Vasily Andreevich Tropinin (russian: Васи́лий Андре́евич Тропи́нин; – ) was a Russian
Romantic painter. Much of his life was spent as a
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 ...
; he didn't attain his freedom until he was more than forty years old. Three of his more important works are a portrait of
Alexander Pushkin
Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (; rus, links=no, Александр Сергеевич ПушкинIn pre-Revolutionary script, his name was written ., r=Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈpuʂkʲɪn, ...
and paintings called ''
The Lace Maker'' and ''
The Gold-Embroideress''.
Biography
Vasily was born as a serf of Count
Munnich in the village
Korpovo of
Novgorod
Veliky Novgorod ( rus, links=no, Великий Новгород, t=Great Newtown, p=vʲɪˈlʲikʲɪj ˈnovɡərət), also known as just Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the ol ...
guberniya. He was transferred to Count Morkov as part of the dowry of Munnich's daughter. Soon he was sent to
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
to study the trade of a confectioner. Instead of learning his trade Tropinin secretly attended free drawing lessons in the
Imperial Academy of Arts
The Russian Academy of Arts, informally known as the Saint Petersburg Academy of Arts, was an art academy in Saint Petersburg, founded in 1757 by the founder of the Imperial Moscow University Ivan Shuvalov under the name ''Academy of the Thre ...
.
In 1799, his owner allowed Tropinin's to study at the Academy as a non-degree student (''Postoronny uchenik''). He took lessons from S. S. Schukin and was supported by the President of the Academy
Alexander Sergeyevich Stroganov
Alexander Sergeyevich Stroganov (1733–1811) was a Russian baron and a member of the Stroganov family. He was an assistant to the Minister of the Interior, a longtime President of the Imperial Academy of Arts, director of the Russian Imperial ...
. In 1804 Tropinin's work ''Boy Grieving for a Dead Bird'' was exhibited in the Academy's exhibition and was noted by the Russian Empress at the time (most probably the Dowager Empress
Maria Feodorovna).
At the dawn of his success, Count Morkov recalled Tropinin from St. Petersburg to his
Ukrainian
Ukrainian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Ukraine
* Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe
* Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine
* So ...
estate Kukavka. Tropinin was appointed a confectioner and a
lackey. Soon the owner changed his mind and assigned Tropinin to copy the works of European and Russian painters and produce
portraits of the Morkovs. Tropinin also painted the local church. Tropinin spent around twenty years of his life in Ukraine, and many of his works from that time were of
Ukrainian
Ukrainian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Ukraine
* Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe
* Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine
* So ...
people and the Ukrainian country side.
Still Tropinin continued to work and study. As a well-established portraitist, he wrote:
The most notable works of that period are ''Portrait of A. I. Tropinina, the Artist's Wife'' (1809),
''Portrait of Arseny Tropinin, son of the artist'' (c. 1818),
''Portrait of the Writer and Historian N. M. Karamzin'' (1818).
Academician
In 1823 at the age of 47 Tropinin at last became a free man and moved 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 ...
. The same year he presented his paintings ''The Lace Maker'', ''The Beggar'' and ''The Portrait of artist Skotnikov'' to the Imperial Academy of Arts and received the official certificate of a painter (''Svobodnyj Khudozhnik''). In 1824 he was elected an Academician.
Since 1833 he mastered the
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 ...
''Public Art Classes'' that later became the famous
. In 1843 he was elected an honorary member of the ''Moscow Art Society''. He died in 1857 and was interred in
Vagankovo Cemetery
Vagankovo Cemetery (russian: Ваганьковское кладбище, Vagan'kovskoye kladbishche), established in 1771, is located in the Presnya district of Moscow. It started in the aftermath of the Moscow plague riot of 1771 outside the cit ...
. During his life Tropinin painted more than 3,000 portraits.
In 1969 the
Tropinin Museum was opened in Moscow.
Works
Image:Tropinin.jpg, Girl from Podolye, 1804-1807
Image:Tropinin SemeyPtMorkovyxGTG.jpg, Family portrait of counts Morkovs, 1813
Image:Tropinin pt arseniya syna.jpg, Portrait of Arseny Tropinin, son of the artist, 1818
Image:Karamzin by Tropinin (1818, Tretyakov gallery).jpg, Portrait of Nikolay Karamzin
Nikolay Mikhailovich Karamzin (russian: Николай Михайлович Карамзин, p=nʲɪkɐˈlaj mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪtɕ kərɐmˈzʲin; ) was a Russian Imperial historian, romantic writer, poet and critic. He is best remembered for ...
, 1818
Image:Topinin Yamschik.jpg, Coachman
A coachman is an employee who drives a coach or carriage, a horse-drawn vehicle designed for the conveyance of passengers. A coachman has also been called a coachee, coachy, whip, or hackman.
The coachman's first concern is to remain in full c ...
1820
Image:Karmelyuk.JPG, Ustym Karmeliuk
Ustym Yakymovych Karmaliuk (also Karmelyuk, uk, Устим Якимович Кармалюк (Кармелюк)) (March 10, 1787 – October 22, 1835) was a Ukrainian outlaw who fought against the Russian administration and became a folk hero to ...
, 1820s
Image:Tropinin PtRavichaGTG.jpg, Konstantin Ravich, 1823
File:Tropinin zenshina v okne.jpg, Woman at the window, 1841
Image:Tropinin ZolotoshveykaGTG.jpg, The Gold-Embroideress, 1826
Image:AleksandrPushkin.jpg, Portrait of Alexander Pushkin
Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (; rus, links=no, Александр Сергеевич ПушкинIn pre-Revolutionary script, his name was written ., r=Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈpuʂkʲɪn, ...
, 1827
Image:Tropinin karatygin.JPG, Portrait of Vasily Karatygin
Vasily Andreevich Karatygin (russian: Василий Андреевич Каратыгин) (–-) was a leading actor of Russian Romanticism.
Karatygin joined the Bolshoi Theatre in St Petersburg in 1820 and moved to the Alexandrine Theatre in ...
, 1842
Image:Portrait Of A.F. Mazurina 1839 Vasily Tropinin.jpg, Portrait Of A.F. Mazurina, 1839
References
External links
Tropinin's gallery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tropinin, Vasily
1776 births
1857 deaths
People from Chudovsky District
18th-century painters from the Russian Empire
Russian male painters
19th-century painters from the Russian Empire
Russian romantic painters
Russian portrait painters
Russian serfs
Burials at Vagankovo Cemetery
19th-century male artists from the Russian Empire
Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture alumni