Guitar player Vasily Tropinin (1776-1857)

Description of Vasily Tropinin’s painting The Guitarist

Vasily Tropinin was engaged in painting portraits in a variety of genres, which may have been quite unlike one another. But most of the artist’s contemporaries and connoisseurs were most in love with portraits in which the author depicts the image of the guitarist. About one of these paintings and we will talk about.

In the picture we see a young guy of 18-20 years old with snow-white, but slightly ruddy on the cheeks, skin, wavy hair and neat mustache. Putting on a simple chord, he plays a light motif. The position of his head suggests that he took his eyes off the instrument for a few seconds as he played to look at the listener. This guy is most likely from a noble family, as we can guess from his facial features, delicate fingers, and his clothes.

Not surprisingly, by the way, the guitarist is wearing the very robe that we can see in many of Tropinin’s paintings. It is carelessly thrown over the just as carelessly unbuttoned shirt at the top buttons and cuffs. Such clothing expresses the unhurried and measured nature of Moscow life, as well as the ease and freedom of thought inherent in this man. It is also worth paying attention to the instrument. A skillfully made guitar with gilded strings and soundboard made of solid wood is likely to cost quite a lot, which once again confirms the social status of the musician in the picture.

Paintings with the image of the guitarist were extremely liked not only by the public, but also by the author himself. For this reason, in different years he painted a large number of portraits similar to the one described above. It apparently depicts Count Morkov in his youth. "Guitarist in a shirt" is another title of Tropinin’s painting "Guitarist". There is something in this image that has always caused and evokes pleasant associations: perhaps the guitar, just gaining popularity in those years, or perhaps the manner and style of painting, which depicts a simple and clear subject without pretentiousness and frills.