Painting by Tropinin “Self-portrait with brushes on the background of the Moscow Kremlin”


Tropinin painted his self-portrait on the background of the Moscow Kremlin. Judging by the picture, the artist was a complete man with a round face. He has a good-natured, intelligent face and seems to be a gentle character. Tropinin’s graying hair and thick black eyebrows. He is wearing glasses with a round frame that emphasizes the roundness of his face. Dark eyes look confidently and thoughtfully. Perhaps the artist is a serious person, but his figure and face suggest that he is cheerful, open, sincere and kind.

He wears ordinary, unremarkable clothes. Above on the artist as if wearing an ordinary robe. Tropinin portrayed himself as a simple, ordinary man, who was torn from his work. It seems that a comfortable robe is his habitual work clothes. In his left hand he holds brushes and a palette. These are working tools, with the help of which masterpieces of painting are created. Having painted brushes, the author wanted to emphasize how important art for him is his whole life. In his right hand he holds a cane, which probably helps him to move, or maybe it’s just an object, complementing his appearance. In the painting Tropinin is presented as an ordinary, unremarkable artist, without any pretentiousness and megalomania.

It is either at the window or on the balcony. Right behind him stands a beautiful armchair, from which he apparently rose, so that in this position he was portrayed. Perhaps, if the picture was larger, then the artist would stand an easel. It creates a feeling that he drew when he was distracted, and with brushes and a palette in his hand he got up from his chair to pose. Judging by the sky, the picture shows the evening, when the sun is already setting. Tropinin portrayed himself against the backdrop of the Moscow Kremlin. Perhaps, in this way, he wanted to emphasize the importance of Moscow and the Kremlin for him.


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Painting by Tropinin “Self-portrait with brushes on the background of the Moscow Kremlin”