New Rome. Castel Sant'Angelo

The size of the mansion matters

AT again passing by a beautiful castle, mentally say "thank you" to the ambition of the rulers. It is thanks to the love of monarchs to compare mansions that we can now enjoy the views of architectural monuments. In 136, the Roman emperor Hadrian decided to surpass Augustus and build himself a larger and more beautiful mausoleum. That is how the future Castel Sant'Angelo in Rome was born. True, Adrian failed to enjoy the sight of the brainchild - he died. His successor Antoninus Pius brought the matter to an end, and he placed the ashes of Hadrian in the tomb. Several more emperors found their resting place in the Castel Sant'Angelo, the last of which was Septimius Severus.

Initially, the castle did not look at all the way we are used to seeing it. Built according to the Etruscan model in the form of a round tower with a square plinth and a conical roof, it was lined with white marble. As John of Antioch wrote, a huge statue of Hadrian towered on the roof, who drove the chariot of Helios harnessed by four horses. As the historian wrote, the horses were so huge that an adult man could climb through the hole in the eye.

Emperor Hadrian built the castle as a mausoleum

Barbarian attacks and pestilence

At the beginning of the 5th century, Emperor Honorius turned the mausoleum into a fortification. But this did not help - in 410, the Visigoth army led by Alaric attacked Rome and sacked the city. The besieged personally broke the statues in the castle and threw them at the attackers. And after the soldiers stole everything that was still valuable in it.

In the 6th century, a plague raged across Europe. According to legend, the inhabitants of the city, led by Pope Gregory the Great, staged a procession around the city. On the way to the Vatican, on the bridge of Elia (the future bridge of the Holy Angel), the voices of angels were suddenly heard above the tower, singing “Hallelujah!”. Then the pontiff saw over the castle the figure of the archangel Michael, who sheathed his punishing sword. This meant that God forgave the city and the pestilence ended. From that moment on, the castle was nicknamed Sant'Angelo.

In 410, the Visigothic army sacked the mausoleum.

From mausoleum to fortress

In the Middle Ages, the castle of the Holy Angel passed from hand to hand. Either in fear of the wrath of the pope, recalcitrant barons took refuge in it, then the pontiffs themselves found refuge here from disgruntled people. In the XIV century, the inhabitants of Rome captured the mausoleum and began to destroy it. In a rage, they tore off the slabs and stones covering the walls of the castle. Some of them were later used for paving streets.

Pope Gregory the Great saw the figure of the Archangel Michael on the roof of the castle

In the 15th century, the castle, already battered by life, was strengthened by Pope Alexander VI Borgia. Four bastions were erected around it, and a main entrance was arranged. Gradually, the castle of the Holy Angel got hold of its own secret underground passage. He was needed for the safety of the popes: on this move, in the event of popular unrest, the pontiff could escape from the palace and take refuge in the fortress. In the 18th century, a statue of an angel was placed in the courtyard, which for a long time stood on the roof of the castle. The marble sculpture was replaced with a bronze one, which still adorns the fortress. From the unusual rooms in St. Angelo you can see, for example, the Hall of Justice, the Hall of Treasures and a special Secret Archive. There is also a small church in the castle. In it, to the left of the altar, hangs the indulgence of Pope Gregory XVI. According to the paper, the soldiers who guarded the castle were forgiven of all sins.

For some time, the castle of the Holy Angel served as a dungeon for persons objectionable to the popes. It was here that Galileo Galilei languished for some time. In one of the casemates, according to some sources, they were imprisoned famous architect Aristotle Fioravanti, the one who built the Assumption Cathedral in Moscow. Count Cagliostro was also imprisoned in the castle.

An integral part of the image of the Castel Sant'Angelo is the bridge leading to it. It was also built by the emperor Hadrian to pave the way to the mausoleum across the Tiber. In 1450, a real tragedy happened on the bridge. A whole sea of ​​pilgrims hurried across the bridge to St. Peter's.

In 1450 the bridge of the Holy Angel collapsed under the weight of the crowd

The railing of the bridge could not withstand such an influx and collapsed, and dozens of people fell into the river. In the 16th century, it was on the bridge of the Holy Angel that the corpses of criminals were hung out - so that others would be discouraged. The bridge is decorated with statues of the apostles Paul and Peter, as well as sculptures of 10 more angels.

Castel Sant'Angelo (Mausoleum of Hadrian) - historical architectural monument in Rome. One of the most visited sights in Southern Europe. The castle is located in Adriano Park on the banks of the Tiber River.

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In the middle of the second century, when Christianity was just beginning its long haul, in Rome, the grandiose construction of the castle, now called the Castel Sant'Angelo, was begun.

Whatever happened to him in the history of his existence, he was both a tomb, and a defensive structure, and a prison, and salvation for a plague-stricken city. Many legends and fairy tales are associated with it.

The Roman emperor Adrian, anticipating the approach of his death, in 130 decided to build a tomb that would keep his body for many centuries and serve his descendants. The emperor Augustus served as an example of him, who did the same in the first years of our era. The Mausoleum of Hadrian was located near the city, on the opposite bank of the Tiber River.

Castel Sant'Angelo and Elio Bridge (Diana Robinson / flickr.com)

In order to be able to quickly and easily get from there to the Field of Mars, where the mysterious burial ceremony took place, a bridge was built, named after one of the names of the emperor - Elio.

Rumor has it that it was the emperor who led architectural project and made changes to the design of the castle. The Mausoleum of Hadrian was not completed before his death. The emperor died a year before the completion of construction, but his work was completed by his successor, Titus Antoninus Pius, and before the year 140 the body former ruler was moved to its rightful place.

The Mausoleum of Hadrian was for many years the burial place of emperors, the last honored to find his eternal rest there was Caracalla Semptimius Basian, who died in 217.

Defense against barbarians

At the end of the III century, during the frequent raids of the barbarians, when Aurelian - reigning emperor, put up protective walls, the mausoleum was used as a bastion - a building to protect the city.

Among local residents there are rumors that sometimes, instead of metal shells, the Romans dropped on the enemies decorating the tomb marble statues, which is why very few of them survived.

Vision of an Angel - salvation from the plague

The name Castle of the Holy Angel was assigned to the fortress in the 11th century. According to legend, in 590, during the height of the plague in Rome, Pope Gregory the Great, in order to beg for pardon from the Virgin Mary, led a procession through the whole city and during the crossing of the entire procession across the bridge, the eyes of the worshipers suddenly blinded bright light, everything trembled, and right above St. Angelo, in all his majesty, an angel towered, sheathing a double-edged sword.

Christians rejoiced at the end of God's punishment, and the black death soon subsided. Soon, on the roof where the vision took place, a monument to God's miracle in the form of an angel was erected, and the castle still bears the new name of Sant'Angelo. The angel was later moved to a more convenient place - in the garden.

Defense against landsknechts

In 1527, German mercenary infantrymen led by Charles V attacked Rome and besieged the city for a long nine months. Pope Clement VII placed his hopes on the brave Swiss guards and on Castel Sant'Angelo as a defensive point.

Inside Hadrian's Mausoleum (Polybert49 / flickr.com)

This battle is described in detail in the autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini - famous sculptor, an artist and a skilled jeweler who was directly involved in the defense. It was he who had to defeat the commander-in-chief of the enemy Bourbon army.

A single arquebus shot fired from the Bastion of Sant'Angelo played leading role in opposition. But historians are very skeptical about this fact. There is an opinion that Cellini simply stole someone else's glory.

Despite the fact that the Castle of the Holy Angel served as a defensive point, it was constantly improved. Outwardly, it was an impregnable wall, but inside a chic residence. The once dark labyrinth was now adorned with Renaissance frescoes, rare paintings and statues.

Prison of the Holy Angel

Like many other castles, Castel Sant'Angelo began to be used as a prison, the dungeons were the most suitable for this.

Many people know the story of Beatrice Cenci, who in 1598, having entered into a conspiracy with her stepmother and brother, killed her own father, a tyrant and a debauchee. After spending some time in prison, all three were executed. They were later found not guilty.

Castel Sant'Angelo at night (Luftphilia / flickr.com)

Galileo Galilei and Giordano Bruno, excellent scientists and discoverers, were imprisoned within the walls of Sant'Angelo for more than one year. Cardinals who plotted against the pope were simply left to rot in their cells.

Benvenutto Cellini, who once fought so passionately for Rome and made a considerable contribution to the beauty of the castle, became a prisoner on charges of theft precious stones straight from the papal tiara. Wasting no time and expecting the worst, he continued to create, traces of the painting "Christ Risen" are still visible on the wall of his cell. Cellini himself was bought out by influential friends and was soon released.

Quite a few famous count Calistro was imprisoned in the punishment cell of the Castel Sant'Angelo in 1789, accused by the Holy Inquisition of links with the other world, heresy and the promotion of secret communities directed against the church. Many accusations were made, but they all sounded like a farce. As a result, the death sentence was never carried out, and the count was sent to the fortress of San Leo.

AT mid-nineteenth centuries, the patriots of the Risogimento, who opposed foreign domination and for the reunification of Italy, concluded here, and they became the last prisoners. In 1870, they got their way and Rome was annexed to the Italian kingdom. The rulers of the new Rome decided not to make a prison out of the beautiful castle of the Holy Angel.

Magnificent Castle Angels

In the Adriano Park, on the banks of the Tiber River, is the Castel Sant'Angelo, a cylindrical structure that was once considered the tallest building in Rome. Over the long centuries of existence, many architectural monuments have gathered around it.

Statue of Archangel Michael at Castel Sant'Angelo (PapaPiper / flickr.com)

The statue of the Archangel Michael with a sword in a scabbard, created by Raffaello de Montelupo in 1536, is located in the Courtyard of the Angel, where it was moved already in the 12th century. The marble servant of God with strong metal wings and a gaze serves as a reminder of the salvation of Rome from the black death and the appearance of a miracle. Many believe that Michael is still guarding Castel Sant'Angelo.

Ponte Sant'Angelo is adorned with dozens of angel sculptures made from different materials by various sculptors. Bernini and his students completed ten statues within two years. They are all different, their views are different, some have their wings spread, others folded, some have their hands raised, others hold on to the sword, as if putting it in a scabbard, but they all tell about one thing - God has not forgotten about Rome.

Historical Museum and Amusement Park

One of the most popular and visited in Southern Europe, the Military History Museum of Sant'Angelo tells about the life of more than one emperor and military leader. Within its walls there are interesting sights: a secret archive, luxurious papal apartments, the Hall of Treasures, the Hall of Clement VII and many others. In total, the museum has more than fifty rooms.

The new Castle of the Holy Angel has undergone significant changes over its long existence. Merchants settled on the bridge, and various fairs and exhibitions are now often held on the territory of the mausoleum, people walk their dogs and just relax. And yet he retained his extraordinary charm and grandeur.

« New Rome. Castle of the Holy Angel»- a series of paintings by Sylvester Feodosievich Shchedrin, written in the early Roman period (1821-1825).

The Tiber embankment is depicted near the house where the artist lived.

This series is a turning point in Shchedrin's work. First of all, the plot itself is interpreted in a new way: fishing boats on the water with people, the walls of residential buildings are the foreground, and the “old” Rome (Castle Saint Angel and Cathedral Saint Peter) moves into the depths and becomes a kind of background. This series of landscapes is a very successful experience of Shchedrin the plein airist, a master of outdoor painting. In these landscapes, the color scheme also changes: the gloomy brown tones of Shchedrin's first works are now being replaced by colder ones - silvery, blue and greenish tones.

According to one of his contemporaries, "the artist had to repeat this view eight times ... Each time he changed the air and tone of the picture."

Compositional unity is achieved through the image of the Tiber. If the majestic buildings of the Castel Sant'Angelo, the Cathedral of St. Peter and the Vatican Palace, personifying "old Rome", then on the left the composition is closed by the houses of the urban poor - "New Rome" (Trastevere quarter). With this, Shchedrin emphasizes that in the Eternal City, high and low, eternal and temporary exist side by side. Ordinary Romans on the banks of the Tiber are depicted with special care, giving the picture genuine vitality and authenticity.

The painting "New Rome. Castel Sant'Angelo" had big success, and subsequently the artist often repeated this motif in different lighting conditions. The State Tretyakov Gallery has three versions of the canvas.

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Russian talents in Italy.
Shchedrin, Sylvester Feodosievich (1791-1830);
Shchedrin, Sylvester Feodosiyevich

Bryullov, Karl. Portrait of the artist Sylvester Shchedrin. 1824 Russian Museum, Petersburg.

This is a short post about a famous Russian artist in Italy, about whom
Russian is not very much remembered or even not very much remembered in artistic circles,
and the general public most often does not even know the name.

That's how it works.
But this Russian talent influenced not only Russian painting,
but also in Italian!
And when?!
A little later than the 1st quarter of the 19th century! So don't believe in any mysticism
but live now and today.
There will be no other life. And no one needs us after death.
Except for worms.

Shchedrin Sylvester. The Mergellina embankment in Naples. 1827.

By 1827, the talent of this wonderful artist for several years now
opened up completely and he developed his own unique style.

But, after this picture, his life remained three years.

Italians sometimes speak and communicate with God quite directly.

I did not begin to calculate the purpose of this crucifix on the shore,
but I definitely have a sense of immediacy in
communion of inhabitants and workers of this coastal strip with Christ.

Maybe this feeling was created by the talent of the artist, but I feel it.
Look at the white waterfront houses. We will see it in full later.
This is interesting in itself.
But there are definitely too many people in this picture. They interfere with me.
And you?

Shchedrin Sylvester. Old Rome. 1824

Old Rome is made up of what's left of the Empire
and from many centuries after the end of the Roman Empire.
This is what we see.
Simple idea.

Shchedrin was the case when genetics and social circle made the right
a leap of talent into the next generation.
His father was a famous sculptor in Europe (in France) and in Russia,
professor and rector of the Academy of Arts.
His uncle was a famous classical landscape painter.
Sylvester's brother became an architect and academic.
Genetics and the circle of the best creative forces in which this family communicated
did their job.

It doesn't necessarily happen under these circumstances. But often,
all together produces new talent from among a talented family.
When Shchedrin finished his education in Russia in 1811, he had
was the Big Gold Medal for success at the Academy.
This medal gave the right to a pension (maintenance) for a trip abroad (to Italy),
to continue education.

Shchedrin, Sylvester. New Rome. Castel Sant'Angelo 1824/1825

But because of the Napoleonic Wars, Shchedrin was able to go to Italy only in 1818.

This work, together with the work "Lake Albano near Rome",
there is a time when Shchedrin threw back
canons of the Academy and created a new landscape and his own style.

The Academy then stood on oak classicism.

Classicism focused on classical works antiquity.
It was allowed to continue what the ancients had created.
But without departing from the canons.

The fact is that in France, classicism was ending and already
Delacroix, the creator of ROMANTISM, won. But then there was no I-net. Communication and
the exchange did not take place quickly.

This wonderful work Shchedrin's contemporaries fairly and simply
immensely admired.

Look. Shchedrin threw aside the ossified academic requirements,
and created a composition with a clearly understandable and noticeable foreground and background.

Shchedrin, Sylvester New Rome. Castel Sant'Angelo 1823-1825
State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow

Before us in the foreground is the New Rome, with its buildings and daily worries.
And how successfully and accurately (I feel that way. There may be other opinions) Shchedrin conveyed to us
a sense of the lives of these fishermen and their families.
And Shchedrin simply skillfully created Old Rome in the background.
To the right and in the distance is the Castle of the Holy Angel, which, like an axis, is linked across the Tiber
With modern houses poor people on the left side.

The Tiber, so beautifully written, is the axis that links the New Rome and
his daily life with St. Peter's Basilica and
Vatican Palace in Old Rome, which stand
almost on the horizon.

What a wonderful job! How wonderful the artist united, without feeling
foreignness, poor fishermen of today for him, and the greatness of creativity
bygone days.
He had such a reserve of movement and desire for the new, for the avant-garde,
that if he had lived longer, I have no doubt that he would have easily understood
and embraced Impressionism.

Did you know..?. Nothing! Now you will know.

Shchedrin Sylvester Feodosievich. Grotto in Florence. 1826

Shchedrin was one of the very few artists of that time who
worked on the plane. And Shchedrin just worked for hours on the plein air. Nearly
like Monet or any of the Impressionists. Then everything was written at home, in the workshop.
He probably still, according to the tradition of that time, finished and polished the work in the workshop.

But he was very different from
contemporaries by the fact that he worked so much on the open air.
Too much text. I hope you master it. This work was not just admired.
She was constantly ordered. Shchedrin painted this picture at least eight times. But,
probably even ten times. And each time, Shchedrin rewrote this work creatively.
With different lighting, at different times of the day, etc.

Therefore, you see two different works. GREAT!

In addition, all these 8 or 10 versions are different and made at different times of the day and year
under different lighting, - then do not we remember Monet with his exactly the same things,
but decades later?

Or Pizarro with his so wonderful, and written at different times of the day and in
different weather, avenues? Such was Shchedrin's talent.

There are very few works by Shchedrin in Russia. Many of his works have connoisseurs of the West.
You probably noticed that the dark picture lives in the Tretyakov Gallery. And only in
Tretyakov Gallery - three versions of this work.
I wanted to talk about the history of the Castel Sant'Angelo, but it would be too much bukoff.

Shchedrin Sylvester. View of Naples from the road to Posilipo. 1829

I sometimes put such a picture "New Rome" in 4000 pixels (light) as a background on the screen,
and Rome goes away from me into the depths of the Internet, along with the dome of the Cathedral, for kilometers.

This dome has been repeated in the world in great buildings - thrice.
St. Paul's Cathedral in London, St. Isaac's Cathedral in St. Petersburg and the Capitol in
Washington, in which (in the Capitol) sits hated by the unfortunate Mikhail Zadornov, the US Congress.

I think that since Zadornov has such problems with the Americans, is it not easier for him
take a course for a young fighter somewhere with Hamas, and go and rush the Congress or the White House.
Just to soothe his shattered nervous system? What do you think?

We already missed one great job. Look at this one. In Russia, just no one
then he did not paint a landscape at such a level and with such skill. Just look
for all. To the air! How skillfully the haze is made, and we feel the SEA!

Pay attention to the fact that in Naples then there were not only semi-poor fishermen. And thanks
the fact that the mad Napoleon was gone --- and the Industrial Revolution was moving in Europe
(not in Russia! the tsar, Kankrin and the government were against it!) in full swing ---
enterprising people appeared in the port city and, accordingly, money.

What a beautiful white stone embankment, isn't it? And a great road along the waterfront.
Odessa for decades was the MOST rapidly developing city of the Empire - how!
waiting for you in Odessa! - at Sholom Aleichem two provincial
Jews --- until at the turn of the century Jews began to leave in droves due to pogroms, and the number
laws and instructions against the Jews exceeded 650 pieces back in the time of Alexander III.

In my opinion, the young people in the picture cannot agree which way to go.
Nothing else comes to mind. Who's opinion?

Shchedrin Sylvester. View from Petrovsky Island to Tuchkov Bridge and Vasilyevsky Island in St. Petersburg. 1815

It's a completely different job. This is the work that Shchedrin did for the Academy in Russia.
Remember that he couldn't leave because of Napoleon?
This work fully complies with all the canons, according to which in Russian Academy
Artists were taught to paint a landscape. Boring!
Look, compare with brilliance previous works,
and you will understand everything.

Shchedrin Sylvester Feodosievich. Veranda covered with grapes. 1828

Verandas and terraces, this was a plot that Shchedrin was very fond of. And Italian
the audience loved it too. It conveys the shadow in such a way on a sunny day that we feel cool.

And the composition in which he placed people (landscape) attracted and was
new word. He also rewrote these works more than once, because there were many orders.
And rewrote under different lighting conditions.

I say - like Monet or Pizarro! When, the previous work "New Rome" and more
one (to be later) Shchedrin approved his attractive style, he became fashionable
artist. And since then he has not had time to fulfill orders.

Bryullov already lives in Italy and is already quite famous, but really famous
he came to Italy later.
In the end, all the glory of Bryullov is on his
decorative, beautiful work. And Madame Samoilova, she looks again.
What else FAMOUS wrote Bryullov?
Ivanov has not arrived yet.

The famous Russian artist Shchedrin worked in Italy, who was among
founders of the Posillipo school.
Posillipo is a district of Naples above the sea. Shchedrin founded the school not as an educational institution.
He, along with others, founded the DIRECTION ITALIAN painting, which
called --- Posillipo school. ITALIAN painting, not Russian.

Shchedrin, Sylvester Veranda entwined with grapes 1828 Tretyakov Gallery

Please note that this version is from the Tretyakov Gallery.

Shchedrin, Sylvester "Lake Albano near Rome" No later than 1825.

In 1923, the pension that Shchedrin received from Russia ended. Shchedrin, more
not at all famous, at his own peril and risk remained in Italy. He has money
of course it wasn't.

Here is this work "Lake Albano ...", together with the "New Rome" and even to a greater extent
than "New Rome", created Shchedrin's style.
Here, against the canons of Academic classism, he removed and softened the boundaries between
subject and back general plan. And again against classicism, he stopped using
only formal, mandatory colors. And in "New Rome" he already used silver,
greenish and bluish colors and shades.
This is a very successful job. Look.

Shchedrin Sylvester. Great harbor on the island of Capri. 1828

Here are two more identical, but written differently works. The fact is that
Shchedrin began to get seriously ill around this time. And that, plus news from
post-Decembrist Russia, provoked a reaction from the artist.
In the last two years
dark and black-tone details appeared on his works, painted like nightmares, etc.

These two works are from the time when his anxiety began.
Do not forget that medicine could not help him in his illness.
I don't know what it was. It wasn't mental illness.
See how much darker the second work is? She presses straight on.
From about that time the colors get darker
and anxiety hangs in the air, or even stronger than anxiety.

Shchedrin, Sylvester. Naples 1819

This work was written when Shchedrin had just arrived and was writing according to academic canons.

Longing is green.

That's as boring as this work, they continued to paint the landscape in Russia until they began to follow that
new that Shchedrin created.
Look for yourself at last works. Except one. I will tell about her.

Shchedrin, Sylvester, Terrace on the seashore.
Cappuccini near Sorrento. 1827.

Another terrace. There are several options. Maybe Shchedrin,
who was very fond of painting verandas and terraces, he painted them because
what did they do to calm him down?
That is how they are written. I can't show everything.

Shchedrin, Sylvester. Moonlight night in Naples 1828

This work delighted both the public and artists. and she still looks great.
What a talent! Kuindzhi wrote "Night on the Dnieper" more than half a century later.
In half a century it is necessary to surpass and do differently. He did it his way. His "Night..." strikes with exoticism.
But in my opinion "Moonlight Night in Naples" is real painting, not tricks in the circus.

Shchedrin Sylvester In the vicinity of Sorrento near Castellammare 1828

Shchedrin Sylvester Feodosievich. View from the grotto to Vesuvius and Castello dell'Ovo on a moonlit night .

Shchedrin, Sylvester Self-portrait 1817 Tretyakov Gallery

When Shchedrin died, some people from Russia tried to move his work to Russia.
I don't know the details, but they almost didn't work out. Probably, as always, poor Russia
there was no money.
Some of his works are in the Russian Museum and in the Tretyakov Gallery. The bulk of Shchedrin's works
is in Italian museums and in private collections around the world.

Shchedrin was a real, great talent.

Russian landscape painter
Shchedrin, Sylvester Feodosievich (1791-1830)
died in the city of Sorrento on November 8 (new style), 1830.

He did not live up to 40 years 2 months and 5 days.

Benjamin.

K. LARINA: Ksenia Larina is at the microphone. Ksenia Basilashvili is next to me. Good afternoon, Ksyusha, hello.

K. BASILASHVILI: Good afternoon.

K. LARINA: And Svetlana Usacheva, our guest, senior researcher at the Tretyakov Gallery. Good afternoon, Svetlana, hello.

S. USACHEVA: Hello.

K. LARINA: Our today's hero is Sylvester Shchedrin, the picture is wonderful - “New Rome. Castle of the Holy Angel. Some very beautiful, fresh feeling, very, so you want to go there. Looked at this picture - very nice. Today we will talk about this artist. He, I don’t know how popular he is in the mass consciousness?

S. USACHEVA: You know, I think he is one of the most popular among landscape painters, if we mean landscape painters of the old school, the classical period.

K. BASILASHVILI: But in the mass consciousness, probably not, but somehow it turned out that it is rather modest fame.

S. USACHEVA: In the mass consciousness, we primarily have landscape painters of the second half of the century - this is Shishkin, this is Savrasov. Ours are less known, of course.

K. LARINA: Young. He died quite a young man.

S. USACHEVA: He died at the age of 39.

K. LARINA: Yes, it's just that all this is somehow quite sad. And such beautiful combination name and surname. Well, let's get started. To begin with, perhaps, it is necessary to describe all the same. Still, not bears, as we noticed, in the forest, right?

S. USACHEVA: You said that the picture made a very fresh impression on you, right? Sylvester Shchedrin is generally one of those artists who give the impression of joy, some kind of amazing harmony, a feeling of purity and beauty of the world. He was also an unusually bright person, and this work of his enchants precisely with the freshness of perception. What is most remarkable is that the view that the artist depicts was depicted by that time by almost all of his contemporaries and predecessors, that is, a view from the so-called, now we would call postcard, very popular, touristic, that is, this is the point of view that ...

K. BASILASHVILI: What is still being photographed, on the banks of the Tiber.

S. USACHEVA: Quite right. The ones that are still being photographed. And Shchedrin was far from the first to turn to this species. Usually they filmed this view, standing on the shore, or on the bridge over the Tiber, so that they had the most important architectural sights that fell into this view. So, on the right is this castle of the Holy Angel, which in ancient times was an ancient tomb, the mausoleum of Emperor Hadrian, and next to it is a bridge. The bridge appeared already in more than later times, and through this bridge in the depths of the view we can see the complex of buildings of the Vatican and the most famous cathedral in world history, in the Catholic first of all, St. Peter's Cathedral, Roman. But the view is far from exhausted. And this is exactly the innovation that appeared in the picture of Shchedrin. There are a lot of these species, they are all practically in Russian museums, there are eight of them, and apparently so many Shchedrin once wrote. He wrote so many variants, because they were extremely popular. In general, we can say that it was this species that made him famous. The artist performed, it is believed, the first version in 1823, and then over the course of two years he painted only 8, and according to one testimony 10. There is information from that time that these species were acquired not only by Russian lovers of fine arts, but were also acquired in England, France, even America. I don’t know if this is so, because after all, 8 species are in our museums: in particular, there are three of them in the Tretyakov Gallery, one is in the Russian Museum, another one is in Minsk, now abroad, in Alma-Ata , in Baku and Yerevan. Here are eight pictures - eight views. Moreover, it would seem that the view is the same, but they are all different, all different.

K. BASILASHVILI: What option are we now? Are we watching first?

S. USACHEVA: We are looking at the version that is on display at the Tretyakov Gallery, that is, the version that all viewers will be able to see when they come to our museum.

K. LARINA: Why is this version hanging in the Tretyakov Gallery? Who chose?

S. USACHEVA: Researchers are chosen, this is a tradition.

K. LARINA: What is it guided by?

S. USACHEVA: First of all, it is guided by maximum showiness, maximum attractiveness for the viewer in terms of presentation of the view.

K. LARINA: Do they all have the same name?

S. USACHEVA: They are all called exactly the same.

K. LARINA: For a person who is not very oriented in this space, how can one still distinguish one from the other?

S. USACHEVA: Actually, the view is almost the same. The look at the view differs a little, and the content of the paintings themselves differs a little. Let's go back to the one in the exposition. This is a work of 1825, that is, already such a peak, a limit, a variant that followed some third, fourth, maybe fifth. And if you look at this whole series, it is clearly noticeable how the content, the approach to the usual already for Shchedrin look and the usual for his contemporaries, it changes. The fact is that Shchedrin is a representative of the classical landscape school, and before the beginning of the 19th century, I would even say until the 20s, classical landscape divided strictly into two types: it is an architectural view and a natural view. And, perhaps, Shchedrin from Russian artists was the first to combine these two types in one form.

K. BASILASHVILI: That is, before him, basically, if you came to Rome, and draw antique ruins?

S. USACHEVA: Quite right. They went to Rome to study and sketch, to depict antiquities, as they said. Actually, Shchedrin went there for the same. Rome is a museum city open sky. And it is no coincidence that almost all types, exactly the same, written from this point of view, of his predecessors - they represent architectural compositions, where the artist pays the main attention to these most remarkable monuments of antiquity, the Middle Ages, which are the castle of the Holy Angel and St. Peter's Cathedral. In the first version, which is in the Russian Museum, despite the integrity of Shchedrin's approach to depicting this view, it is still noticeable that it is also very important for him to depict these very architectural monuments in all accuracy and distinctness (there was such a term at that time). . The farther, the more he is interested in the atmosphere. You probably know such a common expression, there is one, especially common in relation to landscapes: “Light and air”, right? They come up and say, in this form, in this picture there is a lot of light and air.

K. BASILASHVILI: But here they say that he rewrote, achieved special light just in the background, right?

S. USACHEVA: It is believed that as an artist, by the way, he was one of the first to work a lot on location, and not only made sketches, but painted in oils, he allegedly also caught the difference in lighting here. That is, somewhere there is morning Rome, somewhere Rome at noon, somewhere evening Rome. Naturally, all…

K. BASILASHVILI: Such an almost impressionistic beginning.

S. USACHEVA: Well, it's kind of the beginning.

K. BASILASHVILI: Is it true that someone advised St. Peter to be covered with such a haze?

S. USACHEVA: I don't know if anyone advised him to do it.

K. BASILASHVILI: To make it look as if through such a haze ... in the distance.

S. USACHEVA: But the fact is that apparently the very direction of time - she advised him to do this. This was what was important now for landscape painters.

K. BASILASHVILI: Ksyusha, maybe we’ll listen to the rubric when the picture got into Tretyakov Gallery?

K. LARINA: Yes, I kept trying to find the best the best option.

K. BASILASHVILI: And this is just one of the other options that do not correspond to what we are looking at. There are differences.

K. LARINA: Good. Let's listen to the rubric "The way to the gallery", and then we will continue.

THE PATH TO THE GALLERY

"The painting" New Rome. Castle of the Holy Angel" by Sylvester Shchedrin is stored in the Tretyakov Gallery in three author's versions. The first version - 1824, signed, dated, comes from the collection of Fyodor Ivanovich Pryanishnikov, a well-known Russian collector. member of the Moscow Society for the Salvation of Artists, famous collector paintings by Russian artists, the founder of the gallery, later called Pryanishnikovskaya. Until 1867, this version was kept in the Pryanishnikov collection, then it entered the Moscow Rumyantsev Museum, from where it moved to the State Tretyakov Gallery in 1925. This original version of the artist was presented at numerous exhibitions in the second half of the 19th century. For example, in 1861, at an exhibition in St. Petersburg called "The Tiber and a view of St. Peter's Church in Rome." At the July exhibition of the 67th year, also in St. Petersburg under the name "Neighbourhood of Rome". And also this version of the 24th year we had at numerous exhibitions last decade as in Russian cities, for example, in Moscow, in State Museum fine arts named after Pushkin, in Samara, Petrozavodsk, as well as at foreign exhibitions in Antwerp, Karsava, Genoa. In addition to this version, we have two more author's repetitions of Shchedrin of this composition in the collection of the Tretyakov Gallery, dated 1925. One of them, also signed, comes from the collection of Lvov, and finally, the third version of the painting, also of the 25th year, comes from the collection of Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov. In addition to the composition “New Rome. Castel Sant'Angelo” by the Tretyakov Gallery was acquired by Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov a number, a whole block of Shchedrin's things. Among them is the famous self-portrait of the artist of 1817, “View of the cascade under the monastery of St. Benedict in Subiaco", "Old Rome", "Views of Sorrento", "Terraces in Sorrento", "Small harbor in Sorrento", views of the island of Capri, for example, "Grotto Matromanio on the island of Capri", two "Views of the great harbor on the island of Capri ”, and, finally, the paintings “Veranda entwined with grapes” and “Moonlight Night in Naples”.

K. LARINA: Well, let's continue the conversation. Svetlana, let's talk about the person first.

S. USACHEVA: Come on. I just want to continue a little Natalya Grigorievna to say that in our collection there are 35 indisputable works of Shchedrin, this is very a large number of.

K. LARINA: I thought there were 35 versions of this picture (laughs).

S. USACHEVA: No, no, no. I mean, this artist is now rare. And it is really a great merit of Pavel Mikhailovich that he began to collect them. That is, he already understood what a wonderful painter and landscape painter he was. But returning to the New Rome, and yet that's why these options differ from each other, we can say that here there is not only a slight difference in point of view: the artist either rises a little, then drops a little above the water, so to speak .

K. BASILASHVILI: Above dried water.

S. USACHEVA: It shifts architectural dominants a little to the left, but in the same atmosphere, in the same light and air that Shchedrin's predecessors practically leveled. That is why there was such a feeling of a museum, airless space. monuments under open air, each of which is shown from the most advantageous point of view. Because the artists paid attention primarily to this. For Sylvester Shchedrin, a holistic image is very important, he wants to show the city as it is. And in the city there is light, and air, and old buildings. and new houses, people live there. And all this together creates a feeling of airiness, the flow of space. And the very flow of space… Here Shchedrin is a wonderful master of composition, he makes us look at him slowly, quietly, in such a semicircle around. He builds it in the form of a hemisphere and starts moving his eyes with right side from the Castle of the Holy Angel, deepening there, into the airy depths, where you can see the blue dome of St. historical Buildings, which are now ordered to live long, they have not been there for a long time. At that time, at the time of the artist, there was a quarter of the urban poor here, vegetable merchants, fishermen lived here, and we see these very fishermen in the foreground, that is, we complete this mental and visual detour, the circle closes with the scene in the foreground, and again - Still, it must be said that for Shchedrin, staffing in a landscape is no longer staffing.

K. LARINA: Staffage is figurines of people, right?

S. USACHEVA: Yes, figurines of people who should bring it to life and show the scale of architecture and buildings. Here are living citizens who are busy with their daily activities, work. If they return again: morning Rome - they gather, they make some nets ...

K. LARINA: This is a feeling of life, some kind of close-knit, it is very important.

S. USACHEVA: Quite right: the course of life. Even if we compare these options, how he paints the river: in the first version, it froze like glass, so, Ksenia noticed, such a motionless type ...

K. BASILASHVILI: And here it dries up...

S. USACHEVA: Then it appears… No, then there is a feeling of small waves, sort of like ripples on the water, also like a breeze, right? Here is a feeling of airiness, and it is no coincidence that his contemporaries compared him with Claude Lauren. That is, again, they remembered the classical landscape tradition: Claude Loren, as you know, an outstanding landscape artist, French of the 17th century, and he was valued primarily for his ability to create an atmosphere.

K. BASILASHVILI: I think it’s time for us, Svetlana, to return to the very beginning of Sylvester Shchedrin’s life, because everything here is not accidental in his biography, and it’s just about him that we can say that he was in the artistic environment from birth everything was predetermined. So is it?

S. USACHEVA: Quite right. He comes from a professorial background. Shchedrin is a representative of the second generation of Russian artists who are brought up at the Academy of Arts and are very often the children of professors. His relatives, practically all of them, are connected with the Academy from birth to death. His father, Feodos Fedorovich Shchedrin, is a professor in the sculpture class, rector of the Academy, i.e. holding a very high administrative post. His uncle, a very famous landscape painter in the 18th century, Semyon Fedorovich Shchedrin, the creator, as they said then, of poetic views of the suburbs of St. Petersburg, Pavlovsk, Gatchina, Tsarskoye Selo. And finally, his younger brother Apollo, with whom he is very friendly, with whom he has corresponded all his life, he becomes a teacher of the architecture class, however, a theorist for the most part, and also worked at the Academy all his life.

K. BASILASHVILI: I think that a few words need to be said about my father, because everyone who has been to St. Petersburg, they have seen the work of Shchedrin's father, Theodos Fedorovich, well, one hundred percent.

S. USACHEVA: Well, those who looked at the Admiralty, the bas-reliefs, all of this is his work.

K. BASILASHVILI: Decoration of the Zakharov Admiralty building.

S. USACHEVA: That's right. But I would say about him, just like a father. The fact is that all the professorial families, they had the so-called state-owned apartments, and the Shchedrin family also lived at the Academy, although they also had their own a private house, and even preserved the site where he was. And this is upbringing within the academic walls, the fact that for you these are native walls, that for you this is a natural permanent life, and at the same time a huge responsibility, because ... You know, such a ... Now we have a slightly modern attitude to this. .well, you can use rude word, blat, right? .. That is, everything is arranged for you, everything is predetermined, because there are parents, there is guardianship, there is an opportunity not to strain.

K. LARINA: The Academy has its own hand.

S. USACHEVA: Yes, my own hand. At that time, they were treated much more scrupulously. This placed a huge responsibility on the children who had to live up to it.

K. LARINA: So it was impossible to do anything automatically?

S. USACHEVA: Nothing, nothing. Undoubtedly. On the contrary, there should be even more exactingness and even more responsibility. Shchedrin justified the aspirations of his father in everything, because he received a great gold medal in class.

K. LARINA: And since childhood, he was taught, probably, the basics of some kind of drawing? Where to go from this?

S. USACHEVA: Naturally, naturally. But at the beginning of the 19th century, kids of five or six years old were no longer accepted into the Academy, and Shchedrin had already got there as a boy of nine or ten, and having already received some rudiments of education, therefore, he immediately began to study as an artist, but in his letters ... And this artist, thank you very much, corresponded a lot with his relatives when he left for Italy, and we know a lot about him, about his life from his letters.

K. LARINA: Let's stop for a while, Svetlana, because now we have news time. Then we will continue and be sure, as I understand from your facial expression, that you are ready to even quote him?

S. USACHEVA: Tell us about him and his fate.

K. LARINA: Good. Let's.

NEWS

K. LARINA: Today we present you the artist Sylvester Shchedrin, look at his painting “New Rome. Castle of the Holy Angel”, and Svetlana Usacheva tells us about Sylvester Shchedrin.

S. USACHEVA: Let's get back to Sylvester Shchedrin. If we touch on his education, of course, his uncle, Semyon Fedorovich, played a decisive role in it. And just in his letters, Sylvester writes that his uncle took his little one to the Hermitage, and there he allegedly skipped all the paintings, and looked only at the paintings of Antonio Canolette, the famous Venetian vedutist. And it was from that moment, apparently, that a craving arose, a desire to also devote himself to this particular art. But another teacher played in his biography very important role, Mikhail Matveevich Ivanov. Shchedrin studied in his class, and it is to him that he always sends greetings from Rome, from Naples, the most tender greetings, says that he owes a lot to this person in his life. He constantly bows, he considers him his teacher. Why do I want to say all this: that the old school, represented by old teachers, representatives of the arts of the 18th century, of course, played a decisive role in his development as an artist.

K. BASILASHVILI: When he leaves for Italy, was that the only departure and he never came back?

S. USACHEVA: Yes, unfortunately, he never returned to Russia. He left for Italy in 1818, graduated from the Academy in 1811, that is, there was another six years of break due to a very difficult political situation, pensioners were not allowed to go abroad for a long time.

K. LARINA: And what was there?

S. USACHEVA: In connection with revolutionary events and wars, as you know. And finally, in the 18th year, Alenin came, new president, which developed a vigorous activity, and in this regard, and three pensioners were finally sent to Rome. And when Sylvester gets there, he, like all Russian artists, is fascinated by Italy, fascinated by the ancient city, but all the time he complains that because of his meager pension he cannot travel outside the city. And it depicts...

K. LARINA: Again he complains. Sits in Italy and complains.

S. USACHEVA: (laughs). And he complains why: there is not enough money, always. Main complaint. Nature is beautiful, it would seem that there are a lot of possibilities, but it is impossible to realize them all. But here he was a little lucky: because he is coming to Italy Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich. He sees his work and makes an order. He asks him to use water colors, that is, watercolors, to depict views of Naples. Shchedrin, who could not get into Naples with his own money, was very happy about this circumstance, because at state expense he could see this city. And when he arrives in Naples, he writes a letter that begins with the words in Latin: "See Naples and die." That is, this is a city that conquered him forever. There he spends a year and a half, then again in connection with the revolutionary events in the Neapolitan kingdom, he returns to Rome. Here he already demonstrates his first Neapolitan works to amateurs, connoisseurs of art, they are very successful, and connoisseurs say that he depicts air and water best of all, pay attention.

K. LARINA: Mm, how lovely.

K. BASILASHVILI: That is, even Italians who are brought up by examples high renaissance they accepted it.

S. USACHEVA: Not something that was accepted. Shchedrin is generally considered one of the best landscape painters of this time in Italy.

K. LARINA: So I wanted to ask you, such a clarifying question. Still it European artist or a Russian artist? And what allows us to consider him a Russian artist, except, of course, his own origin?

S. USACHEVA: Russian school. Russian education. Russian mentality. I believe it is present...

K. LARINA: All this is felt in his Italian works, right?

S. USACHEVA: You know, they talk about some kind of special sincerity of Russian art. I don't think these are empty words. Here is the poetry, and at the same time simplicity - this is what is new that appears in his landscapes. Let this be the most sought after and for a long time existing points view of certain species. Actually, this is what is new. Here is very interesting point: the fact is that the painting “New Rome. Castel Sant'Angelo" has never been called "New Rome" before. It was referred to in various old inventories, catalogs, until about the beginning of the 20th century, simply "Castle of the Holy Angel", or "View of the Tiber and the Castle of the Holy Angel". And then there is this phrase "New Rome".

K. LARINA: Where from?

S. USACHEVA: You know, I think by analogy with the picture, which is also in the collection of the Tretyakov Gallery. It's called "Old Rome". Where the name "Old Rome" came from is unknown. It was also bought by Pavel Mikhailovich, and it has already arrived, so it just arrived with this name “Old Rome”. I think that the name "Old Rome" was given to it because of the content.

K. LARINA: Old city, right?

S. USACHEVA: The old city, absolutely right. Shchedrin depicts there, you can see the Colosseum a little, you can see the Capitol, you can see a little the Forum, that is, really old historical buildings, because of which people go to Rome. But there was also a figurative context: “Old Rome” is a painting that was created according to the rules adopted at the Academy. Shchedrin naturally follows them, he is a very good student, very talented. And in fact, with all his further creativity, he not only embodies these rules, but he overcomes them. "Old Rome" is still a collection of these old rules, skillfully embodied. In the "New Rome" there is already a completely different look, a different atmosphere, everything that allows you to talk about some new word in landscape painting generally.

K. BASILASHVILI: There is another story, which is connected, probably more with the spiritual mood of Sylvester Shchedrin, and this, in turn, influenced creativity, I think. He also converted to Catholicism.

S. USACHEVA: These are all legends

K. BASILASHVILI: No?

S. USACHEVA: Completely unfounded…

K. BASILASHVILI: No, is it a legend? And everywhere it is written that Sylvester Shchedrin converted to Catholicism. In some books, studies.

S. USACHEVA: Which ones?

K. LARINA: Sacred.

S. USACHEVA: You know, in sacred books, maybe, but the fact is that the work of Sylvester Shchedrin, as far as art historians are concerned, was done by very respectable people, I certainly trust them - this is Fedor Davydov, this is E.N. Atsarkin, none of them said a word about it.

K. LARINA: There is no fact.

S. USACHEVA: There is no such fact.

K. LARINA: Good. About something else. Still about life. The man lives in Italy. What is his inner circle? Who does he communicate with? What is the Russian environment like? Who does he spend his life with? From whom does it feed?

S. USACHEVA: First of all, friends.

K. LARINA: And Gogol was there at the same time, no?

S. USACHEVA: No, Gogol was a little later, in the 1940s. We are now talking with you about the first half of the 20s, well, even until the 29th year, when he works fruitfully, until his illness finally knocked him down. First of all, this is his closest friend Samuil Ivanovich Galdberg, he is the same pensioner as Shchedrin, he is a sculptor, Shchedrin shares bread with him at first, and a room, and even a bed, because they had nowhere to fit, everything was very poor . Then, when Shchedrin leaves for Naples for the first time, then after the tremendous success of his "New Rome" in 1925, he goes to Naples a second time and does not return, he and Haldberg are in constant correspondence. They are very close friends, and share literally everything. Then they became relatives. Since Galdberg, when he returned to St. Petersburg, he married the niece of Sylvester Feodosevich. Then, this is the circle of Russian pensioners who, as you know, were very fond of gathering in the Greco cafe and in the Lepre restaurant, as Russian pensioners called it "Zaitsev's Restaurant", and there they exchanged all kinds of news, including political ones. Then it is the guardian and mentors, this Russian colony is headed by Prince Tallinnsky, also Orest Kiprensky for some time, and, finally, Fyodor Mikhailovich Matveev, who, again as the most famous representative of the Russian landscape school of the 18th century, helps Shchedrin in many ways, and even , you know, in some such material, everyday problems. In particular, when Shchedrin leaves for Naples, in this city, despite all its luxury and splendor, he cannot get objects artistic craft: there are no brushes, no paints, no canvases. And all the time in Matveev's letters he asks to send this and that, to solve some of his problems. financial difficulties.

K. BASILASHVILI: And also Konstantin Batyushkov.

S. USACHEVA: Of course.

K. BASILASHVILI: ... Meets Shchedrin in Naples, settles him with him, almost in the same room, helps, shows him places for painting, picturesque places and orders paintings from him.

S. USACHEVA: Yes, the order was connected with the order of Mikhail Pavlovich, which I mentioned. Shchedrin nevertheless eventually refuses these water colors, turns to oil painting, which he is accustomed to, but it is with Batyushkov that they are looking for what kind of views to depict. And in connection with this, they make a trip around the surroundings: to the island of Isque, Capri. It was then that Shchedrin discovered all these small places, which up to that moment had not been of any interest to painters. He even writes in one of his letters: I work and look where not a single landscape foot has set foot.

K. BASILASHVILI: That is, it can be said that, with the help of Batyushkov, this was discovered?

S. USACHEVA: Of course.

K. BASILASHVILI: This is very interesting.

S. USACHEVA: Besides, Shchedrin was a very secular person. He knew languages ​​very well, he was very good-looking. Here is a portrait of him, written by Pyotr Basin, also a Russian pensioner, where Shchedrin is 30 years old, and another of his fellow students Fyodor Jordan, later a famous engraver, writes that Shchedrin was handsome in the full sense of the word. He was tall...

K. LARINA: For some time in general.

S. USACHEVA: Well, why?

K. LARINA: And a good education from an elite family, right? Handsome (laughs)

S. USACHEVA: (laughs) He writes about himself, you know how? I have a flat nose, a platform, and curly hair.

K. LARINA: What a delight.

S. USACHEVA: Here, you can see in the portrait: he is really very elegant, elegant, certainly with good manners. Therefore, he is a welcome guest in various secular salons, among the high-society people who stay there, but most importantly, they certainly appreciate him for his talented brush.

K. LARINA: But all this time, while he is in Italy, while the local public greets him with such enthusiasm, as I understand it. Do they remember him at all in Russia?

S. USACHEVA: They never forgot about him. First of all, the family remembers. He constantly keeps in touch with his family, he writes to her, and at some point the question arises that it is time to return. It arises, of course, with the end of the retirement period, this is 1825. But as you understand, Shchedrin does not want to go back. I don’t want to, for all the same reasons that I have already mentioned: the sky of Italy, the sun of Italy, the landscapes in which he sees his destiny and in which he finally overcomes that museum character, those rules, a collection of rules with which he comes from the Academy . He writes that at last I left the brownish warm tones, at last there was light and air, at last he felt that those motifs appeared (this is already mainly in the vicinity of Naples) that he wants to portray and which enjoy great commercial success.

K. BASILASHVILI: In my opinion, in 1927 in St. Petersburg on Nevsky Prospekt there is an exhibition of Russian pensioners, Italians, including Sylvester Shchedrin, who is also exhibited there.

S. USACHEVA: Already during his lifetime, his paintings enjoyed great success in Russia. Firstly, he sends there the so-called reporting work “View of the Colosseum”, but after a few years he himself speaks of it as archaic, that it is all outdated, he has already outgrown all this, he already has completely different views on painting. And in Russia, more and more attention to it is growing, there are more and more customers, primarily again from the high-society environment. And so you mentioned Delvig, here in the "Northern Flowers" a review was published about his work, and in particular it was just written there about the "New Rome", that a dear brush, which could so skillfully imitate nature, produced an extraordinary impression on everyone, and everyone wanted to have this look, why there are so many options, so many orders.

K. BASILASHVILI: I think that we do not have much time left, and there is one more stop in Shchedrin's Italian journey, which is simply impossible not to get off. And this stop is called a village, or Big city Sorrento.

K. LARINA: So he is there, as I understand it, and he died, right?

S. USACHEVA: Yes, unfortunately, this is a city…

K. BASILASHVILI: He died, but he ascended there, one might say.

S. USACHEVA: This city is his last years life. When he comes to Naples for the second time, he mostly works not in the city itself, but precisely in those neighborhoods where not a single landscape foot has set foot, and most often prefers Sorrento. There are a lot of views that are called “Great Harbor of Sorrento” and “Small Harbor of Sorrento”, these are two views that have changed dramatically since then (of course, you won’t recognize them when you get to Sorrento: everything is built up), they also use a huge hit with fans. And Shchedrin at this time very often complains that he has time to complete them: such an influx of orders. And besides, he does not spare himself. He works all the time, in general he was an extremely hardworking artist.

K. BASILASHVILI: And he didn’t paint mostly in the studio, did he?

S. USACHEVA: Yes.

K. BASILASHVILI: That was also an innovation.

S. USACHEVA: For him it was fundamentally important, why he did not have paintings, huge canvases, but all small pictures. Pictures, he calls them that. It was important for him to start and, perhaps, complete them in the free air. That is, he is really considered, and I think rightly, the founder of plein air painting in Russian art. And in Sorrento he spends every summer, here he returns already in 1829, completely broken, sick. They tried to treat him repeatedly. Last Journey with two ladies from big light also for the purpose of recovery conducts through Northern Italy, Switzerland. He had a liver disease, a liver disease that this hottest climate seemed to exacerbate. And from the beginning, judging by the letters, Shchedrin did not pay any attention to her: young, everything seemed fine, health, all this is nonsense, trifles. And besides, he is an unusually cheerful person, he somehow does not want, apparently, to stop there. But over the years, it becomes more and more aggravated and by the 30th year it practically eats it up. And when he returns to Naples, he goes to Sorrento in the hope of being treated there. He is sent to Vico, this is also a place nearby, but he rushes from one doctor to another, he is looking for salvation, some kind of panacea, falls into the hands of a charlatan, and he literally brings him to the grave. And Shchedrin dies in Sorrento unconscious, he is carried in his arms to the Tassa Hotel. There is a house there, which is considered to be the house where the great Italian poet lived, and there he dies. He was buried there...

K. BASILASHVILI: And, in my opinion, almost the whole city comes out to bury him.

S. USACHEVA: Yes. He was buried in the monastery of St. Vincent. There were legends about him as about a very kind, cordial, sympathetic person.

K. BASILASHVILI: Almost a saint, right?

S. USACHEVA: Yes. That supposedly Italian women even brought their children to his grave, because Don Silvestro was something like that for them. Not only a new Raphael, but almost a saint.

K. LARINA: And how did Italy, in general, keep the memory of him to this day?

K. BASILASHVILI: This is the very important point. We didn't have time to talk about the school.

S. USACHEVA: You know, this is the unique case when a Russian artist. Let's get back to the topic, shall we?

K. LARINA: Yes.

S. USACHEVA: Russian and Italy. That's how Italian he is. The Russian artist influenced his contemporary Italian painters, and somewhere was two or three steps ahead of them. The fact is that at this time in Italy there is the so-called Posillipo school, a school of landscape artists, which deals with the visualization of places that are in demand among tourists. And for the most part, these are handicraft works, rather. No one, let the Italians forgive me (laughs), managed to create such a penetrating, spiritual and at the same time very genuine, real image of this area, the land, its beauty.

K. LARINA: So this is Montmartre?

S. USACHEVA: Yes, Montmartre exists, and Shchedrin is a master there.

K. BASILASHVILI: But he came there to study first.

S. USACHEVA: Yes, and…

K. BASILASHVILI: New methods.

S. USACHEVA: The thing is, when he arrived, he said in his own letter that he could not take a single European school as a model. All contemporary artists who are around him, none of them became a teacher for him. He brought everything he had worked out with him, and thanks to his talent, an amazing gift, he developed it so much that he became an artist of both the old classical school and an artist of the new era. This is really a milestone for us in the development of landscape painting. Do you know how I would like to end?

K. LARINA: Wait, we are not finished yet.

S. USACHEVA: Well then, do not finish, but say one thing like this. Here Repin has a very interesting statement, though on a completely different occasion, that there are two types of geniuses: there are geniuses who complete their era, because they express it in its entirety, this is the maximum expression of time, and there are geniuses who discover new time, and therefore they are geniuses of the second type. Here is Sylvester Shchedrin, in my opinion, neither to the first nor to the second, he is a genius in general, he embodied everything in himself: he completed the old time, he stayed in classical school, within its limits, and at the same time opened a new era.

K. LARINA: Are there many of his paintings in Italy? And where are they exhibited?

S. USACHEVA: The fact is that they are preserved there, they exist in some museums, but these are not many things. I think that most, if any, are in private collections.

K. LARINA: That is, there is no such Shchedrin hall anywhere?

S. USACHEVA: Absolutely. When he died, his legacy is being actively pursued. And I once worked in the Archive foreign policy Russian Empire, where documents are preserved that tell about the correspondence in connection with his legacy. Almost all of it was taken to St. Petersburg, it was owned by his brother, and he most paintings donated and sold to the Academy of Arts, where Shchedrin began his creative life. Therefore, already in the early 1930s, students of the Academy had the opportunity to copy his work and learn from them.

K. LARINA: And of course, he did not manage to leave any offspring, right? Not married?

S. USACHEVA: No, he was never married. Very, with such good humor, he writes about this in one of recent letters. He still hoped to return, someday reunite with his family, and asks his daughter-in-law to find him good bride.

K. LARINA: A girl.

S. USACHEVA: Yes.

K. LARINA: That is, such bright romantic stories did not happen in his life?

S. USACHEVA: No, none. One job. You know: work, work. Another such moment, in letters he always complains about rainy weather, it feels like in Italy all the time it's raining. Do you know why? Because in good weather it works. And this is for him...

K. BASILASHVILI: The letters have been published, right? You can buy them.

S. USACHEVA: Yes, there are these letters.

K. LARINA: Letters from Italy, right?

S. USACHEVA: The letters have been published, the letters of Sylvester Shchedrin, along with the monograph by Atsarkina, who I spoke about, the researcher, they came out, though quite a long time ago.

K. BASILASHVILI: I also want to say that in Sorrento, thank God, a monument has been preserved on his grave from the monastery of St. Vincent. She was transferred to the city cemetery, and this monument was made just by Samuil Ivanovich Galdberg, his closest friend, made as a memory of his relative, the man with whom he was connected all his life, whom he loved very much. And I think that everyone who gets to Sorrento, Russian people, especially people who know about art, they definitely come there to bow to him.

K. LARINA: Thank you very much, Svetlana, for introducing me to such an amazing, young, wonderful, bright person Sylvester Shchedrin. It was he who was the hero of today's program "Collection of the Tretyakov Gallery", Svetlana Usacheva, a senior researcher, told us about him. Thank you, Sveta.

S. USACHEVA: Thank you.

K.BASIlashvili: Comfortable shoes and no heels - advice to show hunters. There are so many and so many interesting ones, and you need to catch the most important thing.

But first - to the Tretyakov Gallery, to its modern part on Krymsky Val. And there is probably a queue: the project, which brings together about 50 museums in Europe, gathers a lot of spectators.

Firstly, it is interesting, in principle, to get acquainted with the collections of European museums under one roof;

Secondly, the exhibition contains unconditional masterpieces: paintings by Titian, Picasso, Turner, Kranech.

The gallery will open a new exhibition in its old building, in Lavrushinsky Lane. It will introduce the history of collecting graphics by Muscovites. And here they have their own traditions, which were supported by the Botkins, Morozovs, Ryabushinskys and other glorious collectors.

The exhibition "Among Collectors", "Graphics in Moscow Private Collections" at the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century will open on May 31 in Lavrushinsky Lane.

Catch a scattering of jewels! In the Kremlin we look at the jewelry works of the House of Cortier, in the Historical - Gold from the museum's pantry.

From May 29, the number of jewelry will increase - an international salon of fine arts will open in the Central Manege, where the jewelry part is sure to be presented.

And in the painting department in the gallery, they prepared a tempting offer in the person of the Young Bacchus by Rubens, the impressionistic painting by Picasso “In a Cafe”, works

Petrov-Vodkin, works of the Russian avant-garde.

In addition, the salon traditionally demonstrates furniture from the Louis style to the most modern. Central Manege, International Salon of Fine Arts from May 29.