Ivan Argunov’s Portrait of Anna Kalmykova
This article examines Ivan Petrovich Argunov’s 1767 painting of Anna Nikolaevna Kalmykova, one of many Kalmyk children removed from their families by the Russian military and forcibly adopted by elite Russians and Europeans. Both sitter and painter were, in different ways, unfree: Argunov was enser...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | deu |
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Illinois Open Publishing Network
2024-01-01
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| Series: | Вивліоѳика |
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| Online Access: | https://iopn.library.illinois.edu/journals/vivliofika/article/view/1423 |
| _version_ | 1797193766522585088 |
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| author | Alexandra Helprin |
| author_facet | Alexandra Helprin |
| author_sort | Alexandra Helprin |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
This article examines Ivan Petrovich Argunov’s 1767 painting of Anna Nikolaevna Kalmykova, one of many Kalmyk children removed from their families by the Russian military and forcibly adopted by elite Russians and Europeans. Both sitter and painter were, in different ways, unfree: Argunov was enserfed by the Sheremetev family and Kalmykova was their ward. Examining the portrait’s many visual antecedents and references, this paper argues that Argunov used the intimate, informal styles of Enlightenment portraiture in a way that enmeshed its subject and author in the harsh social hierarchies of the Sheremetev household and imperial society. The relatively loose facture of the painting and its attention to the sitter’s liveliness and youth demonstrate Argunov’s skill as a modern portraitist. But although Kalmykova dominates the composition of her own portrait (which makes it unlike most other portraits of Kalmyk people in Russia during this period), Argunov makes clear that she is subordinate to her patron and other members of her “adoptive” family. Mapping the power structures of the household that enserfed him, Argunov combined private and ceremonial idioms in a way that said much about Kalmykova’s status and his own – a manner of portraiture that could only be copied by other artists from outside the household.
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| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T14:11:37Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-32190c784db647d38c281bba0e082eba |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2333-1658 |
| language | deu |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T05:45:36Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | Illinois Open Publishing Network |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Вивліоѳика |
| spelling | doaj.art-32190c784db647d38c281bba0e082eba2024-04-23T15:25:34ZdeuIllinois Open Publishing NetworkВивліоѳика2333-16582024-01-011110.21900/j.vivliofika.v11.1423Ivan Argunov’s Portrait of Anna KalmykovaAlexandra Helprin0Independent Scholar This article examines Ivan Petrovich Argunov’s 1767 painting of Anna Nikolaevna Kalmykova, one of many Kalmyk children removed from their families by the Russian military and forcibly adopted by elite Russians and Europeans. Both sitter and painter were, in different ways, unfree: Argunov was enserfed by the Sheremetev family and Kalmykova was their ward. Examining the portrait’s many visual antecedents and references, this paper argues that Argunov used the intimate, informal styles of Enlightenment portraiture in a way that enmeshed its subject and author in the harsh social hierarchies of the Sheremetev household and imperial society. The relatively loose facture of the painting and its attention to the sitter’s liveliness and youth demonstrate Argunov’s skill as a modern portraitist. But although Kalmykova dominates the composition of her own portrait (which makes it unlike most other portraits of Kalmyk people in Russia during this period), Argunov makes clear that she is subordinate to her patron and other members of her “adoptive” family. Mapping the power structures of the household that enserfed him, Argunov combined private and ceremonial idioms in a way that said much about Kalmykova’s status and his own – a manner of portraiture that could only be copied by other artists from outside the household. https://iopn.library.illinois.edu/journals/vivliofika/article/view/1423Ivan Argunov, portraiture, enserfed artists, Anna Kalmykova, Sheremetev family, Kalmyk people, eighteenth-century art, Enlightenment, serfdom |
| spellingShingle | Alexandra Helprin Ivan Argunov’s Portrait of Anna Kalmykova Вивліоѳика Ivan Argunov, portraiture, enserfed artists, Anna Kalmykova, Sheremetev family, Kalmyk people, eighteenth-century art, Enlightenment, serfdom |
| title | Ivan Argunov’s Portrait of Anna Kalmykova |
| title_full | Ivan Argunov’s Portrait of Anna Kalmykova |
| title_fullStr | Ivan Argunov’s Portrait of Anna Kalmykova |
| title_full_unstemmed | Ivan Argunov’s Portrait of Anna Kalmykova |
| title_short | Ivan Argunov’s Portrait of Anna Kalmykova |
| title_sort | ivan argunov s portrait of anna kalmykova |
| topic | Ivan Argunov, portraiture, enserfed artists, Anna Kalmykova, Sheremetev family, Kalmyk people, eighteenth-century art, Enlightenment, serfdom |
| url | https://iopn.library.illinois.edu/journals/vivliofika/article/view/1423 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT alexandrahelprin ivanargunovsportraitofannakalmykova |