Vasily Tropinin seeks to portray man in the midst of his daily, tranquil clarity distinguish Tropinin’s canvases from the romantically charged portraits of his contemporary, Kiprensky. Tropinin’s world is permeated with warmth and hardly echoes the din and road of historical upheavals, though the sentiments of Russian society in the wake of the victorious War of 1812 did kindle his interest in Russian life and in the individual, in his own milieu.
Portrait of the Artist’s Son is painted in a strikingly fresh and lively manner, in that warm and light key which the critics of old used to compare with “thick cream”. As one who praised man’s inherent goodness, Tropinin enfolded his characters in an atmosphere of comfortable domesticity.
The painter presents the image of a boy who had grown up amidst the uncluttered spaciousness of the countryside. The silky hair, the asymmetric flight of the brows, the blood pulsing under the gentle skin – all suggest a carefree, playful childhood. With amazing mastery he conveys the boy’s gentle and dreamy expression, not just happy, but radiating joy to all around him.
