Poor Lisa Orest Adamovich Kiprensky (1782-1836)

Description of the painting "Poor Liza" by Orest Kiprensky

A very interesting portrait by Kiprensky. It is based on the story of the same name by Karamzin. There is also a clear connection with the life of the painter himself.

The artist was a true psychologist who created magnificent portraits of women. He was able to convey the female soul. All of his heroines are necessarily sad about something, dreaming. They love selflessly, but they are completely closed in themselves and never show their feelings.

Before us, a portrait that Kiprensky painted in 1827. Many have seen that the artist here showed himself a greater master than Karamzin himself. The writer portrays the heroine sentimentally. The artist has a sense of romanticism. While working on this canvas, Kiprensky remembered his beloved mother. Her whole life was shattered and her love distorted.

Kiprensky saw the reasons that became detrimental to the girl. His mother became an innocent victim of the laws of serfdom.

We see a girl who is pining and grieving. She is young and pretty. There is pleading in her eyes. She looks at the man with whom she is about to part. In her hands she holds a red flower symbolizing love.

Kiprensky simply could not portray the peasant woman any other way. Her feelings don’t matter to anyone. Her love simply has no future. The inequality of social character that reigns in the world is to blame. Kiprensky knew that in creating the famous literary image he was rebuking society for this injustice.

With his painting he brings tears to the souls of those who have compassion for this beautiful girl. The public enthusiastically embraced only the pictorial power of this portrait. But it remained indifferent to the idea of inequality in society. Contemporaries preferred simply not to notice this profound idea of the author.

Kiprensky keenly felt this lack of understanding and knew he was alone.