Dedicated to the transfer of the image of one person, as well as a group of two or three people on canvas or paper sheet. The style chosen by the artist is of particular importance. Drawing a person's face in a portrait is one of the most difficult areas in painting. The master of the brush must convey the characteristic features of the appearance, the emotional state, the inner world of the posing. The size of the portrait determines its appearance. The image can be bust, generational, waist or full-length. The pose assumes three angles: face (full face), three-quarter turn to one side or the other, and in profile. The portrait contains unlimited possibilities for the realization of artistic ideas. First, a sketch is made, then the drawing itself.

History of the genre portrait

The oldest attempt at depicting a human face dates back 27 thousand years. The "painting" was discovered in a cave near the French city of Angoulême. The portrait is a chalk outline that vaguely resembles the features of a human face. The ancient artist outlined the main lines of the eyes, nose, mouth. Later (also in caves) in the Balkans and Italy, clearer and more definite images began to appear, among which faces painted in profile predominated. It is natural for a person to create, talented people cannot live without leaving behind some kind of trace. It could be a pebbled pattern in the middle of a field, a carved ornament on the bark of a tree, someone's face painted with charcoal on a rock. There are plenty of opportunities for creativity.

Stucco images

Once the portrait genre tended to be embodied in sculpture, since in ancient times there were no artists who thoroughly mastered the brush and were able to convey the play of light and shadow. The image of the face in clay was better, and therefore in those distant times it was stucco portraits that dominated. The art of painting appeared much later, when humanity realized the need for cultural communication.

Burial

The appearance of images close to the drawing also belongs to a later period, and the first portraits were found in the ancient eastern territories. In the Egyptian state, the deification of the dead took place. During the burial, a kind of portrait was created, which was conventionally considered a double of the deceased. The principle of mummification appeared, and then portraiture. The history of the portrait genre contains many examples of iconic images in both drawing and sculpture. The drawings of the faces of the deceased became more and more similar to the original. And then the copying of the face of the deceased was replaced by a mask. The Egyptian dead were buried in sarcophagi, on the lid of which the deceased was depicted in full growth with a beautiful stylized face. Such funerals were arranged exclusively for the nobility. Egyptian pharaohs, for example, were placed not only in the sarcophagus, but also in the tomb, which was a huge structure.

Variety of solutions

When painting a portrait, the artist has a choice: to depict the person's face and clothes in accordance with the original, or to be creative, creating an exquisite creative picture. The main condition for this remains similarity, which plays a dominant role. Independent - portrait art, open to experiments of the widest range. The artist has the opportunity to improve his skills by applying the latest technical advances.

Indeed, the technique of execution is decisive for achieving an optimal result. The most common way of portrait painting among professional artists is this style has its roots in the ancient times. It was used by the artists of antiquity. Their works have survived to this day. Portrait as a genre of fine art has existed since time immemorial, and today it is a popular means of artistic expression.

"Dry brush"

Recently, a technique has become popular when an image is created not by strokes, but by rubbing a small amount of paint. At the same time, the brush is almost dry, and the method itself allows you to get beautiful halftones. Since the most subtle genre of painting is a portrait, and the image of a face in paints requires precisely delicate shades, the "dry brush" technique is perfect for this purpose.

Types

The portrait genre is subdivided into several types: ceremonial, chamber, intimate and subject. There is also a special type called self-portrait, in which the artist depicts himself. As a rule, this is a purely individual drawing. In general, the portrait genre is completely independent, subject to certain rules. These rules are never violated, although their scope can be expanded under certain circumstances.

In addition to those already listed, there is another genre of portrait, which includes special artistic features, a specialized variety that requires a systematic approach. This is a costumed portrait, when the canvas depicts a modern person in clothes of the past. The range of subjects is not limited: from the skins worn by primitive people to the wedding dress of the Renaissance. This portrait variety contains elements of theatricality. In the Russian Federation, especially in Moscow, the costume portrait has become widespread, but this happened not for the sake of fashion, but rather as a tribute to art.

Portrait genre in art

Paintings, painted at different times, are united by one prerequisite - the paintings must be authentic. An important role in this is played by the portrait component, in other words, the image of the characters' faces. The success of the picture depends on how carefully the facial features are written. Expression of eyes, smiles or, conversely, frowning eyebrows, all the nuances should be reflected on the canvas. It's not an easy task, but the credibility factor testifies to the artist's skill. That is why the genre of portraiture in art is so unambiguous and requires full dedication from the master. Experienced artists are best at painting with people, close-ups of their faces, and accentuated movement.

Literary portraits

Writers, as well as artists, quite often depict a person's face. There are much more literary techniques for this, the rich Russian language allows the use of numerous artistic forms, phrases and phrases. The goal that the writer strives for is identical in meaning to the intention of the artist, the writer describes the facial expression as a consequence of the mood of a person, the reflection of his thoughts, emotions and experiences. the portrait is quite complex. It is necessary to describe, avoiding superficial formulations. This requires the skill of a true creator. Among Russian writers who are able to express in a few words the essence of the human appearance, in the first place is the great Maxim Gorky. His American follower also masterfully mastered the art of verbal portrait drawing. The genre of a literary portrait is diverse, the description follows a certain style, it can be funny or sad, short or lengthy, it all depends on each individual work.

The photo

With the advent of daguerreotype, the possibilities of fine art expanded, and portraits were no exception. A photographic portrait cost much less than an oil painting, and the recognition was one hundred percent. And although the artists sarcastically noticed that photography is for the poor, "the general public turned towards a more accurate image on a silver-coated plate. The portrait photography genre quickly became fashionable, and there was no end to those who wanted to capture themselves and their loved ones.

However, the new method, the daguerreotype, had its drawbacks. Photography, in contrast to a picturesque portrait, did not allow changing anything. The image froze once and for all, it was impossible to fix something. And if we consider that a person was photographed sitting or standing (in a tense position), then he did not come out in the picture in the best way. Therefore, there were many disappointments, complaints and discontent. Nevertheless, portraits took root, people learned to pose artistically, and everything fell into place.

Portrait painting and drawing tell about a person, his beauty, character and aspirations. A portrait painter deals with a person's character, his complex personality. To understand a person, to understand his essence in appearance, you need a lot of life and professional experience. The artist needs a deep knowledge of the person depicted. In addition to the individual traits of the person being portrayed, it is also important to convey those features that are imposed on him by his professional environment.

Portrait(fr. portrait - image) - a genre of fine art depicting one person or a group of people. In addition to external, individual similarities, artists strive to convey the character of a person, his spiritual world in a portrait.

There are many types of portrait. The portrait genre includes: a half-length portrait, a bust (in sculpture), a full-length portrait, a group portrait, an interior portrait, a portrait against a landscape background. By the nature of the image, two main groups are distinguished: ceremonial and chamber portraits. As a rule, a ceremonial portrait involves a full-length image of a person (on a horse, standing or sitting). In a chamber portrait, a half-length, bust, shoulder image is used. In a ceremonial portrait, the figure is usually shown against an architectural or landscape background, and in a chamber portrait - more often against a neutral background.

By the number of images on one canvas, in addition to the usual, individual, double and group portraits are distinguished. Portraits painted on different canvases are called paired, if they are consistent with each other in composition, format and color. Most often these are portraits of the spouses. Often, portraits form whole ensembles - portrait galleries.

A portrait in which a person is presented in the form of an allegorical, mythological, historical, theatrical or literary character is called costumed. The names of such portraits usually include the words "in the form" or "in the form" (for example, Catherine II in the form of Minerva).

Portraits are also distinguished by size, for example, miniature. You can also highlight a self-portrait - the artist's image of himself. The portrait conveys not only the individual traits of the person being portrayed or, as the artists say, the model, but also reflects the era in which the depicted person lived.

The art of portraiture goes back several millennia. Already in ancient Egypt, sculptors created a fairly accurate semblance of the external appearance of a person. The statue was given a portrait resemblance so that after the death of a person his soul could move into it, it is easy to find its owner. The picturesque Fayum portraits made in the technique of encaustics (wax painting) in the 1st-4th centuries served the same purpose. Idealized portraits of poets, philosophers, and public figures were common in the sculpture of Ancient Greece. Ancient Roman sculptural portrait busts were distinguished by their truthfulness and precise psychological characteristics. They reflected the character and personality of a particular person.

The image of a person's face in sculpture or painting has attracted artists at all times. The genre of portraiture flourished especially during the Renaissance, when the humanistic, active human personality was recognized as the main value (Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Giorgione, Titian, Tintoretto). Renaissance masters deepen the content of portrait images, endow them with intelligence, spiritual harmony, and sometimes with inner drama.

In the XVII century. in European painting, the chamber, intimate portrait comes to the fore, as opposed to the ceremonial, official, exalting portrait. Outstanding masters of this era - Rembrandt, Van Rhine, F. Gals, Van Dyck, D. Velasquez - created a gallery of wonderful images of simple, not famous people, discovered in them the greatest riches of kindness and humanity.

In Russia, the portrait genre began to develop actively from the beginning of the 18th century. F. Rokotov, D. Levitsky, V. Borovikovsky created a series of magnificent portraits of noble people. Especially charming and charming, permeated with lyricism and spirituality were the female images painted by these artists. In the first half of the 19th century. the protagonist of portrait art is a dreamy and at the same time prone to heroic impulse romantic personality (in the paintings of O. Kiprensky, K. Bryullov).

The rise of realism in the art of the Itinerants was reflected in the art of portraiture. Artists V. Perov, I. Kramskoy, I. Repin created a whole portrait gallery of prominent contemporaries. The artists convey the individual and typical features of the portrayed, their spiritual characteristics with the help of characteristic facial expressions, poses, and gestures. The person was portrayed in all his psychological complexity, and his role in society was also assessed. In the XX century. the portrait combines the most contradictory tendencies - vivid realistic individual characteristics and abstract expressive deformations of models (P. Picasso, A. Modigliani, A. Bourdelle in France, V. Serov, M. Vrubel, S. Konenkov, M. Nesterov, P. Korin in Russia).

Portraits convey to us not only the images of people from different eras, reflect part of the history, but also speak about how the artist saw the world, how he treated the person being portrayed.

A portrait (derived from the French word portrait) is an artistic image of a person with the transfer of his inner world.
In a portrait, a person can be depicted up to the chest, up to the waist, up to the hips, up to the knees, in full growth.
In the portrait, there can be a different turn of the head: in front view, in a quarter turn to the right or to the left, in half turn, in three quarters, in profile.
The portrait format can be different: rectangular vertical, rectangular horizontal, square, oval or round.
The portrait is divided by size: miniature portrait, easel portrait (painting, graphics, sculpture), monumental portrait (monument, fresco, mosaic).
The portrait is divided according to the method of execution: oil, pencil, pastel, watercolor, dry brush, engraved, miniature, photographic, etc.
The portrait can be painted in various styles: academicism, realism, impressionism, expressionism, modernism, abstractionism, surrealism, cubism, pop art, etc.

There are different classificationsportrait:

Self-portrait- a graphic, pictorial or sculptural image of the artist, made by himself using a mirror or a system of mirrors.

Allegorical portrait- a kind of costume portrait, in which the image of the person being portrayed is presented in the form of an allegory.

Military portrait- a kind of ceremonial portrait - a portrait in the image of a commander.

Group portrait- a portrait that includes at least three characters.

Child portrait

Donator's portrait- a kind of religious portrait in which the person who made the donation was depicted in the picture (for example, next to Jesus).
Donator (from Lat. Donator - donor) - the customer, organizer and patron of the construction of a Catholic church, or the customer and donor of a work of fine or decorative art decorating the temple.

In the photo - Piero della Francesca "Altar of Montefeltro". On the right, on the knees, the donor is the Duke of Montefeltro.

Female portrait

Individual portrait- a portrait that includes one character.

Intimate portrait- a chamber portrait with a neutral background, expressing the trusting relationship between the artist and the person being portrayed.

Historical portrait- a portrait of a historical figure.

Chamber portrait- a portrait using a half-length, chest or shoulder image of a person. Usually, in a chamber portrait, the figure is presented against a neutral background.

- (derived from Italian caricare - to exaggerate) - a satirical or humorous portrait.

Colossal portrait- a portrait of a huge size (usually in sculpture).

Equestrian portrait- a kind of ceremonial portrait.

Fancy dress portrait- a portrait in which a person is presented as an allegorical, mythological, historical, theatrical or literary character. Typically, the names of such portraits include the words "in the form" or "in the image."

Coronation portrait- a solemn image of the monarch on the day of accession to the throne, in coronation regalia, usually in full growth.

Teacher's portrait- a kind of religious portrait in which the person who made the donation was depicted in the picture.
Ktitor (from the Greek κτήτωρ - owner, founder, creator) - a person who has allocated funds for the construction or repair of an Orthodox church or monastery, or for its decoration with icons, frescoes, objects of decorative and applied art.
In the photo - Ktitor Radiva with his family and Metropolitan Kalevit with a model of the church (Kremikovsky Monastery).

- a portrait of a small format (up to 20 cm), usually it is watercolor, ink or print-run graphics: etching, lithography, woodcut, etc.
A miniature portrait can be intimate or ceremonial, have a plot basis or not. As in a large portrait, the depicted face can be placed against a neutral, landscape background or in an interior. And although the miniature portrait obeys the same basic laws of development and the same aesthetic canons as the entire portrait genre as a whole, it differs from it both in the essence of the artistic solution and in its area of ​​application - the miniature is always more intimate.

- a kind of costume portrait, in which a person is presented as a mythological character.

Portrait of a man

Hunting portrait

Ceremonial portrait, representative portrait- a portrait showing a person in full growth, on a horse, standing or sitting. Usually, in a ceremonial portrait, the figure is given against an architectural or landscape background.

Depending on the attributes, the ceremonial portrait is: coronation; throne; equestrian; a military man in the guise of a commander.
A hunting portrait adjoins the ceremonial one, but it can also be intimate.

Companion portrait- two portraits painted on different canvases, but coordinated with each other in composition, format and color. Usually paired portraits depict spouses.

- a kind of ceremonial portrait, in which the person portrayed is usually shown to the waist and with a lot of accessories.

Portrait-painting- a portrait, where the person being portrayed is presented in a semantic and plot relationship with the surrounding household items, nature, architecture, people, etc.

Walking portrait- a portrait of a walking man against the background of nature. This type of portrait originated in England in the 18th century and gained popularity in the era of sentimentalism.

Posthumous portrait, retrospective portrait- a portrait taken after the death of the depicted people from their lifetime images or entirely composed by the author.

Family portrait

Soviet portrait - the image of a new person, the builder of communism, the bearer of such qualities as collectivism, socialist humanism, internationalism, revolutionary determination.

Throne portrait- a kind of ceremonial portrait - a solemn image of a monarch sitting on a throne.

Cartoon- a satirical or good-natured humorous image, in which, while observing external similarities, the most characteristic features of a person are changed and highlighted.

Since the social position of the person being portrayed influenced certain methods of presenting his image, sometimes the class principle was used in the classification:

• merchant portrait
• portrait of a clergyman
• clown portrait
• portrait of a poet

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Slide captions:

Portrait in painting. Types of a portrait of a person. The presentation was prepared by: Elena M. Bazanova

A portrait is an image or description of a person or a group of people that exist or existed in reality. Portrait is one of the main genres of painting, sculpture, graphics, its meaning is precisely to reproduce the individual qualities of a particular person. The name of this genre comes from an old French expression meaning "to reproduce something like hell".

watercolor PORTRAIT pencil ENGRAVED PAINTING (OIL, TEMPERA, GUACHE) SCULPTURAL RELIEF (on medals and coins)

Pencil portrait Watercolor portrait Engraving Painting portrait (oil) Relief Sculptural portrait

TYPES OF PORTRAIT: Chamber; Psychological; Social; Ceremonial; Individual, double, group. Self-portrait

A chamber portrait is a portrait using a half-length, chest or shoulder image. The figure in a chamber portrait is usually shown against a neutral background.

The psychological portrait is intended to show the depth of a person's inner world and experiences, to reflect the fullness of his personality, to capture in an instant the endless movement of human feelings and actions.

A social portrait allows you to comprehend the content of professional activity, spending free time, to assess a person's personality, based on the characteristics of the environment in which he lives.

A ceremonial portrait is a portrait showing a person in full growth, on a horse, standing or sitting. Usually, in a ceremonial portrait, the figure is given against an architectural or landscape background.

Individual, double, group.

Self-portrait is a graphic, pictorial or sculptural image of an artist, made by himself using a mirror or a system of mirrors.

By format, portraits are distinguished: head (shoulder) chest waist up to the hips, generation to full height

Head portrait Bust portrait Half-length portrait Thigh-length portrait Full-length portrait

By turning the head, portraits are: in full face (fr. En face, "from the face") in a quarter turn to the right or left half turn in three quarters in profile

Assignment: Your task is to create a picturesque portrait. It can be a self-portrait or a portrait of someone close to you. Think about which color combinations will best express the character and state of mind.

In today's post, I would like to dwell on a brief history of the development of portraiture. It is not possible to fully cover all the material on this topic in the limited volume of the post, so I did not set such a task.

A small excursion into the history of portrait painting

Portrait(from French portrait) - this is a genre of fine art, as well as works of this genre, showing the appearance of a particular person. The portrait conveys individual characteristics, unique features inherent in only one model (a model is called a person posing for a master when working on a work of art).

"Parisian". Fresco from the Palace of Knossos, 16th century BC

But external similarity is not the only and, perhaps, not the most important property inherent in a portrait ... A true portrait painter is not limited to reproducing the external features of his model, he seeks convey the properties of her character, reveal her inner, spiritual world ... It is also very important to show the social position of the person being portrayed, to create a typical image of a representative of a certain era.
As a genre, the portrait appeared several millennia ago in ancient art. Among the frescoes of the famous Palace of Knossos, found by archaeologists during excavations on the island of Crete, there are a number of picturesque female images dating back to the 16th century BC. Although the researchers called these images "ladies of the court", we do not know who the Cretan masters tried to show - goddesses, priestesses or noble ladies dressed in elegant dresses.
The most famous is the portrait of a young woman, called by scientists "Parisienne". We see in front of us a profile (according to the traditions of art of that time) image of a young woman, very flirtatious and did not neglect makeup, as evidenced by her eyes, surrounded by a dark outline, and brightly painted lips.
The artists who created the fresco portraits of their contemporaries did not delve into the characteristics of the models, and the external similarity in these images is very relative.

"Portrait of a Young Roman", early 3rd century AD

In Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome easel painting did not exist, so the art of portraiture was expressed mainly in sculpture. Ancient masters created plastic images of poets, philosophers, military leaders and politicians. These works are characterized by idealization, and at the same time, among them there are images that are very precise in their psychological characteristics.
Of great interest are the picturesque portraits created in Egypt in the 1st-4th centuries A.D. According to the place where they were found (the tombs of Khavara north of Cairo and the necropolis of the Fayum oasis, which was called Arsinoe under the Ptolemies), they are called Fayum. These images performed ritual and magical functions. They appeared in the Hellenistic era, when Ancient Egypt was captured by the Romans. These portrait images, executed on wooden boards or on canvas, were placed together with the mummy in the tomb of the deceased.
In the Fayum portraits, we see Egyptians, Syrians, Nubians, Jews, Greeks and Romans who lived in Egypt in the 1st-4th centuries A.D. From Ancient Rome to Egypt, the custom came to keep in the house portraits of the owners painted on wooden tablets, as well as sculptural masks of deceased relatives.

Fayum mummy portrait

Fayum portraits were created using the tempera or encaustic technique, which is especially characteristic of earlier images. Encaustic is painting with paints, where wax was the main connecting link. The artists used melted wax paints (on many tablets with portraits there are traces of such paints flowing down). This technique required special techniques. On the cheeks, chin and nose, the paint was applied in dense layers, and the rest of the face and hair were painted with more liquid paint. For their portraits, craftsmen used thin planks of sycamore (mulberry fig) and Lebanese cedar.

J. Bellini. "Portrait of a Donor". Fragment

Among the most famous portraits, executed in the encaustic technique, are "Portrait of a Man" (second half of the 1st century AD) and "Portrait of an Elderly Man" (end of the 1st century AD), which are lifetime images. In these works, skilful light and shade modeling and the use of color reflex are striking. Probably, the unknown masters who painted the portraits went through the Hellenistic school of painting. In the same manner, two other paintings are executed - "Portrait of a Nubian" and a beautiful female image, the so-called. "Lady Alina" (II century AD). The last portrait was painted on canvas with a brush and liquid tempera.
During the Middle Ages, when art was subordinated to the church, mainly religious images were created in painting. But even at this time, some artists painted psychologically accurate portraits. Images of donors (donors, customers) were widely disseminated; they were shown most often in profile, facing God, Madonna or a saint. The images of the donors had an undeniable external resemblance to the originals, but did not go beyond the icon-painting canons, playing a secondary role in the composition. Profile images coming from the icon retained a dominant position even when the portrait began to acquire an independent meaning.
The heyday of the portrait genre began in the Renaissance, when the main value of the world was an active and purposeful person who could change this world and go against the circumstances. In the 15th century, artists began to create independent portraits, which showed models against the backdrop of panoramic majestic landscapes. Such is the "Portrait of a Boy" by B. Pinturicchio.

B. Pinturicchio. "Portrait of a Boy", Art Gallery, Dresden

Nevertheless, the presence of fragments of nature in the portraits does not create the integrity, unity of a person and the world around him, the person being portrayed seems to obscure the natural landscape. Only in the portraits of the 16th century does harmony emerge, a kind of microcosm.

Many famous masters of the Renaissance turned to portrait painting, including Botticelli, Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci. The greatest work of world art was the famous masterpiece of Leonardo - the portrait "Mona Lisa" ("La Gioconda", c. 1503), in which many portrait painters of subsequent generations saw a role model.
Titian played a huge role in the development of the European portrait genre, creating a whole gallery of images of his contemporaries: poets, scientists, clergymen, rulers. In these works, the great Italian master acted as a subtle psychologist and a wonderful connoisseur of the human soul.

Titian: Empress Isabella of Portugal.

During the Renaissance, many artists who created altar and mythological compositions turned to the portrait genre. The psychological portraits of the Dutch painter Jan van Eyck (Timothy, 1432; The Man in the Red Turban, 1433) are distinguished by their deep penetration into the inner world of the model. The recognized master of the portrait genre was the German artist Albrecht Durer, whose self-portraits still delight viewers and serve as an example for artists.

Albrecht Durer, Self-portrait

During the Renaissance, various forms of portrait appeared in European painting. The bust portrait was very popular at that time, although half-length, generational images and full-length portraits also appeared. Noble married couples ordered paired portraits in which the models were depicted on different canvases, but both compositions were united by a common concept, color, and landscape background. A striking example of paired portraits is the images of the Duke and Duchess of Urbino (Federigo da Montefeltro and Battista Sforza, 1465), created by the Italian painter Piero della Francesca.
Group portraits were also widespread, when the artist showed several models on one canvas. An example of such a work is "Portrait of Pope Paul III with Alessandro and Ottavio Farnese" (1545-1546) by Titian.

By the nature of the image, portraits began to be divided into ceremonial and intimate. The first were created with the aim of exalting and glorifying the people represented on them. Ceremonial portraits were ordered from famous artists by reigning persons and members of their families, courtiers, clergymen who occupied the upper rungs of the hierarchical ladder.
Creating ceremonial portraits, the painters depicted men in rich uniforms embroidered with gold. The ladies who posed for the artist wore the most luxurious dresses and adorned themselves with jewelry. The background played a special role in such portraits. Craftsmen painted their models against the background of a landscape, architectural elements (arches, columns) and lush draperies.
The largest master of the ceremonial portrait was the Fleming P.P. Rubens, who worked at the royal courts of many states. His noble and wealthy contemporaries dreamed that the painter would capture them on his canvases. The commissioned portraits of Rubens, striking in the richness of colors and virtuosity of drawing, are somewhat idealized and cold. The images of relatives and friends that the artist created for himself are full of warm and sincere feelings, they do not have the desire to flatter the models, as in ceremonial portraits for wealthy customers.

Rubens' disciple and follower was the talented Flemish painter A. van Dyck, who created a gallery of portrait images of his contemporaries: scientists, lawyers, doctors, artists, merchants, military leaders, clergymen, courtiers. These realistic images subtly convey the individual uniqueness of the models.
The portraits performed by van Dyck in the late period, when the artist worked at the court of the English king Charles, are less perfect artistically, because the master who received many orders could not cope with them and entrusted the image of some details to his assistants. But even at this time van Dyck painted a number of rather successful paintings (Louvre portrait of Charles I, c. 1635; Three Children of Charles I, 1635).

A. van Dijk. "Three Children of Charles I", 1635, Royal Assembly, Windsor Castle

In the 17th century, an intimate (chamber) portrait occupied an important place in European painting, the purpose of which is to show the state of mind of a person, his feelings and emotions. The recognized master of this type of portrait was the Dutch artist Rembrandt, who painted many heartfelt images. "Portrait of an Old Woman" (1654), "Portrait of Titus's Son Reading" (1657), "Hendrickje Stoffels at the Window" (portrait of the artist's second wife, c. 1659) are imbued with sincere feelings. These works present to the viewer ordinary people who have neither noble ancestors nor wealth. But for Rembrandt, who opened a new page in the history of the portrait genre, it was important to convey the kindness of his model, her truly human qualities.

Unknown artist. Parsuna "Sovereign of All Russia Ivan IV the Terrible", late 17th century.

Rembrandt's skill was also manifested in his large-format group portraits ("Night Watch", 1642; "Syndics", 1662), conveying various temperaments and vivid human personalities.
One of the most remarkable European portrait painters of the 17th century was the Spanish painter D. Velazquez, who painted not only a great many ceremonial portraits representing the Spanish kings, their wives and children, but also a number of chamber images of ordinary people. The tragic images of the court dwarfs - wise and restrained or embittered, but always retaining a sense of human dignity - are addressed to the viewer's best feelings ("Portrait of the Jester Sebastiano Mora", c. 1648).

The portrait genre received further development in the 18th century. The portrait, in contrast to the landscape, gave the artists a good income. Many painters who were engaged in the creation of ceremonial portraits, trying to flatter a rich and noble customer, tried to highlight the most attractive features of his appearance and obscure flaws.
But the most courageous and talented masters were not afraid of the wrath of the rulers and showed people as they really were, not hiding their physical and moral shortcomings. In this sense, the famous "Portrait of the Family of King Charles IV" (1801) by the famous Spanish painter and graphic artist F. Goya is interesting. The National School of Portraiture appeared in England. Its largest representatives are the artists J. Reynolds and T. Gainsborough, who worked in the 18th century. Their traditions were inherited by younger English masters: J. Romney, J. Hopner, J. Opie.
Portrait played an important role in French art. One of the most talented artists of the second half of the 18th - first quarter of the 19th century was J.L. David, who created, along with paintings of the ancient and historical genre, many beautiful portraits. Among the masterpieces of the master are the unusually expressive image of Madame Recamier (1800) and the romantically elevated portrait "Napoleon Bonaparte at the Saint Bernard Pass" (1800).

The consummate master of the portrait genre was J.O.D. Ingres, who glorified his name with ceremonial portraits, distinguished by sonorous colors and graceful lines.
Such French artists as T. Gericault and E. Delacroix presented fine examples of romantic portrait to the world.
French realists (J. F. Millet, C. Corot, G. Courbet), impressionists (E. Degas, O. Renoir) and post-impressionists (P. Cezanne, V. van Gogh) expressed their attitude to life and art in portraits.
Representatives of modernist movements that appeared in the 20th century also turned to the portrait genre. Many portraits were left to us by the famous French artist Pablo Picasso. These works can be traced to the development of the master's work from the so-called. blue period to Cubism.

In his "Blue Period" (1901-1904), he creates portraits and genre types, in which he develops the theme of loneliness, grief, human doom, permeating the spiritual world of the hero and a hostile environment. This is the portrait of a friend of the artist - poet H. Sabartes (1901, Moscow, Pushkin Museum).

A significant contribution to the development of Russian portrait painting was made by the talented artist of the first half of the 18th century I.N. Nikitin, with the skill of a psychologist, showed in the "Portrait of the Floor Hetman" (1720s) a complex, multifaceted image of a man of the Peter the Great era.

Painting of the second half of the 18th century is associated with the names of such famous portrait painters as F.S. Rokotov, who created many inspired images of his contemporaries (portrait of V.I.Maikov, c. 1765), D.G. Levitsky, the author of beautiful ceremonial and chamber portraits that convey the integrity of the models' nature (portraits of pupils of the Smolny Institute, c. 1773-1776), V.L. Borovikovsky, whose amazingly lyrical female portraits still delight the audience.

Borovikovsky, Vladimir Lukich: Portrait of Elena Alexandrovna Naryshkina.

1860-1870-ies - the time of the formation of realism in Russian painting, most clearly manifested in the work of the Itinerant artists. During this period, in the portrait genre, the portrait-type enjoyed great success among the democratically-minded public, in which the model received not only a psychological assessment, but was also considered from the point of view of its place in society. In such works, the authors paid equal attention to both individual and typical features of the portrayed.
An example of such a portrait-type was painted in 1867 by the artist N.N. Ge portrait of A.I. Herzen. Looking at the photographs of the Democrat writer, one can understand how exactly the master captured the external resemblance. But the painter did not stop there, he captured on the canvas the spiritual life of a person striving to achieve happiness for his people in the struggle. In the image of Herzen, Ge showed the collective type of the best people of his era.

N.N. Ge portrait of A.I. Herzen

Ge's portraiture traditions were taken up by such masters as V.G. Perov (portrait of F.M.Dostoevsky, 1872), I.N. Kramskoy (portrait of Leo Tolstoy, 1873). These artists have created a whole gallery of images of their outstanding contemporaries.
Remarkable type portraits were painted by I.E. Repin, who managed to very accurately convey the unique individuality of each person. With the help of correctly noted gestures, poses, facial expressions, the master gives the social and spiritual characteristics of the portrayed. A significant and strong-willed person appears in the portrait of N.I. Pirogov. Deep artistic talent and passion of nature is seen by the viewer on his canvas, depicting the actress P.A. Strepetov (1882).

Portrait of the actress Pelageya Antipovna Strepetova as Elizabeth. 1881

Glazunov_ Portrait of Ilya Reznik, 1999

A.M. Shilov ("Portrait of Academician I. L. Knunyants", 1974; "Portrait of Olya", 1974).

A.M. Shilov. "Portrait of Olya", 1974

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