“Portrait of an Officer. Chevalier Guards In a Greatcoat with a Karakul Fur Collar in a White Peaked Cap with a Scalloped Edges Oval Cockade”
Oil on canvas, 14'' x 12''
This is an original oil portrait of the Imperial Russian Army officer in a white forage cap with a fluted-edge oval cockade. Blue eyed handsome chevalier guards depict In a greatcoat with a karakul fur collar combined with the pale violet-blue of the background. This is a portrait of a beautiful, blue eyed man with a grayish blue military uniform that has been never really worn by Russian Army officers. And the man himself did not exist, too, because this is a portrait of a literary character. Nevertheless shrouded in light blue haze, this officer of the Chevalier Guards in the portrait recalls a long ago era of the Russian Empire.
I enjoy creating people from bygone eras, there is a haunting, soulful quality to them that transcends time. Therefore, I wanted to concoct a man who looked like he could have posed for a painter a couple of centuries ago. I guess this portrait ended up being oddly timeless, both retro and contemporary at the same time.
As I have mentioned before a few times, portraits are an obsession of mine. I love painting faces as that seems to be where I focus even when painting a figure. And I'm thinking it is eyes on the face this is what fascinates me the most. Ah, those dreamy, sky blue eyes with a sly light...
By one of my educations I am a historian, focusing on the daily life of people. I love learning about the life which people lived a lot of centuries ago. As a kid, I dreamed of being a time traveler and imagined popping in and out of to a different time and place and life. My original oil pictures are inspired by my love of history, literature and a good movies.
Based loosely on a scene from the British-American historical romantic drama "Anna Karenina" (2012) starring Jude Law and Aaron Taylor-Johnson, I wanted to evoke a film mood and create a little world-weary yet seductive a noble officer.
The purchase of this painting as physical object does not give the buyer the right to copy or reproduce an artwork in any form. Intellectual rights does not transfer with the purchase of an original painting. Copyright of this image remains with the artist Polyanskaya Anna.
© Polyanskaya Anna (Netta Plans).
All rights reserved.
