Description of the painting by Alexander Gerasimov “Family Portrait”

Description of the painting by Alexander Gerasimov Family Portrait

The painting “Family Portrait” was painted by Alexander Mikhailovich Gerasimov in 1934.

All the members of the artist, including himself, are depicted in it in a calm and homely atmosphere. This picture was not intended for a wide audience of viewers. She conveys the family well-being of the artist, the proximity of his relatives. And fully conveys a simple sunny day holiday cottage.

The picture is full of bright colors and accents from his other works, already familiar to Gerasimov’s still lifes: a lush bouquet of roses, an oval mahogany table and a silver service.

A lush bouquet of roses in the center of the table immediately draws the viewer’s attention to the large size of the buds and the combination of different colors. The bouquet is a little bit disconnected, the flowers are not lined up in a clear floristic composition, which indicates the summer origin of these flowers. Their trunks have retained their green foliage, and it seems to flow into one with the background of the picture. The whole background is littered with numerous and diverse foliage, as if they are covering the summer cottage terrace with the whole family. The umbrella in the hands of the older generation supports the dome figurative foliage and the family, as if shrouded in this green shawl.

Tea service on a tray indicates tea drinking in the open air. The artist’s wife, depicted by him with a tea cup in her hand, supports it. The daughter is depicted with a certain note of melancholy and doom. Her pout and slightly inclined head clearly convey this.

The artist himself is depicted confidently and frankly. Demonstrating family well-being, he is full of pride with a kind of complacency.

To date, the picture of A. M. Gerasimov “Family Portrait” is in the National Art Museum of the Republic of Belarus.


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Description of the painting by Alexander Gerasimov “Family Portrait”