Catherine II on a walk in Tsarskoselsky Park

This portrait, unlike the most famous parade images of the Empress, was not ordered by her. He was conceived for Borovikovsky by his friends from the circle of Nikolai Aleksandrovich Lvov , wanting to demonstrate the talent of the artist, later showing a portrait in the palace. The Lvov Circle was one of the centers of intellectual life in St. Petersburg, where Borovikovsky became friends with Levitsky , Derzhavin, and other literary and artistic figures, in whom the “private life” style was cultivated and Russian sentimentalism was born. In the early 1790s, under their influence, Borovikovsky turned to the genre of chamber portrait, most often portraying women at home — the portrait of Catherine was painted in such a manner ^[3] .

Although the artist often saw Catherine on a walk, the empress was not written from life - in her clothes she posed for her camera — Frau Mary Savvisna Perekusykhina ^[4] .

Catherine did not feel at the sight of this portrait of the enthusiasm for which it was designed. For the picture, the artist received only the title of “appointed” academician, not academician, as members of the Derzhavin-Lviv circle hoped. (He received the title of academician a year later for a portrait of Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich ). She did not buy the portrait, he remained, apparently, in the artist's studio, then changed several owners and, finally, was acquired by the Tretyakov Gallery. At first, she was listed in the collection of D. A. Benkendorf (until 1900), entered there from the collections of A. M. and M. V. Muromtsevs (before 1870) ^[2] , and then transferred to the famous collector Pavel Kharitonenko . After his death, through the efforts of his widow in 1924, she entered the gallery ^[5] .

Borovikovsky wrote a portrait, which was unusual for that time and was imbued with the spirit of a fresh flow of sentimentalism - in contrast to the dominant portraits of classicism at that time. Characteristic features of this trend are the idealization of life in the lap of nature, the cult of sensitivity, an interest in the inner life of a person.

Sentimentalism is manifested in the author's refusal from the main palace interiors and the preference of nature, which is “more beautiful than palaces”. “For the first time in Russian art, portrait background becomes an important element in characterizing a hero. The artist praises the human being among the natural environment, treats nature as a source of aesthetic pleasure ” ^[6] .

Catherine, 65, is represented on a walk in Tsarskoye Selo Park , which is supported by a staff because of its rheumatism . Her clothes are underlined informally - she is dressed in a dress shirt decorated with a lace jabot with a satin bow, and a lace cap , a dog frolics at her feet. The ruler is not represented by a goddess, but by a simple “Kazan landowner,” whom she liked to appear in the last years of her life, as a contemplator, without any formality, solemnity, or ceremonial attributes. The portrait has become the domestic version of the English type "portrait-walk" ^[7] . In the twilight of the park you can see the pier with sphinxes, swans swim in the lake. The face of the model is written in general and conditionally, the age is softened.

Thus, the “natural simplicity” penetrates into the ceremonial portrait, in addition to sentimentalism, partly bringing together the picture with educational classicism. However, the position of the Empress is full of dignity, the gesture by which she points to the monument to her victories is restrained and majestic ^[6] .

The Chesme Column , which adorns the landscape of the Catherine's Park in Tsarskoye Selo, against which the Empress is depicted, has a symbolic meaning. It denotes the strength and glory of the Russian fleet, recalling the victory in the Battle of Chesmen in 1770 , thanks to which Count Alexei Orlov received the title of Chesmensky.

The portrait depicts a room IGF of the empress named Zemira , whom Catherine loved very much ^[8] (the marble headstone of this dog was later placed in the same park), or the greyhound Duchess (Duchess). (The Tsarskoye Selo Museum-Reserve, in one of its installations, even jokingly re-named the picture: “Catherine II and the Italian Greyhound Zemir, daughter of Sir Tom Anderson and Lady Anderson discuss the geopolitical significance of the Chesmen Battle” ^[9] ).

Differences between paintings

The main iconographic difference between the two options is the landscape background. In the author's repetition, written a few years later, it is decorated with the Kagul obelisk , replacing the Chesmensky, because the painting was ordered, apparently by the patron Nikolai Petrovich Rumyantsev (founder of the Rumyantsev Museum ) in honor of the commemoration of his father's achievements. This obelisk was set in memory of the victory of Count Peter Alexandrovich Rumyantsev over the Turks in the Battle of Kagul ( 1770 ). Due to the introduction of a larger monument, the lake disappeared.

The second portrait is more dry, it is distinguished by an underlined cut-off shading and careful writing of details ^[10] .

Engraving

An engraving from the second version of the portrait, ordered by the owner of the second painting Rumyantsev to the famous engraver Utkin in memory of his father. This work is considered a model of Russian classical engraving of the first third of the XIX century.

It was completed in 1827 (a year after the death of the customer). She came out with a dedication to Nicholas I and was bought by the widowed empress Maria Feodorovna . In the XIX century, copies were often made from engravings and portraits — it was then, twenty years after its creation, that it gained popularity. She, according to the researcher of creativity Borovikovsky, was explained not only by the success of the engraving. “Portrait in its very style, in its internal content was close to the artistic consciousness of people of the 1820s, when a realistic direction was clearly defined in literature and in painting” ^[11] .

This image is characterized by undoubted features of idealization. As noted by the historians of graphic artists G. K. Nagler and I. Frenzel, this engraving is “one of the major works of the 19th century”. For him, Utkin was elected a member of the Antwerp (1828) and Dresden Academies (1831), and subsequently received the gold medal of the Saxon king ^[12] . She received wide acclaim in Europe and flattering reviews of Paris and London.

Compared to the original picture, there are also changes: Utkin gave a somewhat sentimental picture to the features of monumental grandeur and some solemnity. In the new technology, the portrait has become more parade and official. “Utkin changed the statement of the figure, brought it to the forefront so that it fills almost the entire plane of the sheet, gave the facial features an expression of a certain dryness and passionlessness” ^[12] .

The image of Catherine, depicted in this portrait for a walk, has been reflected in Russian literature several times:

• Derzhavin , the poem " Ruins " (1797) - the empress walks through the park and looks at the monument to their victories
• Pushkin , the story "The Captain's Daughter " (1836) ^[13] - the meeting of Masha with the Empress in Tsarskoye Selo Park (in which, by the way, the boyhood student of the lyceum's author passed) There are discrepancies between the text and the image - the empress is 20 years younger, dressed in white and not in blue. The second version of the portrait is described - with Rumyantsev Obelisk, most likely, Pushkin was inspired by the engraving, and not the original, which was located at Rumyantsev and was difficult to view ^[12] .

“The next day, early in the morning, Marya Ivanovna woke up, got dressed, and quietly went into the garden. The morning was beautiful, the sun illuminated the tops of the lime trees, yellowed already under the fresh breath of autumn. The wide lake shone still. Awakened swans importantly swam out from under the bushes, overshadowing the shore. Marya Ivanovna went around a beautiful meadow, where a monument had just been erected in honor of the recent victories of Count Peter Alexandrovich Rumyantsev.

Suddenly a white dog of the English breed barked and ran to meet her. Marya Ivanovna was frightened and stopped. At that very moment, a pleasant female voice was heard: "Do not be afraid, she will not bite." And Marya Ivanovna saw a lady sitting on a bench against the monument.
Marya Ivanovna sat on the other end of the bench. The lady looked at her intently; and Marya Ivanovna, for her part, casting a few indirect views, managed to examine her from head to toe.

She was wearing a white morning gown, wearing a night cap and wearing a war jacket. She seemed about forty years old. Her face, full and ruddy, expressed the importance and calm, and her blue eyes and slight smile had the charm of an inexplicable ... ". (A. S. Pushkin. Captain's daughter. Ch. 14, excerpt)

• Marina Tsvetaeva , essay "Pushkin and Pugachev" (1937) - an interpretation of the Pushkin scene

• Zemira
• Smolyanka Levitsky

• “Catherine II on a walk in Tsarskoye Selo park (With the obelisk“ Rumyantsev to victories “against the background)” on the portal “The Virtual Russian Museum”
• Interactive view of the hall with the painting “Catherine II on a walk in Tsarskoye Selo Park (with the obelisk“ Rumyantsev Victories ”in the background)” in the “Virtual Tour of the Russian Museum”

• The painting on the official website of the Tretyakov Gallery
• Analysis of literary interpretations of the portrait by Pushkin and Tsvetaeva