Peasant boy Petrushka-melancholic 1814

This is Orest Kiprensky's charcoal drawing of a peasant boy, titled "Petrushka-melancholic." The texture and strokes of the charcoal create a sense of softness while also capturing a melancholic mood. Kiprensky's manipulation of light and shadow, through dense and sparse applications of charcoal, gives depth to the figure. Consider how the artist uses line and form to convey the sitter's emotional state. We see it in the downward gaze and the set of his mouth. The very strokes of the charcoal seem to echo the boy's internal feelings. This approach connects with Romanticism, a movement in which art was used to express individual emotion and experience. The drawing remains an open field for interpretation, inviting us to reflect on youth, emotion, and the expressive possibilities of line and shade.