Vladimir Borovikovsky

Biography

Vladimir Lukich Borovikovsky was born on July 24, 1757, in Mirgorod. He was a Russian painter of Ukrainian origin who consistently worked in the style of Enlightenment sentimentalism and orientalism. Borovikovsky is considered the third and last prominent portraitist of the Catherine the Great era, having a significant influence on Russian art. He created a gallery of images depicting notable figures of the Catherine, Paul, and Alexander epochs. In addition to portrait painting, he was widely recognized as a church decorator and icon painter. Among his well-known works are the portraits of A. B. Kurakin, E. N. Arsenyeva, A. N. Astafyev, as well as the portrait of Catherine II during a stroll in the Tsarskoye Selo park. For his work, Borovikovsky was awarded the titles of academician and counselor of the Imperial Academy of Arts. The artist died on April 6, 1825, in Saint Petersburg. His creative output belongs to the era of the Russian Empire, with a focus on portrait genre.