The Belle Époque Today: The Art of Sergei Pavlenko, RP

Sergei Pavlenko

A Painting Graduate of St. Petersburg Academy of Fine Arts, in 1988, Sergei Pavlenko was nominated for the Gold Medal of the Academy of Fine Arts of the USSR. In 1989, he moved West where his Classically-inspired portraits quickly earned him recognition and much praise. After exhibiting in England and the U.S., Pavlenko settled in London, becoming a British citizen.

In 2000, Pavlenko’s portrait of Queen Elizabeth II was unveiled (by the monarch herself) to much acclaim. The Queen confessed it was her favorite portrait of herself since her coronation. Images of the portrait were so widely broadcast that it was celebrated worldwide—even being used as a postage stamp.

A recent portrait of The Queen greeting Princes William and Harry in military-attire earned more praise and public attention for Sergei Pavlenko whose continued exhibitions of his work have earned him a place amongst the artists at the Royal Society of Portrait Painters.

Sergei Pavlenko

With his crisp brushstrokes, slightly stylized features and use of deeply saturated colors, Pavlenko’s portraiture puts us in mind of the grand European and American portraits of the mid-to-late Nineteenth Century. In fact, one of Pavlenko’s portraits could easily slip into any private collection or museum and hang alongside the work of the Nineteenth Century French and English masters without seeming the slightest bit out-of-place.

Not afraid to be inspired by the past, nor to make his own mark on the future, Sergei Pavlenko is a talent upon whom we should keep a careful eye. This is work that will be studied for generations to come.

Sergei Pavlenko