Orest Kiprensky

Orest Kiprensky was born in Nezhnovo, a village in the Saint Petersburg Governorate of the Russian Empire, to a landowner named Alexey Dyakonov and a serf woman. He was an illegitimate child, and his name was derived from Kypris, one of the Greek names for the goddess of love. He was raised by a serf named Adam Shvalbe, who married his mother and gave him his surname. He studied at the Imperial Academy of Arts in Saint Petersburg, where he showed his talent for portrait painting. He painted his adoptive father in 1804, which impressed his contemporaries and earned him a gold medal. He also painted portraits of famous Russian writers, such as Alexander Pushkin, Vasily Zhukovsky, and Mikhail Lermontov. He traveled extensively in Europe, especially in Italy, where he was influenced by the works of Raphael, Titian, and Anthony van Dyck. He also painted historical and genre scenes, such as Prince Dmitry Donskoy after the Battle of Kulikovo and Jesters at the Court of Anna Ioanovna. He was one of the pioneers of Romanticism in Russian art, and his style was characterized by expressive brushstrokes, vivid colours, and emotional intensity. He had a romantic relationship with a local girl named Anna Maria Falcucci, whom he met in Naples and later married in Rome. He died of pneumonia in 1836 and was buried in the church of Sant'Andrea delle Fratte. His works are widely regarded as masterpieces of Russian portrait painting and are displayed in many museums, such as the Tretyakov Gallery, the Russian Museum, and the Hermitage.