Dmytro Levytskyi

Дмитро Левицький

1735–1822 · Kyiv

A leading portraitist of the 18th century, born in Kyiv and trained by his father, the engraver-priest Hryhorii Levytsky. Famous for his Smolnyi Institute portrait series, he became one of the most celebrated portrait painters of his era.

Art Movements

Romanticism

Romanticism—an ideological and artistic movement in European and American culture from the late 18th century to the first half of the 19th century—is characterized by the affirmation of the intrinsic value of the individual’s spiritual and creative life, the depiction of intense (often rebellious) passions and characters, and the portrayal of nature as inspiring and healing. It spread to various spheres of human activity. In the 18th century, anything strange, picturesque, and existing in books rather than in reality was called romantic. At the beginning of the 19th century, Romanticism became the name for a new movement, opposed to Classicism and the Enlightenment.

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Works by Dmytro Levytskyi

1773

Portrait of Kateryna Nelidova

From the celebrated Smolny Institute series, depicting a pupil in a theatrical dancing pose.

1783

Self-Portrait

An intimate small-format self-portrait of the artist at the height of his fame.