“Girl in a poppy wreath with a carnation in his hand”, Kiprensky – description of the painting
Description of the picture:
A girl in a poppy wreath with a carnation in his hand – Orest Adamovich Kiprensky. 1819. Oil on canvas. 40 x 40 two cm
The talent of the portrait painter allowed Orest Kiprensky to experience both moments of complete triumph and glory, as well as a feeling of bitter hopelessness. The wonderful works of the master gained the widest fame not only in Russia, but far away beyond its borders. A separate and very fundamental page in Kiprensky’s biography is the period of his life in Italy. It was difficult for local academics to believe that the canvases exhibited by him were made not by one of the great Italian masters, but by their contemporary, a Russian portrait painter. It was here that popularity came to him, specifically here his name became notorious.
The portrait, more recognizable as “A Girl in a Poppy Wreath with a Carnation in her Hand,” was painted in Italy from a baby named Anna Maria (Mariuccia). The painter was wholeheartedly attached to the girl, which at one time caused a huge number of rumors of various kinds. Kiprensky was obliged to return to his homeland, but after seven years he returned to Rome and sought out a young lady. For the sake of marriage with Mariuccia, Orest Kiprensky accepted the Catholic faith, but the marriage did not last long – a few months after the wedding, the painter suddenly died of pneumonia.
Whatever the background of this picture, the skill of its creator remains especially valuable. Mariuccia sits, with immediate grace, leaning on the table, as if by chance turning his gaze to the viewer. A wreath of poppies is reddened on dark blond, carelessly cut hair, and in a puffy handle the baby holds a clove flower. The face of Mariucci was painted in the most painstaking way – with a slight blush, lively, sensually expressive, with deep and attentive eyes. The affectionate, unsullied and defenseless image of the girl is subtly conveyed by Kiprensky with the help of the contrast of a dark background and a luminous, pinkish-porcelain skin tone of a small model."