Ivan Petrovich Argunov - a famous Russian artist, one of the founders of domestic portraiture. They are famous for portraits of Empress Catherine II and famous noblemen, has established himself as a magnificent mentor.
The work of Ivan Petrovich Argunov reached the peak of perfection by the middle of the eighteenth century. At this time, the art of sculpture and painting developed, magnificent architectural ensembles were created.
Mastery Training
The outstanding master built a magnificent career, being a serf and not having a special education. Paintings written by him and are currently highly valued. The future famous master was born into the family of serf count Cherkassky in 1729.
After marrying the daughter of the owner Varvara Pyotr Sheremetyev, the Argunovs passed into his disposal. In St. Petersburg, the future artist was brought up in an uncle's family, in a house on Millionnaya street. The relative was the butler of the previous owners, then passed to the disposal of the Sheremetyevs.
The boy grew up with Fedor, a cousin. A lot of time was devoted to the development of creative abilities in both children. Fedor Argunov subsequently became a famous architect. The work of Ivan Petrovich gained fame with the coming to power of Elizabeth Petrovna in 1740.
Along with the heyday of the art of the theater, the development of painting began. Foreign artists came to Russia. Among them was Georg Christopher Groot, who became the mentor of Argunov.
Thanks to his lessons, Ivan Petrovich mastered the European style of writing, learned to use it perfectly to convey the image of Russian people. This made the work unique.
Creativity of the master
In 1747, together with the mentor Argunov, icons were created for the temple of the Great Tsarskoye Selo Palace. Even then, Ivan Petrovich proved to be a peculiar and very talented painter.
Then the direction created by him will become a leader for him. The first works date from the early 1750s. Among them there are several genres. One of his works, The Dying Cleopatra, is written in the style of classical Rococo.
Subsequent masterpieces are created in the style of ceremonial portraits. Velikovsetsky persons are depicted on them in all splendor and splendor. An example of such masterpieces is the beautiful image of Peter Sheremetev, written in 1753. This count couple became the most popular characters in the paintings of the master. The reason was that most of the time an outstanding artist spent in the house of the Sheremetyevs.
Soon Argunov was entrusted with the management of the mansion. Ivan Petrovich demonstrated the abilities of a wonderful teacher. In 1753, by order of Empress Elizabeth herself, three students were sent to him. After completing their studies under the guidance of a master, they were all enrolled in the Academy of Arts.
By 1760, Ivan Petrovich created a real gallery of family portraits. They are distinguished by realism, stylization and a complete lack of idealization. Unconsciously, the master became the discoverer of a new direction in Russian painting, later called an "intimate portrait".
The most striking example of such paintings was the pair portrait of Kozma Khripunov with his wife, as well as Argunov, who served as the Sheremetyevs. A lot of the time the painter took custom work. All of them were distinguished by unsurpassed capture of the essence of personality.
By 1762, the fame of Argunov's talent reached the imperial court. The master received an honorary commission to paint a portrait of Empress Catherine the Second.
The monarchy person was supposed to be portrayed in a slightly theatrical pose, with arrogance in her gaze and with all the imperial paraphernalia. The customer appreciated the image.
