Vladimir Borovikovsky is a Russian artist who was born in 1757 in Mirgorod. His father, brothers, and also an uncle were artists and painted icons. Young Vladimir was taught this craft by his father. The heyday of the painter's creativity fell on the reign of Catherine II. He painted female portraits, revealing and demonstrating their ideal in his works. One of the famous canvases is the portrait of Maria Lopukhina. But his fame is bad because of the large number of rumors that have long enveloped this picture.
Who is shown in the picture?
Maria Lopukhina was the daughter of a general, Count Tolstoy. At a young age, she was married to Jägermeister Lopukhin, who served at the court of Emperor Paul I. After the marriage, her husband ordered her portrait for Maria as a gift. Borovikovsky was chosen as the artist, representing the fashionable style of that time called sentimentalism.
V. L. Borovikovsky.
The girl in the portrait is presented at a tender age. She was not yet 18 years old. The artist tried to highlight her youth, to show her lightness. She appears in the form of a rosebud, thanks to a fluffy dress and curls.
The girl's face is depicted with a shadow of mystery. It seems like a second more and she will smile. Maria looks directly into the eyes of the viewer. The young lady made a strong impression on Borovikovsky. He managed to reflect on the canvas not only her beauty, but also inner experiences that tormented the soul.
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M. Lopukhina's mysterious look
The girl's look is aristocratic and a little playful, which is quite inherent in young ladies at this age. But if you look at the portrait carefully, you can see sadness in Mary's eyes. The artist managed to recognize and reflect on the canvas the shadow of sadness in the girl's gaze. She seemed to sense the approaching disaster.
Portrait of Maria Lopukhina, 1797
Maria's husband was 10 years older than her. It is believed that the girl did not want to marry him. This is confirmed by the fact that their marriage was unhappy. In those years, the groom was chosen by the parents based on the financial situation and the status of the candidate. As a result, profitable but not always happy alliances were concluded.
Three years after painting the portrait, at the age of 21, the girl was struck down by consumption. She soon died from her. After that, her husband died quite quickly.
Impact of portrait
Young girls, when they found out about the unfolding drama, wanted to see the same portrait. Soon they fell ill with consumption, the outcome of which was death. It is worth clarifying that this disease was very common at that time. But rumors about the negative impact of the portrait on those who look at it began to spread pretty quickly.
It was said that it was this portrait that ruined those young ladies who wanted to see it. Rumors spread that every girl who looked at this canvas would soon die. It is believed that the spirit of the deceased Mary is contained in the portrait.
Purchase of a painting by Tretyakov
For a long time, the work was kept by Lopukhina's relatives. In 1880, the patron of the arts Tretyakov expressed a desire to purchase the canvas. And from that moment on, the rumors that had spread so strongly and quickly about this work began to subside. Tretyakov exhibited the portrait in his gallery, which was eventually named after him.
Pavel Tretyakov.
Millions of people have the opportunity to look at the work of Borovikovsky. Since then, many visitors to the gallery were able to see all the details of the portrait and survived. This was the reason to dispel rumors about the bad influence of the canvas on people's lives.
Currently, anyone can visit the Tretyakov Gallery and see the portrait of Maria Lopukhina. There are a lot of doubts about whether the painting really has a negative impact and is involved in the death of young people. Consumption at that time was a very common and serious disease. The fate of Mary herself was quite tragic. But the long-term stay of the picture in the gallery proves that all the accusations against her were in vain.
Zhanna Lyubarskaya