The Phenomenon of Child's Portrait in Russian Painting of the 18th Century

This study is devoted to the children’s portraits in Russian painting of the 18th century. The aim of the study is to explore the evolution of children's portrait in Russian painting of the 18th century. To achieve the goal, a number of tasks were set: 1. To determine the originality of children's portrait in each of the periods of development of Russian art– in the first quarter of the 18th century, in the art of the middle of the century (1730—1750-ies) and in the art of the last third of the 18th century (1760-1790s). 2. To analyze the paintings not only of the most celebrated artists, but also some of the unknown works, since the paintings of the serf artists of the province is still relatively little studied, and at the same time allows to get a more complete picture of the evolution of children's portrait. 3. To compare Russian portraits with foreign to get a more accurate idea of the nature of its development and its originality. The work consists of an introduction, historiography, three chapters, conclusion, references and illustrations. As a result of the study the following conclusions were made: in the painting of the first quarter of the 18th century, a children's portrait is presented for the most part in the works of masters of rossika. The children are costumed characters, dressed in adult clothing; the range of models presented to children of high birth. In the middle of the century there are more Russian artists turning to the theme of children's portrait. In the second half — the end of the 18th century Russian painting reaches the European level, it combines different styles. The portrait of a child goes from a clumsy depiction of a child as a small adult at the beginning of the 18th century to the physiological accuracy of the depiction of children at all stages of adulthood in the second half of the century.