Painting "Breakfast of the aristocrat" Fedorov. Description of the picture

Humor and satire occupy a special place in our life. The desire to ridicule someone (as in a good, and in an evil, cynical manner) is inherent in almost any person. Art is no exception. Poets, writers, artists and representatives of other creative professions pay their attention to everything ridiculous and absurd that can bring new colors to everyday life. The relevance of such motifs took place in the cultural life of the society many years ago.

Pavel Andreevich Fedotov takes a special place in Russian satirical painting. "Breakfast aristocrat" - a picture, also known under the author's title "Not at the time a guest", which is one of the most famous and recognizable works of the painter.

Life and fate of the artist

Pavel Andreevich Fedotov was born on June 22 (July 4) in 1815 in Moscow. His father was a retired officer and served in the Moscow Deanery Authority. In 1826 Paul became a pupil of the Moscow Cadet Corps, graduated with honors, after which he served 10 years in the Petersburg Finnish Regiment. At the same time, he studied in the drawing class at the Academy of Arts and soon became known in narrow circles because of his talent and regimental genre sketches, humorous, romantic drawings, and also portraits of his colleagues that appeared from under his brush. His work was approved not only by fellow soldiers, but also by the families of the emperor, especially the heir to the throne, Grand Duke Alexander Nikolaevich. Specifically, according to his order, two pictures were written.

Finished in 1844, Fedotov decided to devote himself entirely to creativity and continued to attend the Academy, namely, the class of battle painting. But he was uninteresting to him, and soon the artist went to work in a genre he called simply moral-critical scenes from modern life, to which the picture "Breakfast of the aristocrat", written in 1850, applies as well. Two years earlier, in 1848, he shows his works to Karl Pavlovich Bryullov, who gives them high marks and in every way supports Fedotov.

In his short life, Pavel Andreevich created paintings that became examples of everyday painting and ridiculed the whole essence of life of the privileged strata of his contemporary society. He died on November 14 (26), 1852, in a hospital for the mentally ill after exacerbation of a mental illness and was buried in the Smolensk cemetery in St. Petersburg.

Creativity of Pavel Fedotov

As mentioned earlier, the main genre of the artist's works has become a household one. In 1846 he began to master the technique of oil painting while working on the canvas "Fresh Cavalier". A year later, Pavel Andreevich painted the picture "Picky Bride", for which he was awarded the title of academician, and in the autumn of 1848 saw the canvas "Matchmaking Major", which brought him the primacy among the painters of everyday scenes.

In 1850 (from February to May) Fedotov was in Moscow, where the painting "The Breakfast of an Aristocrat" was completed, work on which began in St. Petersburg. Later he painted the canvas "The Widow", the plot of which was inspired by the death of the husband of the artist 's sister . The last of his works were "Anchor, still an anchor!" And "Players". After that, health was not allowed to work on, but what was created left a significant mark in the history of Russian painting.

History of creation

As mentioned earlier, in 1850 the artist finished one of his most famous paintings "The Breakfast of an Aristocrat". Fedotov's painting, written after the deafening success of the "Matchmaking Major," was inspired by a satirical article whose author's name remained unknown (presumably it was the then young writer Ivan Goncharov): "Did you accidentally come to such people home and catch them "This was very close to the artist, and the easiest move was to fully follow this statement. However, the painter did not succumb to temptation, but captured the moment preceding it.

What do we see in the picture?

Undoubtedly, the analysis deserves what is depicted on one of the most recognizable paintings, which was written by Pavel Fedotov, "The Breakfast of an Aristocrat." The description of the painting in the brightest colors corresponds to what the artist carried through his work. This ridicule of human vices in all their manifestations.

Looking at the canvas, we see a young nobleman, fearfully covering a hunk of black bread, which makes up his whole morning meal, with the sound of the steps of an uninvited guest. Artist in all the details of the environment surrounding the hero is written out: this is a box from under a printed deck of cards under the table, indicating a penchant for gambling; Covering a simple breakfast book, which printed one of the fashionable at that time novels; Posters for advertising oysters and theater performances, located on chairs (visiting the latter was an obligatory pastime for the secular youth of that time); Dandy homemade robe, sewn in the latest Parisian fashion.

But the most eloquent element that can complete the description of Fedotov's painting "The Breakfast of an Aristocrat" is an absolutely empty purse, turned inside out. The artist in his characteristic manner ridicules so loved by them and close in spirit topics: human vanity, vanity, ostentatious life, carefully concealed wretchedness under the guise of external well-being and brilliance. It should be noted that the character shown on the canvas was typical for that time, which leaves no doubt about the relevance of the plot, which addressed Fedotov.

The fate of the work

Currently, the painting "The Breakfast of an Aristocrat", along with other significant works of the artist, is in Moscow, at the State Tretyakov Gallery in Lavrushinsky Lane. At one time Pavel Tretyakov, the founder of the museum, managed to collect some rare graphic works of the early period of creativity Fedotov. Today they are stored in the gallery's funds, but they are not exhibited in the museum halls. Picturesque canvases, which have got into the collection already later, are included in the permanent exposition. This is the picture "The Breakfast of the Aristocrat", which was the subject of consideration in this article, as well as the paintings "Matchmaking Major", one of the author's copies of "The Widow", "Fresh Cavalier" and "Picky Bride".

The Importance of Pavel Fedotov's Work in Russian Painting

The importance of what this artist expressed in his works is difficult to overestimate. He is rightly called the founder of this genre in the visual arts, as critical realism. In the process of his creative development, he moved from the original heap-packed compositions with a huge amount of details to simpler and more natural images. His paintings firmly entrenched in art a new genre of satirical painting with a national flavor, which gave the ground for creativity to other young artists.