58. Portrait of a Merchant [after 1900]

The complex multi-figure compositions created by Ivan Mrkvička, such as “Zadushnitsa” (1890), “Shopko Horo” (1892), “Rachenitsa” (1894), etc., include many characters, each possessing individual facial features, emotional states, characteristic costumes, and roles within the overall composition. In order to create these impressive works, the artist made dozens of sketches, studied the character types, costumes, ethnographic features of the region, and the specifics of the interior. "Portrait of a Merchant” is likely a preparatory sketch for the multi-figure composition “Rachenitsa”—the most famous Bulgarian painting, highly valued by its contemporaries and one of the highest-paid works in the collection of the National Gallery. The scene is set in a Shop tavern with a dirt floor and a low wooden ceiling, featuring a variety of male figures in characteristic costumes. There are preserved sketches of the wooden ceiling that the artist developed in advance. The artist's aim was to study a specific face, state, and type. The man has dark long mustaches, a dark skin tone, and short hair. His expression is pensive, and his gaze slightly worried. The same facial features and characteristic Albanian traits are captured. In “Rachenitsa,” Ivan Mrkvička has captured the specific atmosphere that the people and the place bring, the lightness of the fast Shop dance—the rachenitsa—and the convincing image of the central character, whose prototype was James Boucher. The Shops are an object of Mrkvička's study, and he clearly approaches them with sympathy, which he has successfully conveyed in his painting. The intimate canvas "Portrait of a Merchant" is of exceptional value for any collection because it shows the history of part of this famous painting. (S.N.)

Dimensions

width 19 cm, height 27 cm, custom 27 × 19 cm

Description

oil on canvas, signed bottom left, in black, "Ив. M."

Dating

after 1900

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