Visual arts have always been considered closely related to the mystical realm. After all, any image is an energy imprint of the original, especially when it comes to portraits. It is believed that they are able to influence not only those from whom they are written, but also other people. There is no need to look far for examples: let us turn to Russian painting of the 19th - early 20th centuries.
The mysticism of the portrait of Maria Lopukhina
Delightful beauties, who stare at us from the canvases of great painters, will always remain just like that: young, charming and full of vitality. However, the true fate of beautiful models is not always as enviable as it might seem at first glance. It is very easy to see this in the example of the famous portrait of Maria Lopukhina, which came out from under the brush of Vladimir Borovikovsky.
Maria Lopukhina, descended from the count family of Tolstoy, immediately after her own wedding (she was 18 years old) posed for Vladimir Borovikovsky. The portrait was commissioned by her husband. At the time of writing, Maria looked just great. Her face radiated so much charm, spirituality and dreaminess ... There could be no doubt that a long and happy life awaited the charming model. An incomprehensible fact, but Mary died of consumption when she was only 23 years old.
Much later, the poet Polonsky wrote "Borovikovsky saved her beauty ...". However, immediately after the death of the young beauty, not everyone would share this opinion. After all, at that time there was talk in Moscow that it was the unfortunate portrait that was to blame for the death of Maria Lopukhina.
From this picture began to shy away, as if from a ghost. It was believed that if a young lady looked at her, she would soon die. According to some reports, a mysterious portrait killed about ten girls of marriageable age. It was said that Mary's father, a famous mystic, after his daughter died, lured her spirit into this canvas.
However, after almost a hundred years, Pavel Tretyakov was not afraid and acquired this visual image for his own gallery. After that, the picture "pacified". But what was it - empty gossip, a strange coincidence, or is there something more behind the mysterious phenomenon? Unfortunately, we will most likely never know the answer to this question.
Ilya Repin - a storm of sitters?
It is unlikely that anyone will argue that Ilya Efimovich Repin is one of the greatest Russian painters. But there is one strange and tragic circumstance: many who had the honor of being his sitters died soon after. Among them are Mussorgsky, Pisemsky, Pirogov, Italian actor Mercy d'Argento. As soon as the artist took up the portrait of Fyodor Tyutchev, he also died. Of course, in all cases there were objective reasons for death, but here are the coincidences ... Even the hefty men who posed for Repin for the painting “Barge haulers on the Volga” are said to have prematurely given their souls to God.
"Barge haulers on the Volga", 1870-1873 However, the most terrible story happened with the painting "Ivan the Terrible and his son Ivan on November 16, 1581", which in our time is better known as "Ivan the Terrible kills his son." Even balanced people, when looking at the canvas, felt uneasy: the scene of the murder was written too realistically, there was too much blood on the canvas, which seems real.
The canvas exhibited in the Tretyakov Gallery made a strange impression on visitors. Some sobbed in front of the picture, others fell into a stupor, the third had hysterical seizures. And on January 16, 1913, the young icon painter Abram Balashov cut the canvas with a knife. He was sent to a mental hospital, where he died. The canvas has been restored.
"Ivan the Terrible kills his son", 1883-1885 It is known that Repin thought for a long time before taking on a picture of Ivan the Terrible. And not in vain. The artist Myasoedov, from whom the image of the tsar was painted, soon, in anger, almost killed his young son, who was also called Ivan, like the murdered prince. The image of the latter was written from the writer Vsevolod Garshin, who later went crazy and committed suicide by throwing himself into a flight of stairs ...
The Murder That Wasn't
The story that Ivan the Terrible is a son-killer is just a myth.
It is believed that Ivan the Terrible killed his son in a fit of anger by hitting his staff to the temple. The reasons for different researchers are called different: from domestic quarrels to political friction. Meanwhile, none of the sources directly states that the prince and heir to the throne was killed by his own father!
The Piskarevsky Chronicler says: “At 12 midnight in the summer of November 7090, on the 17th day ... the repose of Tsarevich John Ioannovich.” The Novgorod Fourth Chronicle reports: “The same (7090) year, Tsarevich John Ioannovich reposed at Matins in Sloboda.” The cause of death is not named.
In the 60s of the last century, the graves of Ivan the Terrible and his son were opened. On the skull of the prince there were no injuries characteristic of a brain injury. Therefore, there was no sonicide? But where did the legend about him come from?
Antonio Possevino - representative of the Vatican in Russia during the times of Ivan the Terrible and the Great Troubles Its author is the Jesuit monk Anthony Possevin (Antonio Possevino), sent to Moscow as an ambassador from the Pope with a proposal for the Orthodox Church to come under the authority of the Vatican. The idea did not meet with the support of the Russian tsar. Possevin, meanwhile, allegedly became an eyewitness to a family scandal. The sovereign was angry with his pregnant daughter-in-law, the wife of his son Ivan, for "obscene appearance" - either she forgot to put on a belt, or she put on only one shirt, while it was supposed to wear four. In a temper, the father-in-law began to beat the unfortunate staff. The prince stood up for his wife: before that, the father had already sent his two first wives to the monastery, who could not conceive from him. John Jr. was not unreasonably afraid that he would lose the third - his father would simply kill her. He rushed at the priest, who, in a fit of violence, struck with his staff and pierced his son's temple. However, apart from Possevin, not a single source confirms this version, although later other historians, Staden and Karamzin, willingly picked it up.
Modern researchers suggest that the Jesuit invented the legend in retaliation for the fact that he had to return to the papal court "without salt."
During the exhumation, the remains of poisons were found in the bones of the prince. This may indicate that John the Younger died of poisoning (which is not uncommon for those times), and not at all from a blow with a hard object!
Nevertheless, in Repin's painting, we see precisely the version of sonicide. It is performed with such extraordinary plausibility that you involuntarily believe that everything actually happened. Hence, of course, the "deadly" energy.
And again Repin distinguished himself
Repin's self-portrait Once Repin was ordered a huge monumental painting "The Ceremonial Meeting of the State Council." The painting was completed by the end of 1903. And in 1905, the first Russian revolution broke out, during which the heads of the officials depicted on the canvas flew. Some lost their posts and titles, others even paid with their lives: Minister V.K. Plehve and Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, the former governor-general of Moscow, were killed by terrorists.
In 1909, the artist, commissioned by the Saratov City Duma, painted a portrait. As soon as he finished the work, Stolypin was shot dead in Kyiv.
Who knows - maybe if Ilya Repin had not been so talented, tragedies might not have happened. Back in the 15th century, the scientist, philosopher, alchemist and magician Cornelius Agrippa Nettesheim wrote: "Beware of the painter's brush - his portrait may turn out to be more alive than the original."
P. A. Stolypin. Portrait by I. Repin (1910) Mystical painting "Stranger" by Ivan Kramskoy
The picture miraculously survived two periods of mass interest in itself, and in completely different eras. For the first time - after writing in 1883, it was considered the embodiment of aristocracy and was very popular with the sophisticated St. Petersburg public.
Unexpectedly, another surge of interest in the "Unknown" occurred already in the second half of the 20th century. The apartments were decorated with reproductions of Kramskoy's work cut out of magazines, and copies of The Unknown were one of the most popular commissions from artists of all levels. True, for some reason the picture was already known under the name "The Stranger", perhaps under the influence of the work of the same name by Blok. Even sweets "Stranger" were created with a picture of Kramskoy on the box. So the erroneous title of the work finally "came into life."
Long-term studies of "who is depicted in Kramskoy's painting" did not yield results. According to one version, the prototype of the "symbol of aristocracy" was a peasant woman named Matryona, who married the nobleman Bestuzhev.
"The Stranger" by Ivan Kramskoy is one of the most mysterious masterpieces of Russian painting.
At first glance, there is nothing mystical in the portrait: the beauty is driving along Nevsky Prospekt in an open carriage.
Many considered the heroine of Kramskoy an aristocrat, but a fashionable velvet coat trimmed with fur and blue satin ribbons and a stylish beret hat, coupled with darkened eyebrows, lipstick and blush on her cheeks, betray her as a lady of the then demi-monde. Not a prostitute, but obviously the kept woman of some noble or rich person.
However, when the artist was asked if this woman exists in reality, he only grinned and shrugged his shoulders. In any case, no one has seen the original.
Meanwhile, Pavel Tretyakov refused to purchase a portrait for his gallery - perhaps he was afraid of the belief that portraits of beauties "suck strength" from living people.
Ivan Nikolaevich Kramskoy "Stranger" began to travel to private collections. And very soon gained notoriety. Its first owner was abandoned by his wife, the house of the second burned down, the third went bankrupt. All these misfortunes were attributed to the fatal picture.
Kramskoy himself did not escape the curse. Less than a year after the creation of Unknown, two of his sons died one after the other.
The "damned" picture went abroad. They say that there she also caused all sorts of troubles to her owners. In 1925, "The Stranger" returned to Russia and yet took its place in the Tretyakov Gallery. Since then, no more incidents have occurred.
Maybe the whole point is that the portrait from the very beginning should have taken its rightful place?
Plot
A young woman rides in an open carriage along Nevsky Prospekt near the pavilions of the Anichkov Palace. To the right behind her is the Alexandrinsky Theater. The woman’s costume is in the latest fashion of the 1880s: a velvet hat “Francis” with a curled ostrich feather, a Skobelev-style coat of dark velvet lined with sable, thin gloves made of Swedish (that is, suede-like) leather.
"Unknown", 1883
Such tendentious attire was defiant and even indecent at that time. The aristocracy gradually became poorer and could no longer afford to follow fashion so zealously. On the contrary, in high society it was customary to deliberately lag behind the new trends in clothing. Emphasized fashionableness could be afforded by the ladies of the demimonde: courtesans and kept women.
The critic Stasov even called her a cocotte in a stroller. The fact is that at that time the respectable lady did not travel alone. This was done either by prostitutes or by women who sought emancipation and challenged society with their demonstratively independent behavior. For example, Anna Karenina behaved the same way.
Study for a painting found in a private collection in Prague
The look of the Unknown combines arrogance, royalty and sadness. Such an inexplicable combination, together with the absence of the woman's name, creates a mystery.
Context
Before the exhibition of the Wanderers, at which the public was supposed to get acquainted with the "Unknown", the artist was extremely excited. Even left the vernissage. And when he returned, he was greeted by an enthusiastic crowd. Kramskoy was picked up and carried in his arms. And everyone tortured - who is depicted in the picture?
Ekaterina Dolgorukova
The mysterious silence of the painter gave rise to a lot of legends. According to one version, Kramskoy wrote "Unknown" from his daughter Sophia. According to another, this is a certain peasant woman Matryona Savvishna, who, against the will of her mother, was taken as a wife by the nobleman Bestuzhev. Allegedly, Kramskoy met her in St. Petersburg and was fascinated. Another hypothesis says that this is Ekaterina Dolgorukova, the mistress of Alexander II, from whom the emperor had four children.
"Girl with a cat", 1882. Portrait of Sophia, daughter of Kramskoy
None of the hypotheses stand up to scrutiny. There were no diary entries of Kramskoy or letters left, where the name of the muse would be clearly called.
The fate of the artist
Ivan Kramskoy came to painting from photography. There were no knowledgeable people in the Voronezh province who could teach Ivan how to draw. And his father, a clerk in the Duma, had no extra money either. To earn a living, Kramskoy got a job in a photo studio, where he retouched pictures using watercolors.
At the age of 19, he moved from the Voronezh province to St. Petersburg, where, after a year of the same photoshop work, he entered the Academy of Arts. There he met like-minded people who would later form the association of the Wanderers. In the meantime, 14 students staged a riot, demanding that they be allowed to choose their own plots, and not write mythological canvases.
Self portrait (1867)
Later, it was Kramskoy who was the ideologist of the Association of Traveling Art Exhibitions. He promoted the ideas of the social role of the artist and his responsibility, insisted on the need for realism on canvases.
(1872)
He was known and appreciated as a portrait painter. Kramskoy himself was tired of this series of orders. Several times he turned to Pavel Tretyakov with a request to provide him for a year - during this time the painter planned to implement his creative ideas, not related to portraits. But alas, the philanthropist and collector did not find understanding.
Kramskoy did not live long, and died while working on a portrait of Dr. Rauchfus: the artist suddenly leaned over and fell - an aortic aneurysm. Ivan Kramskoy was 49 years old.
"Unknown" is the most famous work of the artist Ivan Kramskoy. Having given the picture the name "Unknown", Kramskoy forever endowed his work with mystery and understatement.
Description of the painting by Ivan Kramskoy “Unknown”
The painting depicts a young woman driving in a carriage along the Anichkov Bridge in St. Petersburg. The lady is dressed in the latest fashion: she is wearing a Francis hat trimmed with elegant light feathers, “Swedish” gloves made of the finest leather, a Skobelev coat decorated with sable fur and blue satin ribbons, a muff, a gold bracelet - all these are fashionable details of a women's costume from the 1880s, claiming expensive elegance. However, this did not mean belonging to the high society, rather the opposite - a code of unwritten rules ruled out strict adherence to fashion in the highest circles of Russian society.
Ivan Kramskoy, "Unknown", 1883, oil on canvas, 75.5 x 99, Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow
Most likely, before us is the lady of the demimonde. Criticism called her “cocotte in a carriage”, “expensive camellia” and “one of the fiends of big cities”, since the woman’s features in the picture have some demonic character: she is strong-willed, but refined and sensual, with a deep and penetrating gaze.
The painting "Unknown" was painted in the style of realism and stands on the border of a portrait and a thematic painting. At the very first exhibition in which the picture participated, it was a huge success, and acquaintances tried to find out from Ivan Kramskoy who was depicted in the picture. Kramskoy declined to answer.
Who is in the picture
Ivan Kramskoy kept the secret of the identity of the "Unknown" to the end: he did not leave any information about who this woman was in any records.
There are several versions of who it is:
That the portrait was painted from Maria Yaroshenko - the wife of the artist Yaroshenko;
That the portrait is a collective image of a lady in the 1880s;
That this is the Georgian princess Varvara Turkestanishvili, who, allegedly, was the favorite of Alexander I and the maid of honor of Empress Maria Feodorovna;
What is this - a portrait of Ekaterina Dolgoruky, the Most Serene Princess Yuryevskaya.
And the most common version - what is it Matryona Savvishna Bestuzheva, a former Kursk peasant woman who married Bestuzhev.
In particular, the Kursk Encyclopedia (compiled by Goizman Sh.R., Kursk, 2004-2016) contains the following information:
“In the 1870s, K. was friendly with the Bestuzhev family, in particular, with Matryona Savvishna Bestuzheva, which came from peasants with. Milenino Fatezhsky district. However, under pressure from his relatives, Bestuzhev annulled the marriage, and Matryona Savvishna decided to return home. When parting with her, K. agreed on a correspondence, but, without waiting for the letters, he went to Fatezh himself and learned the sad news: on the way M. S. Bestuzheva fell seriously ill and died in the Fatezh Zemstvo hospital. According to the order that existed in those years, only townspeople were buried in the city cemetery, therefore M.S. Bestuzhev buried in the cemetery of her native village. During his stay in Fatezh and in the village. Milenino K. made several portrait sketches of fatezhans and rural landscape sketches, which were later used to paint such famous paintings as "Woodsman" (1874, Tretyakov Gallery) and "Country Smithy", "A Man with a Bridle" (1883, Museum of Russian Art) , Kiev) and others. K. also painted a portrait M. S. Bestuzheva, which later became widely known under the name "Unknown" (1883, Tretyakov Gallery). This portrait (see illustration for the article) was painted by him under the influence of the story Matryona Savvishna about a chance meeting with his mother-in-law, a former lady of Fatezh, on one of the St. Petersburg streets.
Etude
Ivan Kramskoy, "Unknown. Etude”, 1883, Collection of Dr. Dushan Friedrich (Prague)
There is also a sketch of the "Unknown", it is in a private collection in Prague. In this version, arrogance, insolence, satiety are read in the eyes of a woman, which are not in the final version.
Where is the painting "Unknown"
The painting "Unknown" by Ivan Kramskoy is part of the collection of the State Tretyakov Gallery and is exhibited in the department at the address: Moscow, Lavrushinsky lane, 10, room 20.
One of the most famous paintings of Russian painting is kept in the Tretyakov Gallery. There have always been a lot of rumors around the intriguing work, and its author did not reveal the main mystery that concerns the woman depicted in the picture. Many artists who painted portraits often kept the heroes of their canvases a secret, but over time, everything secret became clear.
Unsolved Mystery
The painting "The Stranger" caused a real stir and gave rise to speculations of contemporaries who dream of finding out who posed for Kramskoy. However, the creator did not reveal the secret, and all the gossip was devoid of arguments.
At present, no one can reliably say who served as the real prototype of the work, which remains incomprehensible even today. The imperious, proud stranger looks at the audience, charming with her eyes. We will understand what is the mystical appeal of the work and what are the main versions regarding the prototype of the beauty sitting in an open carriage.
The birth of a masterpiece
The history of Kramskoy's painting "The Stranger" began in 1883, when a famous painter painted a portrait of a beautiful lady, which is not mentioned in the master's notes. The canvas was exhibited for public viewing at the exhibition of the Wanderers, and the public, who enthusiastically reacted to the work, carried the painter in their arms, who did not expect such fame. Everyone vied with each other asking who the seductive lady who posed for Kramskoy was, but the creator was silent, which gave rise to many rumors and versions. Everyone began to solve a fascinating puzzle with passion in order to establish a stranger who caused such a resonance in society.
literary character?
The image of a beautiful lady excited and disturbed the minds, caused anxiety, and contemporaries were at a loss. Many admitted that they could not determine who this woman really is, and critics were unanimous in their opinion: "A whole era sits in her, and it does not matter whether she is decent or corrupt."
The painting "The Stranger" appeared after the publication of the novel "Anna Karenina" by Tolstoy, and many decided that Ivan Nikolayevich portrayed the main character, who succumbed to passion and lost her social status. Opponents of this version found the similarity of the unknown charmer with Nastasya Filippovna, who rose above her position, from Dostoevsky's The Idiot.
Daughter or Georgian princess?
Many art historians believe that his daughter posed for the artist. If we compare "The Stranger" with the portrait of Sofya Kramskoy ("Girl with a Cat"), then one cannot deny the apparent similarity of the two women. Russian journalist and writer I. Obolensky does not agree with any version and put forward his own. In his opinion, V. Turkestanishvili, the favorite of Tsar Alexander I, served as the prototype. After she gave birth to the emperor's daughter, the autocrat lost interest in the maid of honor and her child. Distraught with grief, Varvara committed suicide. When Kramskoy learned the tragic fate of the favorite and saw her portrait, he was struck by the beauty of the Georgian princess and wanted to convey the image of a proud woman in his work.
Collective image?
Art historians adhere to the version that the painting "Stranger" (often called "Unknown") is a collective image of a woman who is not talked about in a decent society.
Made-up lips, induced blush, fashionable expensive clothes give out in her a kept woman who is on the support of some rich man. Art critic and art historian Stasov even called the painting "Kokotka in a stroller."
Etude and canvas: differences
And after the study for the canvas was discovered in a private Czech collection, experts came to the conclusion that the author of the painting "The Stranger" really wanted to depict an arrogant lady looking down on others. There is no understatement and uncertainty in the picturesque sketch. A daring woman looks at the audience, in whose face one can read satiety with life. What she does leaves an imprint on her appearance, and one of the signs that characterize a lady is vulgarity. However, in the final version, Kramskoy ennobled the external features of the charmer, teasing with her beauty. He admires his heroine, her aristocracy, majestic posture, delicate skin. The master sees in her a real queen who rises above other people.
Description of the artwork "Stranger"
The canvas depicts a young woman dressed in the latest fashion: a hat with feathers, trimmed with satin ribbons and sable fur coat, leather gloves. However, this does not mean belonging to high society, but only emphasizes the elegance of the lady.
Despite the fact that the famous buildings of St. Petersburg are written in the form of sketches, they are quite recognizable, and experts have named the place of action, which does not cause any doubts - Nevsky Prospekt. A beautiful person, whose wardrobe details are carefully written out, drives through a snowy Anichkov bridge in an open carriage. Proud and arrogant, she shows off her beauty, and in this one can see a kind of challenge to society.
A feeling of cold seems to emanate from the pinkish-white frosty haze, because the talented painter Ivan Kramskoy perfectly mastered the techniques that convey air and light. "Stranger" is not a salon portrait, but a complex, intriguing canvas. The bustle of the city helps to understand the spirituality of the image of the unknown. The dark-skinned beauty seems to tease the viewer with sensual beauty, and a slight sadness is read in her eyes. Kramskoy shows the inner world of a lady who feels insecure and suffers from the falsity of people. Her drama lies in the fact that she cannot come to terms with the cold calculation of society. The author touches upon the eternal questions that tormented humanity. The painting "The Stranger" is his reflection on morality and beauty, as well as on the relationship between these two concepts.
It is curious that in Soviet times the image of a lady who caused a scandal in the 19th century was rethought and acquired a romantic aura after the release of Blok's The Stranger. The majestic beauty, whose name hardly anyone can recognize, has become the ideal of sophistication and spirituality. Today, viewers, with bated breath, examine the canvas, on which the author brilliantly showed the female character "from the inside", and new generations will peer into the woman's huge eyes to find out her secret.
