In sorting through the burst of colors that were the symbolist paintings, Kustodiev’s Portrait of Tsar Nicholas II was the one that intrigued me most. While it’s not the most technically astounding painting of the bunch, what caught my eye was the way Kustodiev took the basic portrait of a monarch and flipped it on its head through color and composition.
One of the first things you notice about Portrait of Tsar Nicholas II is the light, vibrant color palette that Kustodiev used. This is quite the opposite of classic portrait painting, especially when it comes to painting the Tsar. Previously, the portraits of royalty had used dark, muted color palettes. When color was used, there were really only a few vibrant colors, which popped out from the rest of the muted paintings. Kustodiev, however, used many bright colors, so much so that the black on Nicholas’ hat stands out as the most muted piece in the painting. While many of his contemporaries also used bright color palettes, Kustodiev’s decision to use those colors on a royal portrait was unique, bringing liveliness to a type of painting that was usually muted.
The other striking aspect about this painting is the composition, namely Nicholas’ central placement, facing the viewer head on, which is very unique among portraits of royals. Classic portraits of Tsars and other royals have the subject at an angle to the viewer, but the orientation of Nicholas makes the viewer feel as though they’re speaking with him. That’s how it struck me at least. While many of the older portraits feel impersonal, this portrait personifies him, kind of taking Nicholas off of his pedestal and putting him at our level. This is partly because, before this painting, the only subjects that would face the viewer head on would be peasants or common folk, such as in Ivanov’s A Girl From Albano Standing in a Doorway. The city in the background is another way the composition varies from other portraits of Tsars, which often had a plain background, or depicted them in some palace. Much like the colors, the city adds life to a type of painting that typically fell flat.
With the color and the composition, Kustodiev’s portrait of Nicholas II redefined what a Tsar’s portrait was, updating the classic category of royal portrait painting to fit in with the wave of symbolists in Russian art.
A wonderful reaction to this unorthodox portrait! Isn’t it great that you now have enough contextual and historical knowledge of Russian art, that you are able to see the ways that an individual artist or artistic movement is innovating?! For me this is one of the most exciting (and rewarding) aspects of teaching this course: bringing students from zero knowledge, to the point where they are able to do this! Hurray!
One quick factual point: what you see behind Nicholas are Moscow’s Kremlin walls and churches, and the Kremlin palace (with the flag). So this is not just a “city,” but the seat of Nicholas’s imperial power, and the historical heart and center of Muscovite Russia. Notice that this painting was made just two years before Nicholas was forced to abdicate power, and three years before he and his entire family were murdered by the Bolsheviks. For these reasons (combined with the painting’s cheerfulness, which you rightly note), I find it to be a very haunting image.