Portrait with a Pet and Portrait of a Pet in the Russian Painting of the 18th — Early 20th Centuries

Abstract

This article highlights and examines two types of portrait genre: portrait with a pet and portrait of a pet with reference to the Russian painting of the eighteenth — early twentieth centuries. So far, works of this kind have not been considered as specific iconographic groups, the ways of their development have not been traced, and their undoubted connection and mutual influence has not been noted. Meanwhile, it seems to be an important case for studying the animalistic genre. The article analyzes the image of a pet, its interpretations, and characteristics in portrait and animalistic painting. The purpose of this article is to trace the evolution of the depiction of pets. This article reflects the initial stage of research on this topic and to a considerable extent, only indicates some problems for further study. Methodologically, the author mostly employs systematic, iconographic, formal, and stylistic analyses of works of Russian painting from museum collections. As a result, the researcher determines the main characteristics of the portrait with a pet and portrait of a pet. The article demonstrates that in the nineteenth — early twentieth centuries, from a more static and conditional “touching” elements in the portrait with models, the images of animals become real characters endowed with certain characteristics involved in emotional interaction with their owner. Similarly, the same was observed in the animalistic portrait of a pet: from a ceremonial picture, iconographically close to secular portraits, where the main goal is to capture the appearance of a pet, in the late nineteenth — early twentieth centuries, there appeared more empathy and psychologism in the interpretation of the image of a pet. It is noteworthy that by the early twentieth century, portraits with pets were created more and more often, and the “distance” between the person and the animal was significantly reduced. At the same time, the portrait of the pet itself was in less demand and transformed into the animalistic genre as it is.