- Original surname:
- Borovik
- Born:
- July 24 [Aug. 4, New Style], 1757, Mirgorod, Russia (now Myrhorod, Ukraine)
- Died:
- April 6 [April 18, New Style], 1825, St. Petersburg (aged 67)
Vladimir Lukich Borovikovsky
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Who was Vladimir Lukich Borovikovsky?
Vladimir Lukich Borovikovsky (1757–1825) was a prominent Russian artist of Ukrainian heritage, celebrated as the foremost portraitist of the sentimentalist era and a master of ecclesiastic painting.
Borovikovsky honed his painting skills with his father, an icon painter, until age 31. In 1787, he was commissioned to decorate a palace for Catherine II, who was so impressed that she sent him to St. Petersburg. There, under the influence of literary figures, Borovikovsky's portrait style matured, emphasizing moral feeling. His 1794 portrait of Catherine, notable for its sentimentalism, earned him the title of academician in 1795. His most creative period followed, exemplified by his Portrait of Maria Ivanovna Lopukhina (1797), which conveyed melancholy and transience.
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What type of art is Borovikovsky best known for?
Vladimir Lukich Borovikovsky was a Russian artist, known as the foremost portraitist of the sentimentalist era and a master of ecclesiastic painting. His concept of portrait painting matured under the influence of literary sentimentalism, emphasizing moral feeling as the basis of the image. One notable example is his 1794 portrait of Catherine II, which captures the empress in everyday clothes, set against a peaceful landscape, symbolizing her soul's greatness rather than her high position. Another significant work is his 1797 Portrait of Maria Ivanovna Lopukhina, which conveys melancholy, subdued emotion, and transience.
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What time period did Borovikovsky live and create his works?
Vladimir Lukich Borovikovsky was born in 1757 and died in 1825. He was a prominent Russian artist and portraitist of the sentimentalist era, creating his most famous works in the decade that followed 1795.
Borovikovsky's notable works, such as Portrait of Maria Ivanovna Lopukhina (1797), exemplify sentimentalism, with their psychological complexity and melancholy.
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What are some famous portraits painted by Borovikovsky?
Vladimir Lukich Borovikovsky was a prominent Russian artist and portraitist of the sentimentalist era.
Some of his famous portraits include:
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Catherine II Walking in a Park Borovikovsky painted this portrait in 1794. It was the first emergence of sentimentalism in painting. The portrait shows the empress in everyday clothes walking in the imperial park with her dog.
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Portrait of Maria Ivanovna Lopukhina One of Borovikovsky's best works, it portrays Lopukhina with a calm, reposing position, enchanting the viewer with the tenderness of her countenance.
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How did Borovikovsky's style contribute to Russian art?
Vladimir Lukich Borovikovsky was a prominent Russian artist who significantly contributed to Russian art as the foremost portraitist of the sentimentalist era and a master of ecclesiastic painting.
Borovikovsky's style, influenced by the literary movement of sentimentalism, emphasized moral feeling as the basis of the image. His 1794 portrait of Catherine II, characterized by a peaceful landscape and the empress in everyday clothes, marked the emergence of sentimentalism in painting. In his portraits, Borovikovsky captured psychological complexity and emotional depth, as seen in Portrait of Maria Ivanovna Lopukhina (1797), conveying melancholy and transience through lighting and subdued emotion.
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How did historical events in Russia influence Borovikovsky's art and career?
Historical events in Russia significantly influenced Vladimir Lukich Borovikovsky's art and career. In 1787, Borovikovsky gained a commission to decorate a temporary palace for Catherine II (the Great). Impressed with his work, she sent him to St. Petersburg, where his literary friends helped him move in late 1788.
Under their influence, Borovikovsky's concept of portrait painting matured, emphasizing moral feeling. His 1794 portrait of Catherine, displayed her in everyday clothes in a peaceful landscape, symbolizing her soul's greatness rather than her high position. This portrait marked the emergence of sentimentalism in painting.
In 1812, Napoleon’s invasion of Russia triggered a surge in national consciousness and a growing fascination with Russia's distinctiveness from Europe. Seeking moral enlightenment, Borovikovsky joined a Masonic lodge in 1802 and a mystic sect in 1819.
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Vladimir Lukich Borovikovsky (born July 24 [Aug. 4, New Style], 1757, Mirgorod, Russia (now Myrhorod, Ukraine)—died April 6 [April 18, New Style], 1825, St. Petersburg) was a Russian artist of Ukrainian background who was the foremost portraitist of the sentimentalist era and a master of ecclesiastic painting.
Borovikovsky lived in Ukraine until he was 31 years old, having learned the trade of painting from his father, a Cossack and a minor member of the nobility who worked as an icon painter. Only a few of his father’s icons and portraits are extant. Though deeply sincere, they are slightly rough in execution. Vladimir Borovikovsky became a prominent master in St. Petersburg under the positive influence of the international art scene in the capital and the group of St. Petersburg literary figures who were his patrons. The representatives of this group were responsible for drawing the attention of the imperial court to his work, thus securing his future career. In 1787 Borovikovsky was commissioned to decorate a temporary palace for Catherine II (the Great) on the Dnieper River at Kremenchug (now Kremenchuk, Ukraine). She was so pleased with his work that she sent him to St. Petersburg. His literary friends assisted him with his move in late 1788. Borovikovsky’s concept of portrait painting matured under their influence, assuming moral feeling as a basis of the image (in accordance with the principles of the literary movement of sentimentalism). In an attempt to supplement his education, Borovikovsky studied with Johann Baptist Lampi the Elder, a professor of the Vienna Academy of the Arts who lived in St. Petersburg from 1792 to 1797.
Borovikovsky’s portrait of Catherine, painted in 1794 in accordance with the principles of his literary friends and presented to the empress, was the first emergence of sentimentalism in painting. The painting shows the empress walking alone in the imperial park with her dog, pointing quite casually at a monument honouring the success of her reign. For the first time, the empress, who is dressed in everyday clothes, is characterized not by her regalia but by a peaceful and moving landscape that is in harmony with her figure. The monument of imperial glory, modestly placed in the farthest depths of the perspective, comes across as a symbol of the greatness of her soul and not as an attribute of her high position. On the basis of this portrait, Lampi requested that the academy accord Borovikovsky the title of academic, a request that was granted in 1795. The empress turned down the petition but a year later granted Borovikovsky the title after he completed a portrait of one of the empress’s grandchildren—also a commission that he owed to Lampi.
The following decade was Borovikovsky’s most creative period, with sentimentalism coming fully to the fore. His images gained in depth and became ambiguous and psychologically more complex. One of his best works of this period was Portrait of Maria Ivanovna Lopukhina (1797). In this work the calm, reposing position of her body stands in contrast to her delicately raised head, enchanting the viewer with the tenderness of her countenance and the profound seriousness, almost sadness, of her glance. The blossoming roses to the right of her elbow are drooping, their colour fading. The lighting in the painting ranges from full light to darkness, and yet there is not a single bright hue or sharp contour in the work. Everything works together to convey a sense of melancholy, subdued emotion, and transience. The portrait was painted a few years before Lopukhina’s early death from consumption.
It is likely that rather than sensing her tragic fate, Borovikovsky had imbued the painting with his own preoccupation: the question of Christian moral duty, which was of particular importance to him from the late 1790s. Seeking further moral enlightenment, Borovikovsky in 1802 became a member of a Masonic lodge and in 1819 of a mystic sect, both of which, however, ultimately disappointed him. According to Borovikovsky’s pupils, he was a man of great generosity of spirit.