The ideal of female beauty in the paintings of famous artists. The image of a woman in the paintings of great artists
Paintings famous artists keep the secrets of the people depicted on them. We invite you to take a walk on the virtual picture gallery and explore the stories of women in paintings. These stories can be romantic, mystical, or just plain funny.
This work of art - one of the most famous paintings of the painter - was first presented to the audience in Italy, where it was favorably received by critics. Karl Bryullov was the first Russian artist to become famous in prim Europe. For a long time it was assumed that this picture is a portrait of the young Countess Yulia Samoilova, whom the artist loved very much and often depicted in his canvases. For example, in the painting "The Last Day of Pompeii", three characters at once have the facial features of Yulia Samoilova. However, when comparing the picture "Horsewoman" with the portraits of the countess, which Bryullov painted later, it becomes clear that the picture is not Yulia Samoilova. But who is it? In one of his paintings, Karl Bryullov depicted Countess Samoilova with his pupil Giovannina, in another picture he painted the same Countess with adopted daughter Amacilia. The researchers of Bryullov's work came to the conclusion that the picture depicts precisely these girls who were raised by the countess. But paintings by famous artists usually carry some kind of mystery. To solve the riddle from this picture, you need to take a closer look at the dog in a collar, which the artist depicted next to a little girl. The collar bears the name of its owner - Samoilov.
It seems that how the painting "Alyonushka" was created has long been known to everyone. It is believed that Vasnetsov, in the form of a sad heroine of Russian epics, portrayed a girl with whom fate brought him in the village of Akhtyrka. Speaking about this canvas, many cite a quote from Vasnetsov himself, where he admits that the image of Alyonushka has long settled in his head, but the final version of the portrait was formed when he met a simple girl in the village of Akhtyrka. But is it? In one of the artist's notes, you can read the true story of the painting. Vasnetsov admits that, although he already had a sketch of a picture painted with this simple girl, this is not a natural genre thing. The artist was actually inspired by the eyes of Verusha Mamontova. He confessed that the eyes of this particular girl seemed to him everywhere and settled in his soul. Who is Verusha Mamontova? Of course, her image is familiar to lovers of painting, because it is she who is drawn in Serov's painting "Girl with Peaches". Now, knowing the artist's revelations, in Alyonushka you can easily find the facial features of Verusha Mamontova.
Sometimes paintings by famous artists surprise with where such a plot came from, sometimes sources of inspiration are unexpected. This can be said about the history of painting the canvas “ Unequal marriage". One aristocrat from Moscow decided to write down a memoir, where he talked about all his relatives, including his uncle Sergei Varentsov. In 1862, this uncle, being a young man, suddenly fell in love with the pretty daughter of the merchant Rybnikov - Sophia. And he fell in love so much that he even got married, but he was refused. The girl's calculating father did not want to give his daughter in marriage to a young and frivolous rake, but preferred to give her hand to the elderly and not poor merchant Korzinkin (it is interesting that the “elderly” groom was 38 years old then). By an evil coincidence, young Varentsov had to play the role of best man at this wedding. The artist Vasily Pukirev was so imbued with this story and torments loving heart that created this canvas. Thanks to this picture, Vasily Pukirev received the title of professor, as well as good money: the painting was immediately bought by the art collector Borisovsky, and Tretyakov bought it from him. True, the canvas Pukirev had to redo a little, because in this picture Varentsov recognized himself in the best man. The artist so accurately portrayed Varentsov in his work that thanks to the popularity of the picture, all of Moscow began to discuss his unhappy love. As a result, Pukirev had to rewrite the best man's face and now, looking at the picture, the audience sees in the background an image of Pukirev's face.
Painting "Portrait of M. I. Lopukhina" by Vladimir Borovikovsky
This painting was created in 1797 and is a romantic female image. For more than one century, she has admired the eyes of the public, and art connoisseurs consider her an ode to sentimentalism. The paintings of famous artists are often accompanied by mystical stories. Such a fable is associated with this picture. The image of an 18-year-old beauty is the first painting in the history of Russia, covered with mysticism. The girl depicted in the portrait was the daughter of Count Ivan Tolstoy. In the year the portrait was painted, she married Stepan Lopukhin, who served in the administration of Paul I. Immediately after the wedding, her husband ordered Borovikovsky portrait his beloved wife. The marriage did not last long, because 3 years after the wedding, the young princess died of an illness - consumption. The inconsolable father bought the painting with the portrait of his daughter from his son-in-law and hung it in his house. It must be said that Count Tolstoy was a master of the Masonic lodge and was fond of mysticism. There were rumors that the count, with the help of magic, was able to summon the spirit of his deceased daughter and breathe it into Borovikovsky's painting. There is a fiction - any girl who looks at the portrait will definitely die. Even "very reliable facts" were cited that the portrait killed at least a dozen young girls. Fortunately for posterity, Tretyakov did not believe in mysticism and a century later bought a painting, which now millions of viewers can see in the gallery named after him.
The pictures of famous artists are distinguished by the fact that in their works they glorify the female ideal. Even depicting Madonna, artists of all times without a twinge of conscience painted portraits of their beloved, many of whom were women of not the most noble birth. For example, researchers of Raphael's work say that the artist met the daughter of a poor baker, Fornarina, on one of the streets of Rome. The artist fell in love with her. Raphael, who was then already widely known and occupied a high step on the social ladder, bought the girl from her father and took pictures for her luxury home... The artist really considered her the ideal of beauty and lived with her until his death for 12 years. But they say that the beauty herself was not distinguished by her loyalty to her benefactor and taught him the horns both with the artist's students and with those who ordered the paintings. After the death of Raphael, due to the reputation of this woman, the Pope did not even want to service him, because Fornarina was standing nearby. Despite all this, it is Fornarina's face that we see in the painting “ Sistine Madonna". Raphael also gave her the face of many other Madonnas, written in his hand.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, our calendar appeared new holiday, whose title sounded like a revolutionary slogan: "International Women's Day of Solidarity of Working Women in the Fight for Equality of Rights."
Fortunately, over time, this day acquired a completely different meaning, and for us March 8 is a holiday female beauty and charm.
Wishing to combine the historical with the pleasant, we have collected several pictures of lovely, flirtatious and strong workers from great artists - eternal captives of female beauty and virtues!
Alexey Venetsianov, a native of Moscow, first visited the village at the age of 35, when after the wedding the newlyweds went to visit their wife's parents in the Tver province.
The artist was so fascinated by nature that he immediately had a desire to settle among the Russian expanses and he bought an estate in Safonovka.
It is here that he paints the painting "On the Arable Land". All of Venetsianov's work is permeated with poetry, his paintings, dedicated to peasant life, idealize village life.
Zinaida Serebryakova was in love with Venetsianov's paintings since childhood. In her early paintings there is an invisible connection with the work of the Russian everyday life writer. Peasant women Venetsianova a hundred years later seem to continue to live in her paintings.
The artist's country girls are stately, with a regal bearing, they leisurely do their daily work - the true poetry of spirituality!
Zinaida Evgenievna Serebryakova. "Harvest"
1915, 177 × 142 cm.
The paintings "Harvest" and "Whitening of the Canvas" belong to the best works Zinaida Serebryakova. They were written on the Neskuchnoye family estate in the Kharkov province, where the Serebryakov family spent summer and autumn since 1898.
In 1914, after a long journey through the North of Italy, Zinaida arrived in Neskuchnoye and immediately set to work on the painting The Harvest.
Studying the creativity of artists Italian Renaissance, only recently seen in museums and galleries, is felt in a classically constructed composition, and the monumentality of forms emphasizes the beauty of female figures against the background of a landscape with wheat fields unevenly extending beyond the horizon.
These paintings are considered the last idyllic paintings of pre-revolutionary Russia.
Zinaida Evgenievna Serebryakova "Bleaching the Canvas"
1917, 141.8 × 173.6 cm.
Lace, powder, lipstick - all that a damsel needs ...
French ladies also work tirelessly in the paintings of artists. During the Rococo era, the most fashionable profession of urban women was the work of a milliner.
Elegant and luxurious outfits, corsets, embroidery and lace were all women's thoughts, because it was necessary to keep up with the trendsetter Madame Pompadour!
And the fantasies of the young maidens were embodied by the jack-of-all-trades - the milliners. François Boucher in the painting "The Modiste" looks as if furtively into the room and spies on the ladies who are discussing the future model.
Francois Boucher. "Modiste"
53 × 64 cm.
In the 18th century, during the Enlightenment in France, it was customary in art to praise and affirm the dignity of the third estate, and in painting good form simplicity and naturalness were considered.
Jean-Baptiste Greuze in The Washerwoman not only portrays a graceful and charming young worker - in this way he celebrates hard work.
In Russia, in the second half of the 18th century, Dreams became fashionable artist, the noble nobility vied with each other to order portraits of him, Empress Catherine II herself, on the advice of Diderot, acquired the painting "The Paralytic" from the artist.
Of course, such popularity of Greuze's work did not pass unnoticed for Russian painting, his paintings had a great influence on Russian portraiture.
Jean-Baptiste Greuze, "The Laundress"
1761, 32 × 40 cm.
Lacemakers
Vasily Tropinin was called "Russian Dreams" for his charming female portraits... For the first time in Russian painting he created new type genre portrait - a poetic image of a girl at work.
The young beauties in the pictures "The Lacemaker" and "The Goldsmith", busy with their work, take their eyes off their work for a minute and look slyly at the viewer.
Vasily Andreevich Tropinin. "Gold embroidery"
1826, 64 × 81 cm.
Tropinin was a serf artist and only at the age of 47 received his freedom. It is symbolic that it was 1823, the year of writing The Lacemaker, that brought the artist both freedom and official recognition.
This year, for the first time, he shows his works at the Academy of Arts, and the artist is awarded the title of "appointed academician." So an intimate portrait of a city woman brought freedom and success to his creator.
Tropinin. "The Lacemaker"
Homemaker
Household it has always been on women's shoulders and kitchen chores are a direct responsibility. For some it is a blessing, but for many it is a hassle. For the heroine of the painting "The Cook" by Bernardo Strozzi, this is duty and sacred action.
You can ask yourself many questions while looking at the picture. For example, why does a young girl gut a bird in fancy dress and beads? Does she have a big family, because dinner is supposed to have a fair amount of dishes?
Who is depicted in the picture - maybe the artist depicted his wife and that is why she looks at the viewer so affectionately? This option is quite possible: Strozzi's painting on a domestic plot is a great rarity, and for his wife he could well have made an exception.
Bernardo Strozzi. "The Cook"
1625, 185 × 176 cm.
The author of the picture - italian artist the Baroque era with a remarkable biography. Strozzi's adventurous character was reflected in all his activities: in his youth he joined the Capuchin order and became a priest, then studied painting in the workshop of the Genoese artist Sorri and at the same time worked as a ship engineer in the Genoese fleet.
Later artist fled from the monastery and hid from the persecution of monks in Venice. But Strozzi never left painting. Its main theme was portraits, religious and mythological scenes, and on creative manner the painting of Caravaggio had a great influence.
The "profession" of a shepherdess was once very popular and artists often turned to it. Touching image We find an elderly shepherdess in the work of Van Gogh, who painted ordinary villagers with special warmth and love.
Take a look at the coloring of the picture: yellow wheat fields- the color of the sun and warmth, softly opposed to the blue cape of the shepherdess, - frequent reception in the artist's works, but he does not cause disturbing feelings, as in his other paintings.
Van Gogh, with shades of color, conveys his feelings unusually accurately. Whatever whirlwinds rage around, the woman is calm and submissive to a difficult fate ... And our dominant and sincere feeling at the sight of this picture is “empathy”.
Vincent Van Gogh. "Shepherdess"
1889, 52.7 × 40.7 cm.
The artist created this work during his treatment in Saint-Remy in the south of France. During this period, 1889-1890, he studied the work of the founder of the Barbizon school, Jean François Millet, and during this time made copies of 23 of his paintings, among them the Shepherdess (although it is difficult to call Van Gogh's painting a copy).
Vincent writes to his brother about his occupation:
“I assure you that I am terribly interested in making copies, and since I do not have models now, I will not abandon the work on the figure with the help of these copies.
I use black and white reproductions of Delacroix and Millet as if they were real life stories. And then I improvise the color, although of course not quite as if I did it myself, but trying to recall their pictures.
However, this 'recollection', the vague harmony of their colors ... is my interpretation. "
Comparing the paintings of the two artists, it seems that Van Gogh painted a shepherdess in his imagination.
Millet "Shepherdess" 1, Millet "Shepherdess" 2.
Jean Baptiste Chardin watched the life of ordinary townspeople and wrote stories from their Everyday life... The painting "Washerwoman" breathes with a quiet homeliness, where everything is warmed by the cares of the hostess.
While mom is doing the washing, the son is busy with his simple fun. Children's images are always present in Chardin's paintings, emphasizing the mother's love for the child. Demonstration of this relationship helps him create a spiritual atmosphere of warmth and a modest, but significant and fulfilling life of the townspeople.
Women's labor in the artist's paintings is equated with a noble work done with special diligence and love.
Jean Baptiste Simeon Chardin. "Laundress"
Socialist Labor editorials - we new world let's build!
New professions are being mastered by women in the Soviet country. Here they are not just some Western fashionistas - a Soviet woman can build a metro!
In the graphic series of the 1930s by Aleksandr Samokhvalov, portraits of metro girls embodied the ideal of socialist labor.
Enthusiasm, youthful energy, optimism and strength overwhelm in these works - we will build new country... Here she is with a drill, with a shovel, beautiful, strong and happy, she can do anything!
The artist joined the ideological path of the country, he sincerely believes in universal creation for the good of a brighter future. And the emotional impulses of the artist are quite tangible matter, just look at the work!
In its changeability, fashion loses only to the weather, although this is a moot point. Moreover, fashion is changing not only for clothes, styles or accessories, but also for female beauty. A recognized beauty of one era, in half a century she can be considered an ugly woman (but you and I know that there are no ugly women). At all times, the artist reacted very sensitively to the whims of fashion, since they always tried to portray the most beautiful women of their era.
Ancient Greece and Rome
Sorry about female ideals Antiquity has to be judged by the frescoes and sculptures, full paintings has not survived. V Ancient Greece The goddess Aphrodite, a lush lady with long thick red hair, was considered the standard of female beauty. This is how she is depicted in Sandro Botticelli's painting "The Birth of Venus", though created in 1485. V Ancient rome most appreciated beauty female face, and the splendor of the forms was in second place. For example, Dante Rossetti's painting "Proserpine" (1874) was created with this aim.
Middle Ages
In the Middle Ages, one could go to the fire for the chanting of female beauty, so there was no artistic evidence left. Demonstrate female figure was strictly prohibited. The clothes were supposed to completely hide the body, and the hair was hidden under the hats. The standard of feminine beauty were holy women who devoted themselves to serving God.
Renaissance
The Renaissance is so named due to the revival of interest in the ideals of Antiquity, including in matters of female beauty. Wide hips, puffiness, an elongated face, a healthy glow - this is how the first beauty of the 15-16 centuries should have looked. This is how women are depicted in the paintings of Sandro Botticelli, Raphael Santi and Michelangelo. The ideal of Renaissance beauty can be called Italian Simonetta Vespucci, who is depicted in several of Botticelli's paintings "Spring" (1478), "The Birth of Venus" (1485), "Portrait of a Young Woman" (1485). During the Renaissance, fashion was high forehead, and to achieve this effect, fashionistas shaved their eyebrows and hairline. This is clearly seen on famous painting Mona Lisa by Leonardo Da Vinci.
Epoch of baroque
In the late 16th and early 17th centuries, the ideal of female beauty was white-skinned women (tanning was considered the lot of peasant women) with small breasts, tiny legs, pale face, but lush hips. In addition, any aristocrat had to have a high complex hairstyle. These fashion trends are clearly visible in the portrait of the favorite Louis XIV Madame de Montespan (1670) by Pierre Mignard. The famous work of Jan Vermeer "Woman with a Pearl Earring" (1665) belongs to this period.
Era of rococo
If in the picture a woman looks more like a porcelain doll, surrounded by fans, umbrellas, muffs and gloves, then we can safely say that it comes about the Rococo era. At the beginning of the 18th century, "mild anorexia" came into vogue: female beauty becomes fragile, with narrow hips, small breasts, and sunken cheeks. There is evidence that to obtain the effect of "sunken cheeks", some ladies removed their lateral teeth, leaving only the front - beauty requires sacrifice. The canons of beauty of the Rococo era are beautifully illustrated by the portraits of François Boucher, for example, "Portrait of the Marquise de Pompadour" (1756).
The era of romanticism
Only in the second half of the 19th century, natural blush, healthy freshness and roundness of forms again become the standards of female beauty. And the most attractive part female body rounded shoulders become, which was simply necessary for any beauty to bare. Such women are found in the paintings of Adolphe Bouguereau, such women were portrayed by the first impressionists ("The Birth of Venus" by Bouguereau, "Big Bathers" by Renoir, " Blue dancers"Degas).
The beginning of the twentieth century
Boris Kustodiev's "Russian Venus", "Merchant's Wife at Tea", "Girl on the Volga" perfectly illustrate the beauty canons of the early 20th century. Everything that romanticism admired in a woman became even more magnificent and weighty. 20-40 years of the twentieth century
Mid twentieth century
Marilyn Monroe became the ideal of female beauty of the middle of the last century. Short blonde, without any excesses in the direction of thinness or puffiness. Her image was readily used in his works by the founder of pop art Andy Warhol.
Talk about further development ideals of female beauty, especially in their connection with painting, are not yet worth it. It should only be noted that the story develops in a circle, and thinness and soreness again come into fashion.
How often do we admire works of art without thinking about who is depicted on them. Only the names of the royal persons remain in the memory, and the identity of the girl, whose foggy silhouette can be seen in the corner of the picture, remains unknown. He will talk about women who posed for artists for famous canvases todayDiletant. media.
Dutch Mona Lisa
The famous "Dutch Mona Lisa", "Girl with a Pearl Earring" by Jan Vermeer was painted around 1665. For a long time, the picture was simply called "Girl in a Turban", its modern name she received only by the XX century. The image of turbans in paintings has become popular since the 15th century, and Vermeer often uses this detail of the dress in his portraits. The whole picture is painted in special genre"Troni", which meant the image of a person's head.
"The Dutch Mona Lisa" has long been called "The Girl in the Turban"
As the name suggests, the viewer's eye is drawn to a large pearl earring.
According to the most common version, it is believed that his young daughter Maria posed for the portrait for Vermeer, although some researchers still suggest that this could be the daughter of the patron saint of the artist, the patron of the arts, Ruyven. Maria was one of 15 children of Vermeer - his marriage was truly happy. The artist loved his wife, and often she herself posed for his paintings.
Mystical portrait of young Lopukhina
The portrait of Maria Ivanovna Lopukhina, one of the representatives of the Tolstoy count family, is one of the most famous works Russian artist Borovikovsky. It was painted in 1797 and is now kept in the Tretyakov Gallery.
Portrait of M.I.Lopukhina is one of the most famous works Borovikovsky
The poet Yakov Polonsky dedicated his poems to the girl depicted in the portrait: “She has long passed, and those eyes are gone, and the smile that silently expressed suffering is a shadow of love, and thoughts are a shadow of sadness, but Borovikovsky saved her beauty.” The artist uses traditional portrait painting reception - surrounding the character with objects that help to characterize him. These are features of the Russian landscape, and a delicate shawl, and drooping rosebuds.
Lopukhina's portrait is considered the most poetic in the work of Borovikovsky
It is interesting that young girls were frightened with the portrait of Maria Lopukhina for a long time. The fact is that shortly after painting the picture, a young woman at the age of 21 died of consumption. Many believed that the portrait seemed to take her life, and if the girls looked at the picture, they would also soon die.
Girl with an umbrella from Monet's paintings
The famous painting by Claude Monet "Field of Poppies at Argenteuil" was painted in 1873. This painting appeared at the exhibition of the Impressionists in 1874, when they first declared themselves as a separate group... Two figures on foreground- this is Monet's wife Camila and their son Jean.
Claude Monet's painting "Field of Poppies at Argenteuil" was written in 1873
Monet painted, according to his custom, in the open air, trying to squeeze out the atmosphere of airiness and movement. Interesting fact, which few people pay attention to: in the left corner of the picture is another similar couple, a woman with a child. A barely noticeable path winds between the two pairs.
The painting depicts two couples, one of whom is Monet's wife and son
The love story of Monet and Camila was tragic: Monet's father more than once threatened to deprive his son of content if he did not part with his beloved. They lived in separation for a long time, but Monet could not hold out for long without his family. Nevertheless, the artist often asked his wife to pose for his paintings. We can see Camila both on the canvas "The Lady in Green" and among the "Women in the Garden". There are also several separate portraits of Camila and their son. And when Camila died, he painted her posthumous portrait, which differs from the rest of the artist's works.
Monet painted a posthumous portrait of his wife impressed by her death
Impressed by the death of his beloved wife, Monet painted her posthumous portrait
The actress who charmed Renoir
Auguste Renoir, one of the most famous impressionist painters, loved and knew how to portray female beauty. The actress Jeanne Samary was his favorite model. Renoir painted 4 portraits of her, but the most famous was "Portrait of the actress Jeanne Samary". It was written in 1877 and is now kept in the Pushkin Museum in Moscow.
The main shades used in the portrait are pink and green.
Jeanne was from theatrical family, and did not choose her field for a long time. She made her theater debut as Dorine in Moliere's Tartuffe, and her fame grew rapidly. Before her marriage, the girl often went to Renoir's workshop and posed for him. True, she attended sessions irregularly, and this angered the artist. But he was completely fascinated by the grace of the actress, so over and over again he invited her to become his model. But her fame and happiness did not last long: she died at the age of 33 from typhus.
Dancer with the agility of a snake
The famous author of "Girls with Peaches" Valentin Serov, having met Ida Rubinstein in Paris in 1910, asked her to become a model for a new canvas. Prior to that, she posed for many artists - Kees van Dongen, Antonio de la Gandara, Andre de Segonzac, Leon Bakst, later - for Romain Brooks.
The portrait of Ida Rubenstein was bought from Serov almost immediately
But it was the portrait of the Russian artist that became the most famous. The painting was bought from the author almost immediately and placed in the collection of the Russian Museum.
Serov's daughter Olga wrote that in reality Ida was not so thin at all, and the artist deliberately stylized her
Ida Rubinstein was a famous Russian dancer and actress. From 1909 to 1911 she performed with the troupe of Sergei Diaghilev. Rubinstein was tall, but her grace amazed the audience, and she was spoken of as a dancer "with the flexibility of a snake and the plasticity of a woman." The roles of Cleoparta and Zobeida became her stellar. After leaving Diaghilev, she created her own troupe, in which she performed for a long time. And in 1921 she even starred in Italian film"Ship".