Portrait of Yevgeny Mravinsky

1957 painting by Lev Russov

Portrait of Yevgeny Mravinsky

Artist	Lev A. Russov
Year	1957
Medium	Oil on canvas
Dimensions	95 cm × 73 cm (38 in × 29 in)
Location	private collection, Moscow

Portrait of Yevgeny Mravinsky is a painting by Russian portrait artist Lev Russov (1926–1987), whose work depicts the famous Russian and Soviet musician Yevgeny Aleksandrovich Mravinsky (1903—1988), principal conductor of the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra from 1938–1988.^[1]

History

The portrait was painted in Leningrad in 1957. Evgeny Mravinsky is depicted at home, seated in an armchair, immersed in thought. The musical instruments associated with his profession are intentionally relegated to the background. The primary focus of the artwork is to portray Mravinsky as a contemporary intellectual with a strong sense of independence, willpower, and self-assuredness. This helped his profession and the long-term friendship linking the two artists. In 1957, the portrait was exhibited at the Leningrad artists show in the Russian State Museum for the first time.^[2]

In 2007, the Portrait of Yevgeny Mravinsky had been commented on and reproduced in the book Unknown Socialist Realism. The Leningrad School among 350 selected works by artists of the Leningrad School.^[3]

References

^ Gregor Tassie. Yevgeny Mravinsky: The Noble Conductor. The Scarecrow Press, 2005. ISBN 978-0-8108-5427-7
^ 1917 - 1957. Exhibition of works by Leningrad artists. Catalogue. - Leningrad: Khudozhnik RSFSR, 1958. - P. 28.
^ Sergei V. Ivanov. Unknown Socialist Realism. The Leningrad School.- Saint Petersburg: NP-Print Edition, 2007. – P. 53.

Bibliography

1917 - 1957. Exhibition of works by Leningrad artists. Catalogue. - Leningrad: Khudozhnik RSFSR, 1958. - P. 28.
Directory of Members of the Union of Artists of USSR. Volume 2.- Moscow: Soviet artist, 1979. - P. 290.
Directory of members of the Leningrad branch of Union of Artists of Russian Federation. - Leningrad: Khudozhnik RSFSR, 1980. - p. 103.
Gregor Tassie. Yevgeny Mravinsky: The Noble Conductor. The Scarecrow Press, 2005. ISBN 978-0-8108-5427-7
Иванов С. О ранних портретах Льва Русова // Петербургские искусствоведческие тетради. Выпуск 23. СПб., 2012. С.7-15.