Vladimir Lukich Borovikovsky ( – ) was a Russian artist of Ukrainian Cossack origin. He served at the court of

Catherine the Great 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 I ...

and dominated

portraiture 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 re ...

in Russia at the turn of the 19th century.

Biography

Vladimir Borovikovsky was born in

Mirgorod Myrhorod (, ) is a city in Poltava Oblast, central Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Myrhorod Raion. Myrhorod also hosts the administration of Myrhorod urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. It is located on the Kh ...

Cossack Hetmanate The Cossack Hetmanate (; Cossack Hetmanate#Name, see other names), officially the Zaporozhian Host (; ), was a Ukrainian Cossacks, Cossack state. Its territory was located mostly in central Ukraine, as well as in parts of Belarus and southwest ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

(now Ukraine) on July 24, 1757 into a family of

Ukrainian Cossack The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borders of Ukraine and Russ ...

origin. His father, Luka Borovik, was an

icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic Church, Catholic, and Lutheranism, Lutheran churches. The most common subjects include Jesus, Mary, mother of ...

-painter. According to the family tradition, all four of Borovik's sons served as Cossacks in Mirgorod

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

, but Vladimir retired early at the rank of

poruchik The rank of lieutenant in Eastern Europe, also called ''poruchnick'' in Slavic languages, is one used in Slavophone armed forces. Depending on the country, it is either the lowest or second lowest officer rank. Etymology The rank designatio ...

and devoted his life to art — mostly icon painting for local churches. Virgin Mary by Borovikovsky

Borovikovsky lived in Mirgorod until 1788, where he painted icons and portraits in the

Cossack Baroque Ukrainian Baroque (), also known as Cossack Baroque () or Mazepa Baroque, is an artistic style that was widespread in Ukraine in the 17th and 18th centuries. It was the result of a combination of local traditions and European Baroque. History ...

tradition. His friend Vasily Kapnist was preparing an accommodation for Empress

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 ...

Kremenchuk Kremenchuk (; , , also spelt Kremenchug, ) is an industrial city in central Ukraine which stands on the banks of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. The city serves as the administrative center of Kremenchuk Raion and Kremenchuk urban hromada within ...

during her travel to newly conquered

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

. Kapnist asked Borovikovsky to paint two allegoric paintings (

Peter I of Russia Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned jointly with his half-brother Ivan V until 1696. From this year, ...

and

as peasants sowing seeds and Catherine II as a

Minerva Minerva (; ; ) is the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, victory, and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy. She is also a goddess of warfare, though with a focus on strategic warfare, rather than the violence of gods such as Mars. Be ...

) for her rooms. The paintings so pleased the Empress that she requested that the painter move to

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

. After September 1788 Borovikovsky lived in Saint Petersburg where he changed his surname from the Cossack ''Borovik'' to the more aristocratic-sounding ''Borovikovsky''. For his first ten years in Saint Petersburg, he lived in the house of the poet, architect, musician and art theorist, Prince

Nikolay Lvov Nikolay Aleksandrovich Lvov (; May 4, 1753 – December 21, 1803) was a Russian Empire, Russian artist of the Age of Enlightenment. Lvov, an amateur of noble lineage, was a polymathBohlman, p. 45. who contributed to geology, history, graphic arts ...

, whose ideas strongly influenced Borovikovsky's art. At the age of 30 years, he was too old to attend St. Petersburg Imperial Academy of Arts, so he took private lessons from

Dmitry Levitzky Dmitry Grigoryevich Levitzky or Levitsky (; ; – ) was a Russian portrait painter and academician. Biography He was born to , a priest, who was also an amateur painter and engraver and served as his first art teacher. In 1758, he moved to S ...

and later from

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

n painter Johann Baptist Lampi. In 1795 he was appointed 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 ...

. He became a popular portrait painter and created about 500 portraits during his lifetime, 400 of which survived to the 21st century. He had his own studio, and often relied on assistants to paint the less important parts of a portrait. His sitters included members of the imperial family, courtiers, generals, many aristocrats, and figures from the Russian artistic and literary worlds. Most of his portraits are intimate in style. GRM Inv

The most notable are: *Portrait of ''

, Empress of Russia'' (1794) *''Portrait of E. N. Arsenyeva'' (1796) *''Portrait of M. I. Lopukhina'' (1797) *''Portrait of F. A. Borovsky'' (1799) *''Portrait of Paul I, Emperor of Russia'' (1800) *''Portrait of Prince A. B. Kurakin'' (1801–1802) *''Portrait of Princess A. G. Gagarina and Princess V. G. Gagarina'' (1802). *''Portrait of Serbian Prince Karadjordje' 1816 Borovikovsky never taught in the Imperial Academy of Art but pupils lived in his home. Among them were

Alexey Venetsianov Alexey Gavrilovich Venetsianov (; – ) was a Russian painter, renowned for his paintings devoted to peasant life and ordinary people. Life Alexey Venetsianov was born into a merchant family, of Greek descent, in Moscow. He ente ...

and Bugaevsky-Blagodarny (who painted the only survived portrait of Vladimir Borovikovsky). After 1819 Borovikovsky became a

Freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

, member of a lodge '' Dying Sphinx''. At that time he mostly painted icons, including

Iconostasis In Eastern Christianity, an iconostasis () is a wall of icons and religious paintings, separating the nave from the sanctuary in a Church (building), church. ''Iconostasis'' also refers to a portable icon stand that can be placed anywhere withi ...

of the Smolensky Cemetery church and some icons for

Kazan Cathedral Kazan Cathedral may refer to: * Kazan Cathedral, St. Petersburg (Cathedral of Our Lady of Kazan) * Kazan Cathedral, Moscow (Cathedral of Our Lady of Kazan) * Kazan Cathedral, Volgograd * Kazan Cathedral, Havana * Cathedral of the Annunciation in t ...

. On April 6, 1825 he died suddenly of a heart attack and was interred in the

Lazarevskoe Cemetery Lazarevskoe Cemetery () is a historic cemetery in the centre of Saint Petersburg, and the oldest surviving cemetery in the city. It is part of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, and is one of four cemeteries in the complex. Since 1932 it has been part of ...

of the

Alexander Nevsky Lavra Saint Alexander Nevsky Lavra or Saint Alexander Nevsky Monastery was founded by Peter I of Russia in 1710 at the eastern end of the Nevsky Prospekt in Saint Petersburg, in the belief that this was the site of the Neva Battle in 1240 when Alexa ...

Characteristics of the works

In the late 1790s, Borovikovsky gains fame as a famous portrait painter. He painted with his left hand. His work is dominated by chamber portraits. In female images, Borovikovsky embodies the ideal of beauty of his era. The artist subtly conveys the inner world of the people he portrays. In a chamber, sentimental portrait with limited emotional expression, the master can convey the diversity of innermost feelings and experiences of the models portrayed. For the canvas "Catherine II for a walk in the Tsarskoselsky park (1794), submitted to the Academy of Arts, Borovikovsky was appointed an academician. In the 1810s Borovikovsky attracted a strong, energetic personality, he focuses on the citizenship, nobility, dignity of the portrayed. The appearance of his models becomes more restrained, the landscape background is replaced by a depiction of the interior. В. Borovikovsky painted several ceremonial portraits. Borovikovsky's ceremonial portraits show the brush's mastery of texture: the softness of velvet, the brilliance of gilded and satin vestments, and the sparkle of precious stones. The work of Borovikovsky is a fusion of classicist and sentimental styles. In his later years, Borovikovsky returned to religious painting, including several icons for the ongoing construction of the

and the iconostasis of the Church of Smolensk cemetery in St. Petersburg. He gave painting lessons to the then aspiring artist

Religious paintings

File:Явление Христа Марии Магдалине (Боровиковский).jpg, The Appearance of Christ to

Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to crucifixion of Jesus, his cr ...

File:Our Lady of Sorrows by Borovikovsky.jpg,

Our Lady of Sorrows Our Lady of Sorrows (), Our Lady of Dolours, the Sorrowful Mother or Mother of Sorrows (), and Our Lady of Piety, Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows or Our Lady of the Seven Dolours are Titles of Mary, names by which Mary, mother of Jesus, is referr ...

File:Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins by Borovikovsky.jpg, Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins (1825) File:Christ the Saviour by Borovikovsky.jpg, Christ the Saviour (1815) File:Jesus Christ with the Golgotha cross by Borovikovsky.jpg, Jesus Christ with the

Golgotha Calvary ( or ) or Golgotha () was a site immediately outside Jerusalem's walls where, according to Christianity's four canonical gospels, Jesus was crucified. Since at least the early medieval period, it has been a destination for pilgrimage. ...

cross File:God the Father with dead Christ by Borovikovsky.jpg, God the Father contemplating dead Christ File:БОРОВИКОВСКИЙ ВЛАДИМИР ЛУКИЧ - «РОЖДЕСТВО ХРИСТОВО».jpg, Christmas, depicting the nativity

Portraits

File:Catherine_II_walking_by_V.Borovikovskiy_(1794,_Tretyakov_gallery).jpg,

Tsarskoe Selo Tsarskoye Selo (, , ) was the town containing a former residence of the Russian imperial family and visiting nobility, located south from the center of Saint Petersburg. The residence now forms part of the town of Pushkin. Tsarskoye Selo forms ...

(1794) File:Borovikovsly Levitzky.jpg, Portrait of

(1796) File:Vladimir Borovikovsky - Mirza-Kuli-Khan (GRM).jpg, Portrait of

Morteza Qoli Khan Qajar Morteza Qoli Khan Qajar (, 1750/1755 – either 1798 in St. Petersburg, or 1800 at Astrakhan) was a Persian prince of the Qajar dynasty, and the brother of Agha Mohammad Khan. A protégé of the Russian Empire, he lived in St. Petersburg at t ...

(1796) File:Borovikovsky maria Lopukhina.jpg, Portrait of Maria Lopukhina (1797) File:Borovikovsky borovsk.jpg, Portrait of F. A. Borovsky (1799) File:Borovikovsky Pavel I.jpg, Portrait of

Paul I Paul I may refer to: *Paul of Samosata (200–275), Bishop of Antioch *Paul I of Constantinople (died c. 350), Archbishop of Constantinople *Pope Paul I (700–767) *Paul I Šubić of Bribir (c. 1245–1312), Ban of Croatia and Lord of Bosnia *Paul ...

, Emperor of Russia (1800) File:Borovikovsky_portrait_of_Kurakine_A_1802.jpg, Portrait of

Alexander Kurakin Prince Alexander Borisovich Kurakin, sometimes spelled ''Kourakine'' (; 18 January 1752 – Weimar, 6 / 24 June 1818) was a Russian statesman and diplomat, a member of the State Council (from 1810), who was ranked Active Privy Counsellor 1st Cl ...

(1801-1802) File:Maria Pavlovna of Russia by V.Borovikovskiy (1800s, Pavlovsk).jpg, Portrait of Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia (1800s) File:Vladimir_Borovikovsky_001_(portrait_of_Gavrila_Derzhavin).jpg, Portrait of Gavrila Romanovich Derzhavin (1811) File:Borovikovsky lobanovy Rostovsky.jpg, Portrait of A. G. and A. A. Lobanov-Rostovsky (1814) File:Karađorđe_Petrović,_by_Vladimir_Borovikovsky,_1816.jpg,

Karađorđe Đorđe Petrović (; ; – ), known by the sobriquet Karađorđe (; ), was a Serbian revolutionary leader who led a struggle against the Ottoman Empire during the First Serbian Uprising. He held the title of Grand Vožd of Serbia from 14 ...

Serbian Prince (1816) File:Borovikovsky arharova.jpg, Portrait of Ye. A. Arkharova (1820) File:Ioannis varvakis.jpg, Portrait of

Ioannis Varvakis Ioannis Varvakis (; 1745–1825), also known as Ivan Andreevich Varvatsi (), was a Greek privateer, benefactor, and member of the Filiki Eteria. Origins, early life Ioannis was born on the Greek island of Psara, son to Andreas Leontis and Maria ...

Literature

References

External links

Online gallery and biography

Borovikovsky VL Russian and Ukrainian painter, portraitist.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Borovikovsky, Vladimir 1757 births 1825 deaths 18th-century painters from the Russian Empire 19th-century painters from the Russian Empire Orientalist painters from the Russian Empire Male painters from the Russian Empire Portrait painters from the Russian Empire People from the Russian Empire of Ukrainian descent People from the Cossack Hetmanate Burials at Lazarevskoe Cemetery (Saint Petersburg) Painters from Saint Petersburg 19th-century male artists from the Russian Empire