The Soul of the Canvas: The Life and Legacy of Vasily Tropinin Vasily Andreyevich Tropinin (19 March 1776 – 16 May 1857) remains a cornerstone of Russian Romanticism, an artist whose life story is as poignant and profound as the portraits he left behind. Born in the village of Korpovo under the heavy yoke of serfdom, Tropinin’s early existence was defined by the constraints of a social order that viewed him as property rather than per…