Sergei Zaryanko the son of a serf peasant, who became a brilliant portrait painter of the imperial family of the Romanovs

Sergei Zaryanko was also a famous icon painter and created many faces of saints for Moscow churches. The painter’s work was highly appreciated by his contemporaries, and his paintings have always evoked admiration of the public at exhibitions and salons. The artist’s biography is closely connected with the Russian imperial family, Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Sergei Zaryanko also devoted a lot of time and effort to teaching, working as a professor at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. His students include many famous artists, including Vasily Perov, Illarion Pryanishnikov and Vasílij Pukirev.

Biography

Sergei Konstantinovich Zaryanko was born on September 24, 1818 in the village of Lyady, Mogilev province, in the family of a serf. In the mid-1820s, Prince Xavier Lubomirsky gave freedom to the parents of the future artist, and they left with their children to St. Petersburg, where the head of the family got a job in the service of Prince Golitsyn.

The boy showed early drawing abilities, and already at the age of 12, he attracted the attention of the famous artist Alexey Venetsianov, who at that time was a professor at the Academy of Arts. On behalf of Venetsianov, his former student Vasily Avrorin began to give painting lessons to the young Zaryanko, and 4 years later Sergey became a full-fledged student of the academy.

He was enrolled in a landscape painting class with Professor Maksim Vorobyov, under whose leadership Sergei Zaryanko graduated from an educational institution and received the title of an extracurricular artist in 1838. At the beginning of his career, the young man mainly worked in the genre of interior painting and painted paintings depicting the interior decoration of palaces and cathedrals.

Drawing icons

In 1843, Sergei Zaryanko received the title of academician, after which he left for Moscow, where he earned his living by painting icons for churches. At the same time, he taught drawing at the Alexandrinsky Institute for Orphans and the School of Architecture. Three years later, the artist returned to St. Petersburg and only then seriously took up portrait painting.

At the 1849 exhibition, Zaryanko presented to the public two of his works portraits of General Pyotr Lomnovsky and the singer Osip Petrov. The paintings were enthusiastically received by the public, and from that moment on, the artist gained wide popularity in the capital’s society. A year later, for the portrait of Count Fyodor Tolstoy, the Academy awarded Sergei Konstantinovich the title of professor of historical painting.

The 1850s became the peak of the talented master’s career.

At this time, he painted most of his best works, but the financial situation of the painter, despite his creative successes, still remained difficult. Therefore, in 1856, Sergei Zaryanko agreed to leave for Moscow again, where he was offered the position of professor at the school of painting and sculpture. Unfortunately, at this time, the master showed serious vision problems. Despite the efforts of the doctors, he ended up blind in one eye, but did not quit his favorite job.

Having lived in the capital for nine years, the artist suddenly received an invitation to come to St. Petersburg from the emperor himself. The Russian monarch entrusted him with a responsible task painting portraits of members of the imperial family for the Romanov gallery of the Hermitage. Over the next five years, Sergei Konstantinovich conscientiously worked on the most important order and created more than a dozen ceremonial portraits of influential royal persons.

After completing the imperial commission, the artist returned to Moscow to continue teaching at the educational institution. But on December 20, 1870, Sergei Zaryanko died suddenly of a heart attack at the age of 52. The great master was buried on the territory of the old Alekseevsky monastery of the capital.

The most famous paintings by Sergei Zaryanko

During his creative career, the Russian painter has created more than a hundred beautiful works of art. And yet, among the most famous paintings by Sergei Zaryanko are:

1. “View of the Field Marshal Hall in the Winter Palace” (1836) is a work written by the author at the age of 18. For her, he received his first award a small silver medal of the Academy of Painting.
2. “Interior view of the Naval Nikolsky Cathedral in St. Petersburg” (1843) a work created by the master shortly after his first departure to Moscow. This masterpiece of interior painting was highly appreciated by critics and brought the artist the honorary title of academician.
3. “Portrait of Count Fyodor Tolstoy” (1850) according to most experts, the best of the portraits in the creative career of Zaryanko. It depicts an outstanding Russian sculptor in a dressing gown in short moments of rest, immersed in deep thought.
4. “Portrait of Natalia’s Daughter” (1870) is a charming work of art, which depicts a bright image of a little girl in a blue dress. The picture is filled with deep parental love for his child and evokes warm feelings of tenderness and delight in the audience.