Self Portrait, 1785
Artists' Profile & Art Works
Painter Profile & Appreciation of Works
Alexander Roslin (1718–1793) was a Swedish portrait painter who worked in Scania, Bayreuth, Paris, Italy, Warsaw and St. Petersburg, mainly for members of the aristocratic family. His masterpieces are "The Lady with the Veil".
The Lady with the Veil (1768).
His psychological approach to fabric and jewelry is skillfully combined. His style, which combines classical tendencies with the shiny colors of rococo, is a witty, elegant and ornate style. He lived in France from 1752 to 1793, a period that was most of his career. Rosslyn's Paintings by Countess of Egmont Pignatelli below and Jeanne Sophie de Vignerot du Plessis were bought by the Minneapolis Academy of Art for $3 million in 2006.
Countess of Egmont Pignatelli
Alexander Rosslyn was born on July 15, 1718 in Malmö, Sweden, the son of naval physicians Hans Roslin and Catherine Wertmüller. After displaying an extraordinary talent for painting, he trained in painting in Carl Scronorona under the leadership of Admiral Lars Ehrenbill (1697–1747), became a naval draftsman, and then began to paint miniature models. Since Alexander Cristina moved to Stockholm, she has established contacts with the Art Center in Paris. At the age of 16, he became an apprentice to the Stockholm court painter Georg Engelhard Schröder, where he studied painting until 1741 and began to create large portraits in oil painting. Schroeder was influenced by Hyacinthe Rigaud and Nicolas de Largillière. In 1741 Rosslyn settled in Gothenburg and the following year moved to Scania, where he painted portraits and religious paintings for the Haslov Church until 1745.
In 1745, Rosslyn left Sweden for Bayleus, where he was invited to work for Frederick Margrave of Kurbach in Brandenburg. In 1747, he came to Italy to study the works of the masters. In 1752, he depicted in Italy the family of Philippe, Duke of Parma. That same year, At the age of 34, Rosslyn moved to Paris, where he spent the rest of his life. In 1759 he married the pastel painter Marie Suzanne Giroust (1734-1772). The couple has three sons and three daughters. In 1768, Roslin painted her a Bolognese dress, a veiled lady, and the art critic, writer and philosopher Denis Diderot described the portrait as "erotic" . In 1767, he painted a double portrait of the two of them; in it she painted a crayon on a portrait of Henrik Wilhelm Peill, while Roslin pointed to the gold box he had received from Pell as a gift. The painting is a portrait of friendship (however, this portrait is far away). The painting was purchased by the Swedish National Museum in 2013.
GräfinAnna d'Escherny (1737-1807), sitting bust, hanging headdress, white satin leather trim robe, 89 x 71.5 cm
In Paris, he was the face of François Boucher, whose work quickly became fashionable. He was elected a member of the French Academy of Arts, and his wife was also a member of the Academy. His early portraits, with bright, grim colors, expressed the influence of Jean-Marc Nattier and Hyacinthe Rigaud. Around the 1660s, he began to use bold colors in his paintings, such as in portraits of his wife, Lady with Veil (1768) and Jennings Family (1769).
Alexander Roslin, nineteenth century, prints – "Marie Antoinette". 70 x 53 cm
Roslin had a high technical skill in painting the surfaces and textures of precious materials such as fabrics and jewelry, but he was also adept at capturing his optimal sitting position. In Paris, he quickly became one of the most important portrait painters of his time, most valued by his masterful rendering of luxurious fabrics and soft skin tones: "Satin, skin? His portraits of members of the French nobility show sensitivity and taste, as well as psychological insight, although to some observers today the change in taste may make his face appear "stiff and lifeless". In 1765, when he competed with Jean-Baptiste Greuze for the prize for a portrait of the Duke of Louis, Duke of La Rochefoucauld and his family, he achieved a major victory. He also painted several portraits of members of the French royal family and foreign princes, including King Gustav III of Sweden and his brother. In the second half of the 18th century, Roslin's portraits were the highest point of public respect. In 1771, although a foreigner (often referred to as Rosslyn Les sudëes, "Roselyn the Swede") was granted a pension and a free apartment in the Louvre. The following year, his father awarded him the Royal Order of Vasa, after which he was known as the "Knight of Rosslyn".
Portrait of King Christian VII of Denmark, half-body, dressed in a coronation robe, holding a crown and scepter, 129 X 93 cm
He was often surrounded by such Swedes. He was also a good friend of the influential Swedish politician Count Carl Gustaf Tessin. From 1774 to 1775, after the death of his wife, Roslin visited Sweden, where he was elected a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts and, curiously, a foreign honorary member. During his visit, he painted members of the Swedish royal family, his self-portraits while painting the king, and portraits of politician Carl Fredrik Scheffer and naturalist Carl Linnaeus.
On the way back to Paris, he visited St. Petersburg, where he painted several portraits of Empress Catherine II of Russia, as well as some famous portraits of Russian nobles between 1775 and 1777. Catherine tried to persuade him to continue serving her, but Rosslyn refused and returned to France. He survived the French Revolution on 5 July 1793 and lived longer than many of his patrons; at the time he was the richest artist in Paris.
Portrait of Charlotte Boutin, Vicomtesse de Montboissier, 610 x 505 mm
Stylistically, his paintings are classicist in some respects, but mainly in the Rococo style. The vast majority were members of the European nobility and major political and cultural circles. Rosslyn was a great success in French high society, becoming one of the richest artists of his time in France. He painted portraits of many politicians of the Russian Empire, including portraits of Ivan Betskoi and his sisters Anastasia Ivanovna and Ivan Shuvalov. He also painted some famous portraits of Polish and French aristocratic women. He signed his work. A member of the Royal Society of Arts and Sculpture, Roslin exhibited his paintings at the Paris Salon, the official exhibition of member works. Founded in 1725, the Salon became the greatest twice-year art event in the Western world between 1748 and 1890. From 1753 onwards, Roslin exhibited 18 times in the Salon.
Portrait of Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia (1729-1796), full length, dressed in state robes, standing in front of overhanging pillars, Portrait of Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia (1729-1796), full-length, in robes of state, standing before a draped column, 184.2 x 209.2 cm
Roslin's popularity among foreign and Swedish audiences during his lifetime is unquestionable. He was one of the most prominent portrait painters of his time, known for his superb ability to reproduce the fashionable clothing of the people sitting next to him with silk, lace, pearls and gold wire. Roslin's ability to capture the personalities he depicts has made him popular with clients, and even hundreds of years later, we can still feel the closeness of the characters he depicts. He flattered and glorified his subjects according to Rococo's ideals. Rosslyn's portrait of Anne Vallayer-Coster received particular praise and caused widespread controversy after the Salon. In Le Véridique au Salon (The Truth about the Salon), published in 1783, it was described as "the best that belongs to the artist". The work was compared to the famous self-portrait of contemporary artist Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun. Roslin depicts his model in a cool color scale; using green, white, and blue, plus the attributes of the painter's palette and brush, is a common way artists portray themselves. Because of this, Rosslyn's paintings are sometimes mistaken by art historians for anne Vallayer-Coster's self-portraits.
Portrait of Katarzyna Mniszech, circa 1752, dimensions Height: 73 cm × 59 cm, now in the collection of Skokloster Castle, Poland