Fyodor Stepanovich Rokotov (Fedor Rokotov) (; 1736 – December 24, 1808) was a Russian painter who specialized in

portrait A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face is always predominant. In arts, a portrait may be represented as half body and even full body. If the subject in full body better r ...

s. Fyodor Rokotov was born in Vorotsovo (now a part of the Obruchevsky District of

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

) into a family of peasant

serf Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery. It developed du ...

s, belonging to the

Repnin The House of Repnin (), is an ancient Russian princely family, claiming descent from the Olgovichi branch of Rurik dynasty. They held the hereditary title of Knyaz in the Empire of Russia. History The family traces its name to Prince Ivan Mikh ...

s. Much in his biography is obscure. He studied art in Saint Petersburg Academy of Arts. After buying back his freedom at the end of the 1750s he became established as a fashionable painter. In 1765, Rokotov was elected an

Academician An academician is a full member of an artistic, literary, engineering, or scientific academy. In many countries, it is an honorific title used to denote a full member of an academy that has a strong influence on national scientific life. Accor ...

, but he did not work as a professor in the Academy long, because it interfered with his painting. He returned to

in 1765, where he lived for the rest of his life. He had a lot of commissions there, becoming one of the best portrait painters of his time. Among his best-known portraits are '' Portrait of Alexandra Struyskaya'' (1772), sometimes called the Russian

Mona Lisa The ''Mona Lisa'' is a half-length portrait painting by the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. Considered an archetypal masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance, it has been described as "the best known, the most visited, the most written about, ...

and admittedly the most celebrated piece of the 18th-century Russian painting; ''Portrait of Countess Elisabeth Santi'' (1785), and ''Lady in a Pink Dress'' (1770s, ''illustration'', ''right''). Rokotov avoided painting formal portraits with much adornment and decoration. Instead he was one of the first Russian painters advancing a psychological portrait with attention to optical and atmospheric effects.

Selected works

Rokotov paul 1 as child.JPG, Emperor Paul I as a Child. 1761 Rokotov orlov.JPG, Count I. G. Orlov. c.1762-1765 Catherine_II_by_F.Rokotov_after_Roslin_(1780s,_Hermitage)_2.jpg,

Catherine II Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter III ...

, 1770 Rokotov Struyskaya.JPG, Alexandra Struyskaya. 1772 Ivan Shuvalov by F.Rokotov (1760, Hermitage).jpg,

Ivan Shuvalov Ivan Ivanovich Shuvalov (; 1 November 172726 November 1797) was called the ''Maecenas'' (patron) of the Russian Enlightenment, the first Russian Minister of Education and Active Privy Councillor (1773). Russia's first theatre, university, and ...

1760 Rokotov kvashnina samarina.jpg, Anna Yuryevna Kvashnina-Samarina. 1770s Daria Troubetskay by Rokotov.jpg, Princess Darya Gruzinskaya, late 1700s Rokotov lady in white cap.JPG, Lady in a White Cap. 1790s Anna Artiomievna Buturlina.jpg, Countess Anna Buturlina, c. 1793. Фёдор Рокотов (1760е) Портрет Никиты Ивановича Панина.jpeg, Nikita Ivanovich Panin,1760s

References

*V.N. Alexandrov ''History of Russian Art'', Minsk, 2004, (In Russian)

External links

Online gallery of Rokotov paintings
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rokotov, Fedor 1736 births 1808 deaths Painters from Moscow 18th-century painters from the Russian Empire Male painters from the Russian Empire 19th-century painters from the Russian Empire Portrait painters from the Russian Empire Russian serfs 19th-century male artists from the Russian Empire Imperial Academy of Arts alumni Members of the Imperial Academy of Arts

Selected works

See also

References

External links