Portrait of G. N. and V. A. Oleniny by Karl Bryullov

Portrait of G. N. and V. A. Oleniny by Karl Bryullov

Olenin Grigory Nikanorovich, a retired captain since 1827, since 1830 an official on special missions in the Ministry of Finance; Assistant Secretary of State in the Council of the Society for the Encouragement of Artists, his wife – Varvara Alekseevna

The watercolor portrait of the four Olenines, filled with genuine inspiration and poetic feeling, should be attributed to the number of outstanding works of Russian art. Transparency and purity of watercolor tones, musicality and rhythm of the smooth lines of the portrait are surprisingly subtly harmonized with the mood of a clear, cloudless summer day. The portrait was written in 1827, during the journey of Oleniny in Italy.

There is something sad, dutifully affectionate in the frail appearance of Varvara Alekseevna, tiredly crouched on the ancient ruins. The painter grasped the pain of the young mother, who had lost her first-born in Naples shortly before. Unlike his wife, GN Olenin seems calmly balanced in nature, unable to surrender to deep feelings.

Disappointment and indifference imbued with his travel diary, which he conducted at this time in Italy. Money costs are fixed in it as legally as the descriptions of art monuments. )

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