The first half of the 19th century is one of the most harmonious periods in the history of Russian culture. This is when the Romantic outlook emerges in public life, philosophy, literature and fine art.
Romanticism proclaimed the idea of self-realisation in creation. Man tests his abilities in different areas: painters design churches, architects paint pictures, poets compose music, generals and senators become poets.
The understanding of art as an act of free creation gave birth to the notion that the artist was an exceptional personality, a genius who followed the voice of his inspiration alone. The very life of the creator provides themes for Romantic legends.
Just as in other countries, the Romantic movement in Russia develops under the banners of the struggle against official dogmas at the beginning of the century, which in Russia were propagated by the St. Petersburg Imperial Academy of Arts. This struggle gradually destroys the traditional hierarchy in the genres of painting. Although the Academy still regarded historical painting as the highest form, its influence in the artistic milieu begins to wane. At the same time, the brilliant tradition of the Russian portrait flourishes, while the national schools of landscape and genre painting also start to thrive.
The depth and the complexity, the contradictions and changeable nature of the inimitable human individual become the main theme of the portraits of the early 19th century. The hero of this time is a man living in the world of his dreams and high ideals. The Romantic portrait does not only reveal new sides of the character. It also discovers the new potential of painting. The compositional and the colour system used in the painting begins to play a particular role (O.A. Kiprensky, "Portrait of A.S. Pushkin", 1827).
It was not only the world of high spirituality that was then reflected in the portrait genre. The poetry of everyday, intimate, domestic items also resounds in it. The portrait displays interest in representing a human being in a specific situation of his or her life. This is depicted by the artist with warmth and spontaneity (V.A. Tropinin, "The Lace Maker", 1823).
The new age expresses the theme of the peasants' life in its paintings. This was hitherto unseen and sought to show the harmony of natural existence in it. Art introduces the everyday concerns of peasants into the eternal phenomena of being (A.G. Venetsianov, "Spring Ploughing", first half of 1820s).
The Romantic concept of nature found its original manifestation in the works of Russian landscape painters who worked in Italy. The Italian countryside became the ideal of harmony between man and the world for them (Syl.F. Shchedrin, "Arbour Covered with Vines", 1828).
The creative work of O.A. Kiprensky, V.A. Tropinin, Syl.F. Shchedrin, A.G. Venetsianov who produced their best works in the first three decades of the 19th century represent the first stage of Romanticism, the epoch of bright hopes and high ideals. It will go down in history as the "Golden Age", as A.S. Pushkin dubbed it.
In late the 1820s-early 1830s Russian culture under-goes a considerable transformation. The Decembrists' mutiny of 1825 marked the divide in Russian public life between the age of dashed hopes, and the new era when illusions were already a thing of the past. The portrait genre of this period experiences change. The solemn portraits of this period focus on external
effect and somewhat idealised beauty, while chamber portraits encapsulate increasing dramatism and the emerging themes of disappointment and melancholy. The tragic fate of the genius, his restless and suffering human soul assumes a special place in the creative work of K.P. Bryullov ("Self-Portrait", 1848).
Interest in the crucial issues of human existence restores the importance of large historical painting. Religious problems become one with moral and social issues. The philosophical view of the world leads to new interpretations of the image of nature. Any landscape can take on a universal character and be viewed as a model of the universe. Global, fundamental problems of being are raised in the works of A.A. Ivanov ("The Appearance of Christ to the People (The Appearance of the Messiah)", 1837-1857).
Genre painting develops further in the 1840s. Works emerge demonstrating current interest in social ideas. They present an acute situation in life with a certain didacticism, thereby revealing society's moral vices. A clear, easily interpreted story and specific details in the depiction of the characters and their surroundings helped the artists to analyse their time and assess it without any ambiguity.
Genre painting, which was not widespread in the previous epoch, reaches its pinnacle in the creative work of P.A. Fedotov (""The New Chevalier". An Official on the Morning After Receiving an Award", 1846; "The Major Goes a Courting", 1848). His works determined how this genre would flourish in the second half of the 19th century.
