Vitali, Ivan Petrovich studied at the Academy of Arts, where he later became a professor. From his works sculptural ornaments of the Tverskikh Triumphal Gates in Moscow, bas-reliefs: “Baptism of St. Vladimir”, “Adoration of the Magi” and “Isaac Dalmatian” for the pediments of St. Isaac’s Cathedral, the bronze statue of Paul I, the bust of K. Bryullov, the statue of Venus, “Hercules, a statue of Empress Maria Feodorovna and Grand Duchess Alexandra Nikolaevna, a group of children at the Theater and Lubyanka squares in Moscow.
His works are in the museum of the Academy of Arts and in the Alexander III Museum. The line of the poetically elevated portrait, outlined in the image of N. V. Kukolnik, Bryullov developed in the portrait of the sculptor IP Vitali, to whom he was sincerely attached. He helped the sculptor move to the capital to receive orders for the design of St. Isaac’s Cathedral. Almost simultaneously with Bryullov, who created a portrait of the sculptor around 1837, Vitali worked on the bust of the artist. Creative community served as the content of the new portrait design of the master. He knew well the features of Vitali’s appearance, short, full, with a round face and short neck. This is eloquently spoken by his sharp caricatures of the sculptor.
In one of them, Vitali, in a clumsy pose, with the characteristic gesture of a sculptor touching Bryullov’s bust, bored wearily at his creation. His unhappy appearance is complemented by a baggy dress, with an oversized kerchief sticking out of his back pocket. Friendly, but aptly reproduced Bryullov funny side of the sculptor’s appearance. Other tasks faced the master when creating a pictorial portrait. In it, Vitali is no longer a good-natured eccentric, but an artist embraced by creative ecstasy.
Firmly grasping the working machine with his hands, he leaned forward in a spiritual impulse, looking inquisitively and inquiringly into his creation. The gloss of moistened eyes gives off the intensity of the creative state, and simple clothing with a casually thrown collar of a white shirt reminds of the working conditions of the sculptor. Focusing attention on the state of the artist-creator, Bryullov brightly singled out Vitali’s face and hand, immersing everything else in a soft semi-darkness. But in the shaded places of the portrait the outline of the machine, sculpture, chair is clearly drawn.
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