Self-portrait (?) With brushes behind the ear Orest Adamovich Kiprensky (1782-1836)

Description of Orest Kiprensky’s painting "Self-Portrait with Brushes Behind the Ear"

"Self-Portrait with Brushes Behind the Ear" was painted, circa 1808. Its author, Orest Adamovich Kiprensky, was the best Russian portrait painter of the first half of the 19th century. The painting is one of several contradictory and mutually exclusive images of the artist, depicted by himself in a string of self-portraits. The personality and creativity of Orest Adamovich, by the way, is still largely full of intriguing and mysterious details.

A brilliant representative of Romanticism, he achieved unprecedented heights of skill and success, precisely as a portrait painter. Kiprensky was looking for new possibilities in this genre. Embodying and sketching the external and internal movements of the models, the master tirelessly discovered new artistic techniques and solutions. His portraits became a kind of historical chronicle of society, delighting with the scope of individual characteristics, imagery and insight of Kiprensky, always authentically, phenomenally and distinctively conveying the essence of the depicted individuals.

With his own self-portraits the situation is much more complicated and still generates disputes among art historians. Each of the paintings represent one or another change in the external and internal appearance of Kiprensky. "Self-Portrait with Brushes Behind the Ear," perhaps, can be attributed to the self-praise of his creative vocation as a painter. Bold contrasts of light, confident and dynamic manner of performance, richness and warmth of color scheme. This portrait breathes irrepressible energy, looseness and confidence in his abilities. The eyes of the young artist are burning with excitement, his lips are pressed together in impatience, and his brushes are stuck defiantly and with a share of boyish mischief behind his ear.

This self-portrait is unusual and demonstrates new aesthetic techniques in pictorial forms. The leading role is played here by a complex play of light and unusual color effects. There are few details, few color variations - only through light and shadow does the self-portrait seem to pierce the canvas. Facial features moulded out of gloom are lit up and bathed in warm light. Kiprensky appears before us at the beginning of his creative path - full of enthusiasm and hopes.