Description of the picture:
Turkish woman – Karl Pavlovich Bryullov. 1837-1839. Canvas, oil. 66.2 x 79.8
The painting “Turkish Woman” was created in 1837-1839, and was inspired by a trip to the Ionian Islands, which was organized by Count Orlov-Davydov, a famous philanthropist and writer.
The program of such an artistic expedition was rich – from admiring the beauties of Greece to “conquering” all of Asia Minor, but already in Athens Bryullov fell ill and was forced to return to Petersburg. On the way home, the disease delayed the painter in Constantinople for three whole months, and during this time Bryullov was able to fully enjoy the exotic beauty of Turkey.
Looking at the canvas “Turkish woman”, we can confidently say that the artist was able to very clearly capture the main character of this region – sensuality, bliss, catchy aesthetics.
We see a young girl relaxed on pillows. Everything in her appearance betrays languor, sluggishness, and the outfit and headgear only emphasizes this non-European beauty. Bright, eye-catching appearance does not require muted background tones to фокус on heroine – sharp color coloring does not “hide” the girl at all, but, on the contrary, emphasizes and doubles her beauty.
The canvas was not written from nature – these are Bryullov’s memoirs, his Turkish impressions, which were so fresh and distinct that they managed to so embodied filigreely and realistically in the portrait of a Turkish girl, his “spicy” beauty, symbolizing the whole land."