Bulakov’s portrait Vasily Tropinin (1776-1857)
Vasily Tropinin – Bulakov’s portrait
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Painter: Vasily Tropinin
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This work by Vasily Tropinin is considered one of the best in his oeuvre. Here we see a portrait of the famous Russian opera singer Pyotr Aleksandrovich Bulakhov. The singer had made his stage debut just two years before the portrait was painted. Tropinin quite quickly became friends with the man and decided to capture his image on canvas. It is said that the hardest thing to portray is the simplest man, in his usual surroundings.
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Description of Vasily Tropinin’s painting "Portrait of Bulakhov".
This work by Vasily Tropinin is considered one of the best in his oeuvre. Here we see a portrait of the famous Russian opera singer Pyotr Aleksandrovich Bulakhov. The singer had made his stage debut just two years before the portrait was painted. Tropinin quite quickly became friends with the man and decided to capture his image on canvas.
It is said that the hardest thing to portray is the simplest man, in his usual surroundings. We see Bulakhov sitting in an armchair and posing for the artist. The man is leaning freely with his right hand on the armrest of the chair.
He is not dressed in a ceremonial suit, he is not expecting guests. He is wearing ordinary house clothes - a dark blue robe with a warm fur cape, and a white scarf tied around his neck, from under which the snow-white collar of his shirt protrudes. Bulakhov has dark curly hair, which obviously makes him younger, gives him a youthful excitement. His eyes are expressive, a little funny and mischievous.
Artists always love to depict subtle, but very important details in their works. In this painting, at the very bottom, there is a small green book, which Bulakhov is holding in his hand. He holds it loosely, with two fingers, as if he were about to accidentally drop it. The book shows that the famous opera singer was an intelligent and well-read man, but his innate mischief has not faded with the years.
The color scheme of the work is muted, using dark colors: black, dark blue, brown. Perhaps the artist was trying to convey a domestic, somewhat intimate setting. There is no need to hide or pretend, you can be yourself. Behind Bulakhov’s back there is only a monochrome, dark background. There are neither expensive decorations nor paintings in gilt. Everything is very simple, unobtrusive. The brightest spot in the work is the face of Pyotr Alexandrovich. It’s as if an inner light is shining on him, causing his eyes to sparkle and a modest smile.
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