Ivan Petrovich Argunov is a famous Russian artist, one of the founders of Russian portrait art. They are famous for their portraits of Empress Catherine II and famous noblemen, have established themselves as a great mentor.
The work of Ivan Petrovich Argunov reached the top of perfection by the middle of the eighteenth century. At this time, the art of sculpture, painting was developing, the most magnificent architectural ensembles were created.
Mastery training
The outstanding master built a splendid career as a serf and without a special education. The paintings he painted are still highly valued today. The future famous master was born in the family of serfs of Count Cherkassky in 1729.
After marrying the owner's daughter Varvara Peter Sheremetyev, the Argunovs came under his control. In St. Petersburg, the future artist was brought up in his uncle's family, in a house on Millionnaya Street. The relative was a butler for the former 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. Fyodor Argunov later became a famous architect. The work of Ivan Petrovich gained fame with the coming to power of Elizabeth Petrovna in 1740.
Together with the flourishing of the art of theater, the development of painting began. Foreign artists came to Russia. Among them was Georg Christopher Groot, who became Argunov's mentor.
Thanks to his lessons, Ivan Petrovich mastered the European style of writing, learned to use it perfectly to convey the image of the Russian people. This made the works 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 showed himself as a peculiar and very talented painter.
Then the direction he created will become the leading one for him. The first works date back to the early 1750s. There are several genres among them. One of his works, "Dying Cleopatra", is written in the manner of classical rococo.
Subsequent masterpieces were created in the style of ceremonial portraits. Great-set people are depicted on them in all their splendor and splendor. An example of such masterpieces is the beautiful depiction of Peter Sheremetyev, written in 1753. The most popular heroes of the master's paintings were this count's couple. The reason was that most of the outstanding artist's time was spent in the Sheremetyevs' house.
Soon Argunov was entrusted with the management of the mansion. Ivan Petrovich demonstrated the abilities of the most wonderful teacher. In 1753, by order of the Empress Elizabeth herself, three students were sent to him. After completing their studies under the mentorship of the master, all of them were enrolled in the Academy of Arts.
By the 1760s, 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, which was later called "intimate portrait".
The clearest example of such canvases was the paired portrait of Kozma Khripunov with his wife, as well as Argunov, who served as Sheremetyevs. A lot of the painter's time was occupied by custom-made works. 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 II.
It was necessary to portray the royal person in a slightly theatrical pose, with arrogance in her gaze and with all the imperial paraphernalia. The customer appreciated the image at its true worth.
Painter's masterpieces
Over time, Argunov's graphic technique reached its peak of perfection. The subtlety of his manner is especially noticeable in one of his most outstanding creations, a portrait of a pupil of the deceased by that time the count's wife, Annushka from Kalmykia.
The painting depicts a girl with a portrait of her benefactor. By the 1770s, the artist had become an accomplished painter.
The most notable works of that time are called images of Rear Admiral Greig, Counts Sheremetyev.
By 1785, the already aged Argunov created a real masterpiece. The brilliant work combines the purity of the image and the fascination of a young peasant woman. The title of the work is "Portrait of an Unknown Woman in Russian Costume."
It seems that in one image all the best features of people who were painted by the artist in the old days are collected. An even bigger discovery was the use of warm colors. From the work, it seems that it breathes with purity, youth, conveyed by the gaze of the heroine.
The image differs from the previous ones in the absence of a clear copy of the image, in the presence of unearthly lightness. It was from the duty of copying that the master got tired of his long career.
In addition to performing the work of the management, Ivan Petrovich taught three sons. Pavel later became an outstanding architect, and Nikolai and Yakov gained fame as talented artists. One of the brothers continued to improve the art of portraiture in the graphic genre.
Argunov almost did not write since 1788. Almost all the time he was occupied with the management of the Million House. The outstanding artist took part in the creation of the famous Ostankino Palace, which was designed by his son Pavel.
At the same time, the artist became a member of the serf college of Sheremetyev. Ivan Petrovich Argunov died in early 1802 in Moscow.
