History Museum presents the history of merchants in portraits

MOSCOW. At the exhibition, which opened in the exhibition hall of the State Historical Museum, viewers were presented with merchant portraits painted by artists known and nameless in the period of the 18-20th century. In total, the exposition of the exhibition includes more than a hundred exhibits, most of which are paintings. Daguerreotypes and photographs stored in museum collections were added to the painting.

Art historians note that the term “merchant portrait” for the history of art is not equivalent to a similar designation of the canvas - “portrait of a merchant”. So called paintings, painted at the beginning of the appearance of this portrait genre. Usually their authors were not very well-known artists, and sometimes just beginning to master the art of painting.

Such provincial painters did not have rich aristocratic customers who preferred masters who had already received recognition. The faces in the "merchant portraits" painted by provincial artists are frozen, there is no expression in the poses, however, clothes and jewelry were depicted extremely carefully.

In art galleries such works were neglected, considering them to be little artistic. But their value is indisputable for history, therefore such a large-scale collection of “merchant portraits” has been preserved in the historical museum. Today they are referred to as “naive art”.

Famous painters began to paint portraits of merchants later, when the merchant estate began to play an important role in the life of the country. The second part of the exhibition presents the work of many famous portrait painters. Among them are Serov, Makovsky and other famous artists of the 19-20th century. Their canvases depict famous personalities who went down in the history of the country.

You can see the exhibition until March 31st.

Ludmila Trautmane © Gallerix.ru