For firmware Vasily Tropinin (1776-1857)

Description of Vasily Tropinin’s painting "The Lady Behind the Stitches"

Tropinin was born and grew up in Novgorod Province. He received his education in an ordinary folk school. Even in his early childhood his artistic abilities showed themselves. However, Count Morkov saw fit to send Vasily Tropinin to learn the confectionery business. But a genius everywhere manages to break through and develop his talent.

So it happened with Tropinin - he enrolled as a free listener at the Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg. At one of the exhibitions held by the Academy of Arts, his work was noticed by Empress Elizabeth Alexeyevna. As a consequence, the Count decided to take Vasily away from the Academy and sent him away from St. Petersburg and the Academy to another of his estates. Here he was sent to do a variety of rough work, but Vassily did not despair.

Thanks to his persistence and hard work, in 1824 he managed to get the well-deserved title of academic portrait painter. The immediate success he brought his work, in which he portrayed young girls at work. The painting "Behind the Stitches" was the third of this series, which brought the artist a high social status. On the canvas we see a depiction of a young woman holding lace in her hands. Her face is covered with blush, she is dressed poorly, but with taste, you can tell by her clothes that she is a city dweller. This is not a serf servant girl, but the capital bourgeois.

Tropinin’s works had a great influence on the future work of many Russian painters. Today, works by Vasily Tropinin are kept in many museums and art galleries of the Russian Federation.