Simon Karlinsky labelled "The Portrait" as the ‘most conventional’ of Gogol's St Petersburg Tales and ‘the least satisfactory artistically.' [7] This follows the general theme that is less humorous and more regarding artistic value. An explanation for this difference is offered in the hope of elevating the seriousness of the piece. That he forgoes the comic along with narrative polyphone in the interests of a high seriousness ‘which he would only later recognize might be available without such crippling sacrifice.' [8] He is aware with the other Tales that the comic aspect is what makes them attainable and interesting to the reader and by losing this crucial part the story loses its relatability and consequently its interest. Moreover, Innokentii Annenski agrees with the assessment that this is the most conventional of Gogol’s tales. He claimed that in this tale ‘which he wrote twice, Gogol has put more of himself than in any of this other works.' [9]
A key theme of the short story is to express the corrupting influence of money on art. This reflects a general concern among Russian writers in the 1830s about the degradation of culture under the condition of a nascent market economy that came to replace the previous aristocratic patronage system.[10] Indeed, as Robert Maguire has remarked, Chartkov ‘turns himself completely into money, and in spending the money, he spends himself. When it is gone, so is he.’[11] This speaks to two main themes of the story: the corruption of money and the destruction of illusion on reality. Chartkov's paintings are an ‘illusion of an illusion… as life imitates art and in turn is imitated by art, he becomes merely another version of each of the poses he renders.' [12]
