Fyodor Stepanovich Rokotov (Fedor Rokotov) (russian: Фёдор Степа́нович Ро́котов) (1736–December 24, 1808) was a distinguished

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

n painter who specialized in

portrait A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this ...

s. Fyodor Rokotov was born into a family of peasant

serf Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism, and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery, which developed ...

s, belonging to the Repnins. Much in his biography is obscure. He studied art in Saint Petersburg Academy of Arts. After buying back his freedom at the end of the 1750s he became established as a fashionable painter. In 1765, Rokotov was elected an

Academician An academician is a full member of an artistic, literary, engineering, or scientific academy. In many countries, it is an honorific title used to denote a full member of an academy that has a strong influence on national scientific life. In syst ...

, but he did not work as a professor in the Academy long, because it interfered with his painting. He returned to

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

in 1765, where he lived for the rest of his life. He had a lot of commissions there, becoming one of the best portrait painters of his time. Among his best-known portraits are '' Portrait of Alexandra Struyskaya'' (1772), sometimes called the Russian

Mona Lisa The ''Mona Lisa'' ( ; it, Gioconda or ; french: Joconde ) is a half-length portrait painting by Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. Considered an archetypal masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance, it has been described as "the best kno ...

and admittedly the most celebrated piece of the 18th-century Russian painting; ''Portrait of Countess Elisabeth Santi'' (1785), and ''Lady in a Pink Dress'' (1770s, ''illustration'', ''right''). Rokotov avoided painting formal portraits with much adornment and decoration. Instead he was one of the first Russian painters advancing a psychological portrait with attention to optical and atmospheric effects.

Selected works

Rokotov paul 1 as child.JPG, Emperor Paul I as a Child. 1761 Rokotov orlov.JPG, Count I. G. Orlov. c.1762-1765 Catherine_II_by_F.Rokotov_after_Roslin_(1780s,_Hermitage)_2.jpg,

Catherine II , en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes , house = , father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst , mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp , birth_date = , birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anhal ...

, 1770 Rokotov Struyskaya.JPG, Alexandra Struyskaya. 1772 Ivan Shuvalov by F.Rokotov (1760, Hermitage).jpg,

Ivan Shuvalov Ivan Ivanovich Shuvalov (russian: link=no, Ива́н Ива́нович Шува́лов; 1 November 172714 November 1797) was called the Maecenas of the Russian Enlightenment and the first Russian Minister of Education. Russia's first theatr ...

1760 Rokotov kvashnina samarina.jpg, Anna Yuryevna Kvashnina-Samarina. 1770s Daria Troubetskay by Rokotov.jpg, Princess Darya Gruzinskaya, late 1700s Rokotov lady in white cap.JPG, Lady in a White Cap. 1790s Anna Artiomievna Buturlina.jpg, Countess Anna Buturlina, c. 1793. Фёдор Рокотов (1760е) Портрет Никиты Ивановича Панина.jpeg,

Nikita Ivanovich Panin Count Nikita Ivanovich Panin (russian: Ники́та Ива́нович Па́нин) () was an influential Russian statesman and political mentor to Catherine II of Russia, Catherine the Great for the first 18 years of her reign (1762-1780). In ...

,1760s

References

*V.N. Alexandrov ''History of Russian Art'', Minsk, 2004, (In Russian)

External links

Online gallery of Rokotov paintings
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rokotov, Fedor 1736 births 1808 deaths 18th-century painters from the Russian Empire Russian male painters 19th-century painters from the Russian Empire Painters from Saint Petersburg Imperial Academy of Arts alumni Russian portrait painters Russian serfs Members of the Imperial Academy of Arts 19th-century male artists from the Russian Empire

Selected works

See also

References

External links