Konstantin Makovsky - paintings and biography of the artist. Fates of beauties from famous portraits Fates of beauties from famous portraits

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Have you ever wondered who is depicted in the paintings of various Russian artists? Who are they, such sweet, beautiful, well-groomed and sophisticated women? What kind of life have you lived? What was the fate of these lovely ladies?

Looking at the portraits of the “lovely half of humanity,” these questions fly through my head. Moments from life and mesmerizing views captured on canvases excite me. And today I decided to talk about them... lovely, young and such different women.

“Portrait of Princess Zinaida Yusupova”, 1900. V.A. Serov

A woman of extreme beauty is depicted in the painting by V.A Serov. Princess Zinaida Yusupova was the last of a famous family and the richest heiress, whose hand many men sought.

But the princess believed in real feelings, which soon became part of her life. In a happy marriage, Zinaida gave birth to two children. The princess was also involved in charity work throughout her life.

V.A. Serov, 1900, St. Petersburg, Russian Museum

The terrible loss left a terrible imprint on the woman’s heart; the elder’s son died as a result of a duel. In search of peace of mind, the Yusupov couple went to Rome, leaving St. Petersburg / at a time of great changes in Tsarist Russia / and after the death of her husband, the woman went to Paris to see her son, where she lived until her death

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

Countess Maria Lopukhina posed with an arrogant look and some ease at the age of 18. This “piercing” portrait was commissioned by the husband of young Maria from the artist V.L. Borovikovsky, a famous master of portraits of that time.

The Russian portrait painter had a keen sense of female nature and painted many paintings depicting women enchanting with their beauty. Six years after the creation of the picture, a tragic fate took the young woman /died from consumption/.

Beautiful, charming, with a gentle and flirtatious look, Maria Lopukhina from the Tolstoy family lived her short life... But her image, captured for centuries, will remain with us forever!

V.L. Borovikovsky, 1797 Moscow, Tretyakov Gallery

“Portrait of Struyskaya”, 1772. F.S. Rokotov

Alexandra Petrovna Struyskaya is an amazingly beautiful woman depicted on the artist’s canvas. At the age of 18, she became the wife of a wealthy widower landowner and poetry lover. During her marriage, which lasted 24 years, Struyskaya gave birth to 18 children. But fate decreed that 10 children died in infancy.

Very different, but such happy spouses lived their family life together, the husband dedicated poems to Alexandra, singing his feelings in them. After the death of her husband, A.P. Struyskaya lived for another 40 years, successfully taking care of family affairs, which helped her leave a decent fortune for her children.

F.S. Rokotov, 1772 Moscow Tretyakov Gallery

"Horsewoman", 1832. Karl Bryullov

The artist’s luxurious and dynamic canvas depicts the heirs of the Pacini family, the daughters of the Italian composer: the eldest, Giovanina, sitting on a handsome black man, and the younger, Amatsilia, who captivatingly watches her sister from the porch of the house.

The girls' adoptive mother, Countess Yulia Pavlovna Samoilova, ordered a portrait of her stepdaughters from her lover Karl Bryullov. The Russian countess, in addition to her amazing beauty, had enormous wealth, which she planned to leave to her daughters. The girls recovered the promised dowry in court, since in her old age Countess Yu.P. Samoilova practically went bankrupt.

Karl Bryullov 1832 Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow

“Girl with Peaches”, 1887 V.A. Serov

The artist’s most famous painting was painted on the estate of S.I. Mamontov. The artist’s painting depicts a twelve-year-old girl, the daughter of the landowner Savva Ivanovich Mamontov. The girl grew up, turned into a beauty and became the wife of the successful nobleman Alexander Samarin. She gave her husband and the world three children.

Family happiness lasted only 5 years and at the age of 32, a charming woman named Vera Savvishna Samarina died of pneumonia. Her husband never married again...

Valentin Serov 1887 State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow

“Merchant's Wife at Tea”, B.M. Kustodiev, 1918.

Kustodiev’s very bright creation, full of emotions and mood, dates back to the period of post-revolutionary famine. The painting depicts the brightness and satiety of Russia, which in 1918, such abundance was no longer acceptable.

The picture majestically shows off Galina Vladimirovna Aderkas, a real baroness of a noble knightly family. Neighboring with the artist, Galina’s colorful appearance was noticed by the artist’s wife Kustodiev.

A 1st year student of the Medical Department of Astrakhan became the “merchant for tea.” After receiving a medical education and working for some time as a surgeon, Galina Aderkas found her calling in film scoring, choral singing and circus arts.

Boris Mikhailovich Kustodiev 1918 State Russian Museum St. Petersburg

Life story you can leave it on paper for posterity by writing a biography... and also create another story, a history of views, a history of charming eyes, enchanting poses...

Probably, you too would like your descendants to get to know you through a portrait. No, not through a photograph on paper, but through a portrait! After all, it is he who, through the brightness and richness of colors, conveys all the beauty and mystery of our soul!!!
After all, a woman is a mysterious creature... like a book that you want to read and reread. Who knows, maybe they will write to you someday, what do you think?

And for dessert: video about why we buy paintings, why we need them

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Ask your questions below in the comments, I usually answer all questions quickly

Publications in the Museums section

Tatiana before and after Pushkin: portraits of three centuries

It is read that the name Tatyana became popular after the publication of the novel “Eugene Onegin”. However, even before this, this name was not uncommon among the nobility. We remember portraits of Tatyana from the 18th to the 20th centuries together with Sofia Bagdasarova.

A. Antropov. Portrait of Princess Tatiana Alekseevna Trubetskoy. 1761. Tretyakov Gallery

A. Peng. Portrait of Princess Tatyana Borisovna Kurakina. 1st half XVIII century, State Hermitage

Unknown artist. Portrait of Anastasia Naryshkina with her daughters Tatyana and Alexandra. Early 1710s, Tretyakov Gallery

Girls from the Romanov family were baptized Tatiana back in the 17th century: for example, that was the name of the sister of the first Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich and his youngest daughter. Then this name disappeared from the royal dynasty, and the next Tatiana appeared in the imperial family in the 1890s. However, the name remained popular among noble families of the 17th and 18th centuries. One of the most famous Tatyanas is Tatyana Shuvalova. Her son, Empress Elizabeth's favorite Ivan Shuvalov, chose his mother's name day to sign a decree establishing Moscow University. So Tatyana's day became Student's Day. The portrait of Tatyana Shuvalova has not survived.

The oldest Russian portrait of Tatiana, apparently, was the family portrait of the Naryshkins from the 1710s. It depicts the daughter of the first commandant of St. Petersburg, Moscow governor Kirill Naryshkin, with her mother and sister. The unknown artist did not work the faces very subtly, but carefully painted the patterns on the fabric and the fashionable lace fontange (headdress) of the mother.

The court artist of the Prussian king Antoine Pen was invited to paint a portrait of the daughter of Prince Boris Kurakin - and the niece of Tsarina Evdokia Lopukhina. The director of the Berlin Academy of Arts, in the traditions of classicism, worked on chiaroscuro, folds of clothing, and even conveyed the finest shimmer of expensive fabric on the shoulders of Princess Tatyana Kurakina.

Princess Tatyana Trubetskaya - the sister of the poet Fyodor Kozlovsky - looks bright in a portrait of 1761: the artist Alexei Antropov depicted her in an outfit decorated with red and green bows and flowers. The princess with full make-up: in those years it was fashionable not only to powder, but also to apply blush and fill in the eyebrows.

D. Levitsky. Portrait of Tatyana Petrovna Raznatovskaya. 1781. State Art Museum of Belarus

N. Argunov. Portrait of ballerina Tatyana Vasilievna Shlykova-Granatova. 1789. Kuskovo

E. Vigée-Lebrun. Portrait of Tatyana Vasilievna Engelhardt. 1797. Fuji Museum, Tokyo

Twenty years later, Dmitry Levitsky wrote Tatyana Raznatovskaya. A young woman with a proud posture looks noble and elegant. Her light blue dress and white silk cape contrast with the dark, deep background in the pictorial tradition of those years.

One of the richest women in Russia, Prince Potemkin’s niece Tatyana Engelhardt, married one of the Yusupovs and brought a gigantic fortune and the hereditary name Tatyana to their family. In the portrait by visiting French portraitist Vigée-Lebrun, Tatyana Engelhardt is weaving a wreath of roses and is dressed in a new fashion - in a high-waisted dress.

Researchers believe that among peasants the name Tatyana in the 18th–19th centuries was three times more popular than among nobles. The Sheremetev serf artist Nikolai Argunov depicted the peasant woman Tatyana Shlykova, an actress in the serf theater, in an elegant stage costume. Later, the count chose “precious” surnames for his beautiful actresses. Shlykova became Granatova, and her “colleagues” became Zhemchugova and Biryuzova.

A. Bryullov. Portrait of Tatyana Borisovna Potemkina. 1830s. VMP

V. Tropinin. Portrait of Tatyana Sergeevna Karpakova. 1818. Museum of Fine Arts of the Republic of Tatarstan

K. Reichel. Portrait of Tatyana Vasilievna Golitsyna. 1816, State Russian Museum

Among those immortalized on Tatiana’s canvases there are other actresses. In 1818, Vasily Tropinin portrayed the young dancer Karpakova. Her parents played in the Imperial Theaters, and she herself was fond of ballet since childhood. Tatyana Karpakova danced on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater from the age of 12; her contemporaries admired her expressive facial expressions, ease of dance and impeccable technique.

In the same year, a portrait of Princess Tatiana Golitsyna was created. The daughter-in-law of Natalia Golitsyna, the prototype of Pushkin's Queen of Spades, is depicted in a black beret. In the first third of the 19th century, these headdresses were traditionally worn by married ladies. True, more often fashionistas preferred bright colors - crimson, green, scarlet.

“The width of the beret extends to twelve inches; the upper part is one color, the lower part is another color. The materials from which such berets are made are also different: satin and velvet. These berets are put on the head so crookedly that one edge almost touches the shoulder.”

Excerpt from a 19th century fashion magazine

A watercolor by Alexander Bryullov from the 1830s depicts Tatyana Potemkina. In it, the model is dressed in an outfit that covers not only the shoulders, but also the neck, ears and hair of the princess: Potemkina was very religious. Having become the spiritual daughter of Saint Ignatius (Brianchaninov), she took care of the spread of Orthodoxy, built churches, gave huge amounts of money to charity and, of course, did not allow herself to wear a neckline.

V. Vasnetsov. Portrait of Tatyana Anatolyevna Mamontova (1884, Tretyakov Gallery)

I. Repin. Portrait of Tatyana Lvovna Tolstoy (1893, Yasnaya Polyana)

F. Winterhalter. Portrait of Tatyana Alexandrovna Yusupova (1858, State Hermitage)

In 1825–1837, Alexander Pushkin's Eugene Onegin was published in parts. Tatyana Larina became the “first Tatyana” of Russian literature - before that, writers preferred other names. After the release of the novel, the name became much more popular - many named their daughters in honor of the romantic and virtuous heroine of Pushkin.

But not many portraits of Tatyana from these years have survived. Among them is a canvas on which the fashionable portrait painter Franz Xaver Winterhalter depicted Tatyana Yusupova. The heroine of the portrait inherited it from her grandmother Tatyana Engelhardt, and Yusupova named one of her daughters the same way.

Portraits of the daughters of Leo Tolstoy and Anatoly Mamontov were created in the 1880–90s, they were painted by B. Kustodiev. Portrait of Tatyana Nikolaevna Chizhova. 1924. Ivanovo Regional Art Museum

M. Vrubel. Portrait of Tatyana Spiridonovna Lyubatovich as Carmen. 1890s. Tretyakov Gallery

By the beginning of the twentieth century in Moscow and the Moscow province, the name Tatyana became the fifth most popular name after Maria, Anna, Catherine and Alexandra.

The portrait of one of Tatiana also belongs to the brush of Mikhail Vrubel. Opera singer Tatyana Lyubatovich is depicted in the role of Carmen - at the beginning of the twentieth century this was a very popular image among artists and the heroines of their paintings.

In 1908, Saratov artist Alexander Savinov painted the canvas “Harpist”. Its heroine was the wife of the famous philosopher Semyon Frank, Tatyana Frank (nee Bartseva). Savinov created an ornamental portrait with a textured tone and muted colors in the traditions of the growing new style - modernism.

In this artistic circle of Tatiana, the “Portrait of the artist Tatyana Chizhova” is noteworthy; Boris Kustodiev painted it in 1924. The title of the picture is inaccurate. After Kustodiev’s death, the portrait was transferred to the Russian Museum, and the abbreviation in the signature “arch.” deciphered as “artist.” In fact, Tatyana Chizhova was an archaeologist. The portrait shows her in her favorite dress and with her grandmother’s ring on her finger.

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

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

Zhanna Samari
Auguste Renoir, "Portrait of the Actress Jeanne Samary", 1877

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 studio of Renoir, who painted four portraits of her in 1877-1878, thereby making her famous much more than her acting career could do. Zhanna played in plays from the age of 18, at 25 she got married and gave birth to 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 at the age of 10 (!) was already engaged. However, when the girl was 14, the engagement was broken for unknown reasons, and Cecilia was sent to a monastery, where she met (or it was all set up) with the Duke of Milan, Ludovico Sforza. An affair began, Cecilia became pregnant and the Duke settled the girl in his castle, but then the time came 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 Gallerani gave birth, the duke took his son for himself, and married her to the impoverished count.

In this marriage, Cecilia gave birth to four children, ran almost the very first literary salon in Europe, visited the Duke and enjoyed playing with his child from his new mistress. After a while, Cecilia’s husband died, war came, she lost her well-being and found shelter in the house of the sister of that same Duke’s wife - it was in such wonderful relationships that she managed to be with people. After the war, Gallerani returned 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 beautiful, and, despite the fact that her favor was sought, among others, by august persons, 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 she continued it in exile. Her beloved eldest son died in a duel when the princess was 47 years old, and she could hardly bear this loss. With the outbreak 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 representative of the Tolstoy count family, is depicted here at the tender age of 18 years. The portrait was commissioned by her husband Stepan Avraamovich Lopukhin shortly after the wedding. Ease and a slightly arrogant look seem either to be a common pose for such a portrait of the era of sentimentalism, or signs of a melancholic and poetic disposition. The fate of this mysterious girl turned out to be sad: just 6 years after painting, Maria died of consumption.

Giovanina and Amacilia Pacini
Karl Bryullov, “Horsewoman”, 1832

Bryullov’s “Horsewoman” is a brilliant ceremonial portrait in which everything is luxurious: the brightness of the colors, the splendor of the draperies, and the beauty of the models. It depicts two girls who bore the surname Pacini: the eldest Giovanina is sitting on a horse, the younger Amatzilia is looking at her from the porch. The painting was ordered to Karl Bryullov, her long-time lover, 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 in her old age she was practically bankrupt, and then the adopted daughters Giovanina and Amatsilia, through the court, recovered the promised money and property from the countess.

Simonetta Vespucci
Sandro Botticelli, "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 and were received at the court of Lorenzo de Medici, which in those years was famous for its magnificent feasts and receptions.

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

Vera Mamontova
V.A. Serov, “Girl with Peaches”, 1887

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

Alexandra Petrovna Struyskaya
F.S. Rokotov, “Portrait of Struyskaya”, 1772

This portrait by Rokotov is like an airy half-hint. Alexandra Struyskaya was 18 when she was married to a very rich widower. There is a legend that for her wedding her husband gave her nothing less than a new church. And all my life I wrote poetry to her. It is not known for certain whether this marriage was happy, but everyone who visited their house paid attention to how different the spouses were from each other. Over 24 years of marriage, Alexandra bore her husband 18 children, 10 of whom died in infancy. After her husband's death, she lived for another 40 years, firmly managed the estate and left her children a decent fortune.

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 place and left her. Mona Lisa recovered and lived for some time with her daughters, dying at the age of 63.

Russian painting is rightfully distinguished from world art. The fact is that until the seventeenth century, Russian painting was associated exclusively with religious themes. The situation changed with the coming to power of the reforming tsar, Peter the Great. Thanks to his reforms, Russian masters began to engage in secular painting, and icon painting separated as a separate direction. The seventeenth century is the time of such artists as Simon Ushakov and Joseph Vladimirov. Then, in the Russian art world, portraiture arose and quickly became popular. In the eighteenth century, the first artists appeared who moved from portraiture to landscape painting. The artists’ pronounced sympathy for winter panoramas is noticeable. The eighteenth century was also remembered for the emergence of everyday painting. In the nineteenth century, three movements gained popularity in Russia: romanticism, realism and classicism. As before, Russian artists continued to turn to the portrait genre. It was then that the world-famous portraits and self-portraits of O. Kiprensky and V. Tropinin appeared. In the second half of the nineteenth century, artists increasingly depicted the common Russian people in their oppressed state. Realism becomes the central movement of painting of this period. It was then that the Itinerant artists appeared, depicting only real, real life. Well, the twentieth century is, of course, the avant-garde. The artists of that time significantly influenced both their followers in Russia and throughout the world. Their paintings became the forerunners of abstract art. Russian painting is a huge wonderful world of talented artists who have glorified Russia with their creations.