Portrait of the writer Nestor Kukolnik Karl Pavlovich Bryullov (1799-1852)

Description of Karl Bryullov’s painting "Portrait of N.V. Kukolnik".

Nestor Vasilievich Kukolnik, Russian literary critic and well-known playwright and publisher of the periodical Art Newspaper, is depicted by Karl Bryullov in a chamber belt portrait in the year of his arrival from Italy to his homeland, where he was studying his craft. Therefore, the Italian school of painting and the manner of painting is very noticeable.

Mikhail Glinka introduced the artist and the writer, after which they became close friends, the portrait painted by Bryullov reflects his warm attitude towards the portrayed man. The background of the painting is a modest outdoor interior of Kukolnik’s house, where the literary circle of creative people gathered so often. However one may notice at once that the background is not given a special significance, it is made in dark, but at the same time, warm colors. The dark horizon line is sharply divided by the sky and the sea - the symbols of the Romanticism epoch.

A modest but contradictory personality is reflected by Karl Bryullov in the portrait. His sly squint gives off shades of seriousness and with concentration. Being a creative person, the literary man Kukolnik captured the lyricism in the air, that’s why his gaze may seem somewhat skeptical, austere.

At the same time we see the hero - a romantic, his dreamy gaze is directed somewhere in his own thoughts, looking at the portrayed as if through the viewer. Kukolnik’s static pose and some stiffness of composition are "unloaded" by the soft light coming from the center of the painting. The glare of this warm lighting puts accents on the hands and face. The Doll’s hands confidently grip his cane and cylinder.

Some "positive" posing can be seen in this ambiguous image of the literary man. The puppeteer is forced to wear a mask of a rejected romantic, misunderstood by the big world of art, his furtive glance is as if sly, invites him into the wonderful world of the backstage art workshops. The painter’s closest friend’s elaborated image reflects his warm and reverent attitude to the portrayed man.