whom died in infancy. After the death of her husband, she lived another 40 years, firmly managed the estate and left a decent fortune to the children.
Galina Vladimirovna Aderkas
B.M. Kustodiev "Merchant for tea", 1918
Kustodiev's "Merchant for Tea" is a real illustration of that bright and well-fed Russia, where there are fairs, carousels and "the crunch of French bread." The picture was painted in the post-revolutionary hungry year of 1918, when one could only dream of such an abundance.
Galina Vladimirovna Aderkas posed for the merchant's wife in this portrait-painting - a natural baroness from a family that traces its history back to one Livonian knight of the 18th century. In Astrakhan, Galya Aderkas was a housemate of the Kustodievs, from the sixth floor; the artist's wife brought the girl to the studio, noticing a colorful model. During this period, Aderkas was very young - a first-year medical student - and in the sketches her figure looks much thinner. After graduating from university and working for some time as a surgeon, she left the profession and Soviet years she sang in the Russian choir, participated in dubbing films, got married and began to perform in the circus.
Lisa del Giocondo
Leonardo da Vinci, Mona Lisa, 1503-1519
Perhaps one of the most famous and mysterious portraits of all times and peoples is the famous Mona Lisa by the great Leonardo. Among the many versions about who owns the legendary smile, the following was officially confirmed in 2005: the canvas depicts Lisa del Giocondo, the wife of Francesco del Giocondo, a silk merchant from Florence. The portrait may have been commissioned from an artist to mark the birth of a son and the purchase of a house.
Together with her husband, Lisa raised five children and, most likely, her marriage was based on love. When her husband died of the plague and Lisa was also struck by this serious illness, one of the daughters was not afraid to take her mother to her and let her go. Mona Lisa recovered and lived for some time with her daughters, dying at the age of 63.
