The exhibition is devoted to the 225th anniversary of Tropinin's birth. The high spot of the exposition is undoubtedly the Lace-maker, which is one of the top ten Russian pictures of the Tretyakov Gallery.
Tropinin's portrait of Alexander Pushkin was brought for this exposition from St. Petersburg. Painting lovers will find it interesting to compare this work with a portrait painted by Orest Kiprensky (1782-1836) from the collection of the Tretyakov Gallery.
The two most famous pictures of the great poet are placed against each other, which produces an unusual effect. In one of the pictures, the poet is depicted in a dressing gown; in the other, he wears a frock coat.
The group portrait of Count Morkov's family is the largest picture at the exhibition and the only one where the author did not flatter the hero in any way. The count has an unpleasant, even cruel, face.
Vasily Tropinin was a serf. He lived in Ukraine at the estate of Count Morkov, his master. He studied at the Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg and settled in Moscow only at the age of 43, when he was released from serfdom.
Orest Kiprensky, the son of landowner Dyakonov's serf countrywoman, was rumored to be an illegitimate son of the master. He was released from serfdom in his childhood and was sent to Italy to study painting.
The exhibition will last till September 4.
