|
|
Portrait of Ivan Yakimov as Cupid. 1790
Argunov Nikolai,
Oil on canvas
142 x 92
State Russian Museum
Annotation
Ivan Yakimov (1780–1804): Student of Count Sheremetev and member of the ballet troupe of the Sheremetev serf theatre on the Kuskovo estate.
Count Sheremetev recalled: “Once a ballet was performed in my theatre where he [Yakimov] danced as cupid. The graces carried him in a basket with garlands of roses, and as they only expected to find roses in it, the unexpected appearance of this cupid enraptured the entire audience.”
Author's Biography
Argunov Nikolai
ARGUNOV, Nikolai Ivanovich
1771, St Petersburg — after 1829, ?
Painter, portraitist, author of miniature portraits, decorator. Studied art under his father Ivan Argunov. Serf artist of Count Nikolai Sheremetev. Copied the paintings in the Imperial Hermitage (1797). By order of his owner, painted portraits of artists from the serf theatre, parade portraits of Paul I, portraits of Sheremetev and his wife, the former actress P. Kovalyova-Zhemchugova. Freed from serfdom by the bequeath of Count Nikolai Sheremetev (1816). Appointed to the Imperial Academy of Arts (1816). Academician of the Imperial Academy of Arts (1818).