Engraver Ivan Pozhalostin (1837–1909) as a portrait master

Abstract

The article is devoted to the portrait artwork of the engraver on copper I.P. Pozhalostin. It focuses on his works of the 1860–1880s, created first under the protection of the Academy of Arts, then for the Society for the Encouragement of Artists, publishers of books and magazines, and collectors. This is a whole gallery of Russian faces, from the poet Nikolay Nekrasov to Empress Maria Feodorovna. Along with an overview of the artistic features of the realistic engraved portraits by Ivan Pozhalostin, much attention in the article is paid to the cultural and everyday context – relations with customers, conditions and terms of his work. A wide range of archival material has been involved, for instance, the engraver’s correspondence with collectors P.A. Efremov and S.P. Vinogradov.