The artwork titled “Portrait of Student” by Mikhail Vrubel, created in 1882 in Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation, is a watercolor on paper. This piece belongs to the Realism art movement and is classified within the genre of portraiture.
In this painting, the artist succinctly captures the focused demeanor of a student engrossed in reading. The subject is depicted in a naturalistic style, with a relaxed posture, one hand supporting the head, and the other holding what appears to be a book or paper. The use of watercolors imparts a soft, almost ethereal quality to the work, and the brushwork suggests a casual, yet deliberate application of paint that contributes to the authenticity of the scene. The background is kept minimalistic, drawing the viewer’s attention entirely to the subject’s expression and activity. The artwork exemplifies Vrubel’s skill in portraying human subjects with depth and realism.
