Portrait of a young girl 1829

This portrait of a young girl was drawn in 1829 in Naples by Orest Kiprensky. At the time, the Russian art academy dictated what was considered good art, and history painting was at the top of its hierarchy. To be a portraitist, as Kiprensky was, was to make a self-conscious choice to operate outside the mainstream, and this would have implications for how he saw the world, and how the world saw him. The presence of the cross around the girl’s neck tells us something of her family background, and their social status. Kiprensky spent much of his career in Italy, and was elected to the Academy of Saint Luke in Rome. We might want to consider the importance of travel for artists at this time, and the role of institutions such as the Academy in developing and certifying artistic talent. Access to archival material would tell us more about Kiprensky’s career, and the social networks that supported it.