Portrait of Daria Khvostova Orest Adamovich Kiprensky (1782-1836)

Description of the painting "Portrait of D. N. Khvostova" by Orest Kiprensky

Dated 1814, materials - canvas, oil, size - 71 by 57.8 cm. It has a vertical arrangement, and is in the State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia.

Orest Adamovich was a magnificent master of Romanticism and academic style, whose paintings were put on a par with Rembrandt. His manner of painting is well traced on a lesser-known to the general public portrait of Darya Nikolaevna, wife of Vasily Semenovich Khvostov, the first general of Tomsk, to whom a separate canvas is devoted, executed in similar tones.

The color scheme of the painting is quite restrained, but with several bright accents on the beautiful and feminine face, on the crossed arms drawing attention to the calm and noble pose, and on the orange shawl giving a bit of home comfort to the image. Its carrot color is layered over the woman’s delicate cheeks and lips, making the matte skin glow even more, a contrast heightened by the black hair and the transition from dark to light in the background.

The portrait shows a striking attention to detail that is not so obvious at first. But look closely, and here is the back of an ornate chair secretly gives aristocratic life, on the edge of the cloak runs embroidered silk thread oriental pattern, flies translucent airy collar dress, volume curls, playing flare earring, sparkling eyes ... All this means serious hard work, which the artist has done, trying to convey and capture for future generations a beautiful pure image of a good mother of a large family, maybe a little tired, but ready just about to charmingly smile. This impression is not at all spoiled by the gloomy colors of the background, on the contrary, it creates an unusual lightness, liveliness and a desire to know the story of this woman.