Pimen Orlov: How an apprentice painter became a student of Bryullov and one of the best European portrait painters

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

The history of Russian art knows many names of painters who came from the common people. One of these is genius Russian portrait painter Pimen Nikitich Orlov, a native of peasants, who, thanks to perseverance and self-education, was able to enter the Imperial Academy of Arts, become the best student of Karl Bryullov, live his whole life abroad and gain world fame for himself and his fatherland.

Pimen Orlov (1812-1865) hails from a remote farm in the Voronezh province. The father of the gifted boy was a miller, and for a living he had to earn a living by hard work. Therefore, he dreamed that his son, when he grows up, will become his assistant. But from early childhood, Pimen showed a very strong craving for drawing, and he did not want to think about any other profession. The poor parents, unfortunately, were not able to give their son an art education. Therefore, very young, Pimen Orlov leaves his father's house and goes as an apprentice to a wandering painter-artist who went from village to village, making his living through art.

It should be noted that at that time not only ordinary dyers were called painters, but also self-taught artists who often painted rural churches, performed decorative painting in the mansions of landowners, and also painted their portraits.

It was to such a master that Pimen approached, traveling with whom he quickly acquired skills in drawing. And the desire to improve made the future artist change more than one such self-taught teacher. And not so much time will pass as Orlov himself will be able to take orders for the execution of icons and picturesque portraits of local rich people.

And once the future artist was lucky enough to meet the leader of the nobility, the landowner Gladky. And, as you know, there are no chance meetings, and this one was especially significant in Pimen's life. The rich man, seeing his work, decided to help the young talent by sending him to St. Petersburg and paying for his education at the Academy of Arts. Truly, it was a royal gift of fate - the dream of a poor village boy came true.

Pimen was also lucky with a teacher at the academy - Karl Bryullov himself was his mentor. And already two years later the student Orlov was awarded the first silver medal for achievements in portrait painting.

And I must say that the choice of the genre was not accidental. Bryullov's portrait painting in the middle of the 19th century was a great success and was highly valued. And many fellow painters, including students, imitating the great master, wrote in his manner. Pimen Orlov was also no exception. Absorbing knowledge like a sponge, he quickly adopted the style and manner of the teacher in the portrait genre and had quite solid orders from the noble gentlemen of St. Petersburg. This allowed the poor artist in his student years to have the money for a completely tolerable existence.

By 1837, Pimen Nikitich graduated from the academy, having received a silver medal of the first degree and the title of a free artist upon graduation. And four years later he had the opportunity to go abroad to study world art. Having settled in Rome, the hardworking master very quickly gained popularity as a genre painter, as well as a talented portrait painter.

He paints in the traditional Italian classicism style, which exaggerated both the beauty in the depiction of the characters and the environment itself. And constant orders from local wealthy people were very important for the artist, because portraits were still the main source of his income. And only a few years later, upon arrival in Rome, the artist was awarded a pension of 300 rubles a year by the government of Nicholas I.

And the artist from year to year sent home his works, for which he received in 1857 the title of academician of portrait painting. Working tirelessly with his brushes, painstakingly prescribing his canvases to the smallest detail, the painter developed an eye disease. This was the reason that at the appointed time of departure home, he decided not to return to Russia. The board of the Academy of Arts gave its permission for an additional period of stay abroad, and the artist, having lived in Italy for another 16 years, died there.

The creative heritage of P. N. Orlov

Pimen Orlov's paintings, which have won the recognition of contemporaries, are made in the best traditions of Russian and Italian classical painting. Soft, skillfully selected color, effective lighting, careful study of details are the artistic style of the master. The bulk of his works are realistic portraits and genre scenes from the life of the Romans. Although Orlov has canvases of historical themes and landscape genre.

After his death, the lion's share of Pimen Nikitich's creations remained in Italy, but the master's works were highly valued in Russia as well. Thus, the paintings "Young Roman Woman at the Fountain", "Italian Morning" were bought by Emperor Nicholas I himself, and many others became the property of Russian collections and museums.

At the present time, the artist's artistic heritage has been sold through auctions to private collections of Western European collectors. Well, those works that ended up in Russia are kept in the Russian Museum, the Tretyakov Gallery, the Hermitage in many museums in Russia and the CIS countries.

Continuing the theme of Russian painters, people from peasant-working families, a fascinating story about the self-taught artist Pavel Fedotov, who became an academician of arts … And who, unfortunately, had to end his life very badly - in a psychiatric hospital.