How the son of a serf and a prince became the favorite artist of the empress and the Moscow nobility: Fyodor Rokotov

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Thanks to this artist, the national history of the second half of the 18th century becomes illustrated. Rokotov's paintings are both an acquaintance with those who played an important role in public life of that time, and a chance to see those in power from the “human” side. Did these portraits have an exceptional resemblance to the original? Apparently not - otherwise Rokotov would not have enjoyed such success with his contemporaries.

What is known about the artist Rokotov?

Having rendered an invaluable service to his contemporaries and descendants, having captured on canvases countless numbers of Petersburg and Moscow nobles, the artist himself remained behind the scenes, in the shadows. And now very little is known about Rokotov. His origin is unclear - either he was a nobleman, or he came from serfs. The second is much more likely, since there are documents confirming the ransom by the artist of his two nephews, the sons of Nikita's brother.

Fyodor Stepanovich Rokotov was born in the mid-thirties of the 18th century in the Vorontsovo estate of Prince Repnin near Moscow. Peter Repnin, the owner of the estate, is known for being a chamberlain under Emperor Peter III. There were no children in the marriage with Maria Ivanovna Golovkina. It is likely that Fyodor Rokotov was the illegitimate son of the prince, and therefore he received free and apparently enjoyed the support of Repnin in the arrangement of further fate. In the fifties Fyodor Rokotov went to Petersburg, where he was under the patronage of Ivan Ivanovich Shuvalov, the favorite of Empress Elizabeth, philanthropist and founder of several educational institutions. Perhaps the future artist studied at the Land Gentry Corps, but very soon he became a student of the Academy of Arts.

In the manner of Rokotov, one cannot fail to see the influence of European masters, it is assumed that the artist was taught by foreign painters - Louis Tocque, Pietro Rotary, Louis le Lorrain. In 1760, Rokotov was enrolled in the Academy, and three years later he received the most, perhaps, the most significant commission in his career - to paint a coronation portrait of Catherine II.

The Empress liked the portrait very much. Without flattering attempts to please the crowned customer, Rokotov was able to show Catherine the way she was, or, at least, what she saw herself: an imperious, but magnanimous, self-confident ruler of a huge power. Already in 1765, the artist himself taught at the main educational institution of St. Petersburg, having received the title of academician. There were showered requests to paint a portrait - for a generous reward. Apparently, due to the fact that the teachers of the Academy were not allowed to take private orders, Rokotov left the capital for Moscow, to a city that was not spoiled by brilliant painters, and therefore received Rokotov with open arms.

Chief portrait painter of Moscow

In the manner of Rokotov, they noticed something similar to Leonardo da Vinci himself - the same uncertainty, softness, haze. The painter abandoned the influence of Rococo, which was widespread at that time, which dictated, among other things, the savoring of luxurious elements of the outfit, thoroughness in the depiction of details, sophistication and splendor. Rokotov's portraits are homey, intimate, warm. The center of attention is the person's face, the reflection of his inner life - the rest for the artist does not seem significant.

Surprisingly few records have survived about Rokotov, despite his popularity as a portrait painter. Nevertheless, it is not difficult to guess: since representatives of noble Moscow again and again turned to him for portraits, it means that this artist portrayed customers and their household members not only reliably, he was able to convey the best that was in the character of the person sitting opposite the artist. Customers liked themselves the way Rokotov saw them.

In the artist's studio there could be up to fifty unfinished paintings at a time, despite the fact that the artist worked for at least a month on each portrait. Most likely, Rokotov's students also participated in the creation of the works. One portrait cost fifty rubles - many times less than European master painters would take for this work. From the late sixties to the early nineties of the 18th century, Rokotov painted almost the entire noble Moscow, receiving orders for portraits of entire families and clans.

Due to the imperfection of the ground, the background of the Rokotov portraits tends to darken over time, and the restoration of his paintings is a rather complicated matter. But this twilight has become one of the characteristic features of the artist's works. Over time, his style of painting changed, the images became more distinct, the tones - bright, portraits - elegant. Carefully painted silk and lace became noticeable, and the faces in the portraits acquired new features - arrogance, arrogance.

Most likely, the artist never created a family, he had no children. In 1776, he achieved freedom for his two nephews, educated them, and arranged a military career for them. It is known that among Rokotov's students there were also serfs, whom he in turn provided patronage. About the last years of the artist's life, nothing is known at all. He died in 1808 in Moscow.

Why did you remember the work of Rokotov?

After some time, Rokotov's style was already considered outdated, interest in his works disappeared. Only at the end of the 19th century, this artist, who seemed to have guessed the ideas of the Impressionists, was rediscovered by lovers of painting. Interest in portraits by Rokotov increased especially after the 1905 exhibition in the Tauride Palace of St. Petersburg, organized by Sergei Diaghilev. Among more than two thousand works, paintings by Rokotov also took a worthy place in the exhibition. Since then, more and more of his works have appeared in Russian museums.

And one of the portraits by Rokotov was immortalized in Nikolai Zabolotsky's 1953 poem "Portrait".

“… Do you remember how from the darkness of the past, Barely wrapped in an atlas, From the portrait of Rokotov again Struyskaya looked at us?

Her eyes are like two mists, Half-smile, half-cry, Her eyes are like two deceptions Covered with the mist of failure …"

This picture was called the "Russian Mona Lisa", and Alexandra Struyskaya, having managed, thanks to the artist, to just look at the viewer correctly from the portrait, went down in history, showing herself practically nothing else in her life. For all the romance of the image, the life of this woman was quite prosaic. The daughter of a Penza nobleman, Alexandra Ozerova, married a fellow countryman Struysky, who became famous for his irrepressible graphomania, the opening of a printing house and an enthusiastic reverence for Catherine II. The Struisky estate kept a copy of the coronation portrait of the Empress, made by Rokotov themselves. When Catherine died in 1796, Struysky could not bear grief and died of a stroke two weeks later.

Alexandra Struyskaya remained a widow, heiress of her husband's rather big fortune and the head of a large family - in total eighteen children were born in the marriage, ten of them died in infancy. The beauty from the portrait of Rokotov lived for 86 years, she was distinguished by a rather tough disposition in relation to the serfs, but she took part in the upbringing of the illegitimate offspring of her son, who later became the poet Alexander Polezhaev. However, in her youth, when the famous portrait was created, Alexandra Petrovna, by all accounts, was an extremely charming and gentle person.

Among the portraits of Rokotov, there are many of those depicting characters unknown to modern researchers; establishing their names is an interesting task for art critics and historians of the future.

Rokotov was one of the few who enjoyed the confidence of Catherine II - it was no coincidence that he was privy to the secret of the birth of Alexei Bobrinsky. And here is the Empress's valet who raised her son, once set fire to his house for the sake of his sovereign.