Essay based on the painting by A. Venetsianov “Girl in a Checkered Scarf”

The painting “Girl in a Checkered Scarf” was written by the artist A.G. Venetsianova. The artist, who did not receive an art education, became a master of the portrait genre; he was awarded the title of academician of the Russian Academy of Arts. Many portraits were painted by A.G. Venetsianov on orders, including for obtaining the title of academician. But the moment came when he left the service, city life in St. Petersburg and moved to live in the village of Safonkovo. Venetsianov himself divides the periods of his life in the city and in the village, signing works and papers, adding the pseudonym Safonkovsky.
Living in the rural wilderness, he devotes himself to his favorite work with all his soul. He writes how he wants and who he wants. The models were simple peasants and their children. By painting scenes of simple rural life with the participation of serfs, Venetsianov implemented his principle of “not depicting anything differently than it is in reality...”. The artist managed to show the harmony of everyday peasant life, nature and man, and reveal the beauty of the Russian soul. The unity of the artist and the people he depicts is felt in every carefully drawn feature of the face, the authenticity of the expression of the eyes, and pronounced physical and spiritual strength. Venetsianov was able to convey the beauty of simple faces, different from that canonically depicted by the masters of the portrait genre of that time. At that time, it was considered bad form to paint representatives of the lower class, but Venetsianov, disregarding conventions, chose the faces of ordinary people he liked for nature. When depicting peasants, the artist skillfully selected colors and used the play of light and shadow.
He could not help but display the visible fatigue from overwork in these people, the expression of resignation to fate on their faces. There are no laughing or even smiling faces. Therefore, among the portraits by A. Venetsianov, “Girl in a Checkered Scarf” stands out.
There is no information left about who posed for the artist; even the exact date of painting the portrait is unknown. She had to pose for the artist by simply throwing a blue-green checkered scarf over her head and holding it with her hand to her chin. A very young girl, more like a teenager, looks intensely at the artist with resignation. A sweet, clean, almost childlike face. A high forehead, beautifully defined eyebrows, gray-blue and wide-set large eyes, a straight nose, childishly plump crimson lips. A triangular oval face, a very soft and pleasant chin give nobility to a girl’s face. Her dark brown hair is combed smoothly in a peasant style, parted in the middle and tucked under a scarf. It seems that the hair is braided in a thick braid.
The hand holding a scarf on her chest reveals a simple village girl. Peasantly wide, quite large, with strong fingers, hesitantly presses the handkerchief to her chest.
The scarf draped over the girl’s head was new; similar scarves in large checks were worn by peasant women of that time. Probably, the artist bought this scarf especially for the girl and then gave it to her. The scarf is not made of coarse fabric, because reflections of light are clearly visible on it, like on fabric made of silk or satin. The main color of the scarf changes depending on the lighting from blue to green, even the color of the check pattern changes from white-yellow to yellow-red. All the folds of the scarf and even the fringe are carefully drawn by the author.
The girl is dressed in a simple shirt made of bleached linen. She is probably wearing a Russian sundress, but the artist did not describe the details of the clothing or focus on the external surroundings. The main thing was to accurately depict the girl’s face, to show her external beauty, as well as her pure inner world. It seems that the girl, looking at the artist, wants to smile, but, hesitant, holds back. A smile hides in the corners of the lips. Natural simplicity and modesty, innocence is visible in her entire appearance. At the same time, there is a mystery in her bright, lively eyes, like in the eyes of any woman.
And everyone can see something different in them, guess what this lovely creature is thinking about, what she is dreaming about. It is believed that the hardships and hardships of life have not yet touched her, that her passing childhood and her coming youth are not overshadowed by the difficulties and sorrows of the peasant lot. I want her and her life to remain bright, not overshadowed by any troubles.
Thanks to the works of the artist Venetsianov, we can see what simple peasants looked like at the beginning of the 19th century, how their daily life was structured, noticed and accurately captured by a wonderful master on his canvases. The historical significance of the paintings is great as a genuine source of information about that period of time. Although in the paintings of A.G. Venetsianov’s works show similarities with icons due to a certain flatness of the image; they captivate with their truthfulness and sincerity of the author’s view. The magnificent portrait painter Venetsianov lovingly selected nature for his paintings, which is why we can still see and admire such paintings as “Girl in a Checkered Scarf.” Looking at this portrait, for some reason it seems that we are looking at a young Madonna from the paintings of medieval artists.
The painting is kept in the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg.

The picture shows
Beauty from a Russian fairy tale -
Both immaculate and modest.
Deep, mysterious and affectionate,

And the girl’s gaze is sincere;
The swelling of the lips touches us;
And the hair is parted straight
Smooth hairstyles;

And a braid runs down your back
With an elegant ribbon woven in.
Peasant woman - young beauty!
And the viewer, amazed by her,

Hopes they will bypass
Side of trouble and sadness,
That days of happiness await the girl,
And there are hardly any days of unhappiness!..

I haven't had any worries yet! -
We see this in the picture,
Where is the blue checkered scarf?
A hand is placed on the head.

The face glows with warmth,
A smile requires an impulse,
But with modesty and purity
She will cover herself shyly!..

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The painting “Girl in a Scarf” was painted by Alexei Gavrilovich Venetsianov, an outstanding Russian master of portraiture, in the late period of his work. Since 1819, the artist abandoned commercial activities and stopped selling his works. A.G. Venetsianov turns away from the noise of big cities, settling in the peasant outback of his native country, the artist depicts the open, bright faces of ordinary people.

From Venetsianov’s canvas “Girl in a Headscarf,” a very young peasant girl looks naively with huge, wide-open gray-green eyes. A large blue checkered scarf is thrown over her dark hair neatly parted in the middle. A girl from a simple working-class family, the young beauty is in no way inferior in prettiness to the pampered city young ladies.

In the whole appearance of the girl there is something spiritual, hidden from prying eyes. One feels that she is respectable, modest and well-mannered. A recognized master of his genre, A.G. Venetsianov so skillfully places highlights and shadows in the portrait that you get the feeling that the girl is breathing, is about to smile mischievously, and her thin hand is straightening the scarf that is slipping off her head.

The girl’s fingers are tender and fragile; the hard life in the peasant village of that time did not seem to touch the thin peach skin. A slightly pale face is adorned with a light blush; in a moment, plump lips will blossom into an innocent girlish smile.

It seems as if the young model is tired of posing; the girl, who does not yet know how beautiful she is, is unusual for the artist’s close attention to the fine features of her face.

Slightly darkened eyelids give the girl in a headscarf a thoughtful, slightly sad look. The look of shining eyes from under thin graceful eyebrows is quiet, direct and calm. He is still devoid of echoes of life dramas, any internal breakdowns. Or maybe the famous portrait painter Venetsianov just wanted to believe that in such a young life everything was still good, and no tragedy made his trusting eyes fill with tears.

The red-yellow stripes on the dark fabric of the scarf noticeably brighten the portrait; their absence would give the canvas a closed, perhaps even mournful, tint, and the young girl depicted in the picture would seem to the viewer several years older. Hair is depicted with amazing clarity, which is one of the important criteria in assessing portrait works. Thanks to the skill of the painter, the glare of light seems to slide along the smooth, perhaps pulled back and braided into a chic thick braid. There is a feeling that a great master worked on each hair separately.

Pictured by A.G. Venetsianov’s girl also had an unusually clear oval face. There is a certain shyness in the turn of the model’s head; a clear gaze speaks of a precocious mind. There is nothing superfluous in the painting “Girl in a Headscarf”; it fully corresponds to its title. But the modest girl, inconspicuous at first glance, becomes more and more beautiful and mysterious with each viewing of the picture, symbolizing the purity and spirituality of the ordinary Russian person, the image of female beauty just beginning to blossom.

Girl in a checkered scarf - Alexey Gavrilovich Venetsianov. Canvas, oil. 40.4 x 31.1 cm

This small sketch leaves a lasting impression. The artist depicted a young girl, almost a girl. Her image occupies almost the entire space of the canvas. The girl has a bright, spiritual face. She represents the classic type of Russian beauty. Clear gray eyes look at the viewer, a half-smile is frozen on her plump lips, her cheeks are slightly pink with embarrassment. Brown hair, parted in the middle, is hidden under a large dark blue checkered scarf, which she supports with her hand so that it does not slip off her head.

The scarf was of great importance in Russian folk costume. It was worn by women of all classes and ages. A married woman was required to cover her hair with a headdress. A scarf was considered a good gift. It was an integral part of the dowry, which was prepared long before the wedding. Perhaps this scarf was given to the girl by the artist himself in gratitude for posing, or maybe it was her personal item. In any case, the scarf highlights the natural beauty of the young peasant woman and focuses the viewer’s attention on her radiant face.

Only her hands give away the girl’s status - it is clear that she knows firsthand what hard village work is, because back then children began to help their parents early.

The background of the sketch was deliberately not elaborated by the artist. The master paints a female figure on a brown background. It does not distract the viewer's attention from the girl herself. Her pure image involuntarily attracts the eye and remains in the memory.

In his works, Venetsianov left us many vivid types of serfs. Behind each of them there is a personality, a living person. The artist shows that serfs, who were then in a slave position, are capable of sublime feelings. They are strong in spirit, beautiful, with a soul as wide as a Russian field and a big heart.

His female images of peasant women depict women and girls from an early age who know what hard work is, but who are beautiful with their inner world, attractive with their natural beauty.

It is not surprising that not all contemporaries appreciated the scale of the provincial artist’s talent. The depiction of village life, and especially serfs, without embellishment in the best traditions of realism, was considered a “low” genre. Venetsianov never became an academician or teacher at the Imperial Academy of Arts, despite the fact that on his estate he managed to teach painting to many talented peasant children.

The artist died in obscurity, but his creations still delight people, glorifying the Russian people and the Russian land.