For a long time in Russia there was a pious custom to celebrate the days of memory of the most revered miraculous icons with processions. I. E. Repin witnessed one of them in Chuguev in 1877. A bright and impressive spectacle served as the basis for the plot of the painting "The procession in the Kursk province." The idea of ​​the picture took shape completely after visiting the famous Root Desert. It was there that the religious processions gathered the largest number of pilgrims.

Religious procession in the Kursk province. Description of the picture

The final work on the painting was completed in 1883. The canvas takes the viewer on a hot summer day. By dusty road, among the sultry haze from the depths of the picture, an endless procession of the procession moves. They carry the miraculous icon to the place where it was once revealed to people.

All the details of the picture are written with amazing specificity. This is the sun drying everything around, the rays of which seem to be concentrated in the gold of church vestments, the air filled with dust and the monotonous roar of the crowd moving towards the viewer, and, most importantly, the faces of the participants. In them, Repin managed with extraordinary skill to convey both the consciousness of the significance of the work they are doing, and at the same time attachment to purely earthly thoughts and passions.

But Repin's "Religious Procession in the Kursk Province" is not just a genre scene stating a certain event, it is a whole gallery of portrait images masterfully created by the artist. It depicts representatives of various strata of society in post-reform Russia. A documented accurate picture of social stratification and inequality is given.

Repin's painting is a criticism of hypocrisy and hypocrisy

Ilya Efimovich belonged to the well-known community of Wanderers, who mainly adhered to the acute social orientation of their works. The Religious Procession in the Kursk Province also belongs to this plot category. However, it should be understood that the criticism this case is not directed at religion in general and not at Orthodox ritualism, as they tried to interpret during the period of theomachism, but only at a hypocritical and sanctimonious expression of religiosity.

"Masters of Life" and the Rural Poor

In the central part of the picture, in the depths, a fat landowner with a swaggering and arrogant face is vividly and satirically depicted, holding the icon to herself in a businesslike manner, and next to her is a rude village headman, driving away with a stick from his benefactress the peasants pushing from all sides. The artist’s work “The Religious Procession in the Kursk Province” presents a clear distinction. On the one hand, the “masters of life”, this is the landowner herself, and the retinue following her, and the entire so-called clean public, which makes up the main part of the procession, on the other hand, “the erratic ”, as it is customary to call in Russia the lower strata of society, powerless and destitute. They accompany the procession on both sides, jealous of the salvation of the soul, they also want to bow to the shrine, but they are driven away from it by mounted gendarmes and excessively zealous lord servants.

The figure of a crippled beggar on foreground painting "Religious procession in the Kursk province". He, like no one else, needs God's help and tries to at least get closer to the shrine. It can be seen that the hunchback is trying his best, but he is blocked by the stick of a peasant who has arrogated to himself the right to decide who should be close to the miraculous and who should not.

Exposing the hypocrisy of the clergy

Repin's "Religious Procession in the Kursk Province" is also a satire on representatives of church circles, who replace high spiritual service with worldly and vain concerns. This is, first of all, a group of priests, following the landowner carrying the icon, surrounding the important gentleman with a semicircle and leading obsequious conversations with him. Everything shows that all their attention is given to a possible benefactor, and they have nothing to do with the miraculous icon.

Pictures of the social life of society

The painting “The Religious Procession in the Kursk Governorate” (whose genre, of course, belongs to the acutely social ones), is, by all accounts, the most bright manifestation creative direction of the author. Repin was never attracted by small, episodic themes. He always took on large-scale plots that included diverse scenes of the life of society. Outstanding Master, Repin was able to combine in his paintings a sharp grotesque with a deep individuality and psychologism of his heroes.

K. BASILASHVILI - 14 hours 11 minutes, at the microphone Ksenia Basilashvili. This is the program "Collection of the Tretyakov Gallery". We let my co-host Ksenia Larina go home early, she probably felt a little unwell because of the weather. So, Ksenechka, you have health, do not get sick. Well, Tatyana Yudenkova and I, a senior researcher at the State Tretyakov Gallery, we open the doors of the Tretyakov Gallery. As always, this happens with us on Sundays, and today we invite you to take a look at one of the most famous paintings galleries - this is "The procession in the Kursk province", Ilya Efimovich Repin. Hello Tatiana.

T. YUDENKOVA - Hello.

K. BASILASHVILI - But, probably, there are no such Soviet and Russian schoolchildren who would have this ... both former and present, who would not know this picture, it was always in the "Native Speech", and they wrote expositions on it. It has never been banned, although opinions, oh, what different opinions about this picture have always been.

T. YUDENKOVA – Yes, indeed, the painting has been familiar to all of us since childhood, loved by all of us, it has always hung in the exposition at the Tretyakov Gallery. It is very rare when it was exported to other countries for exhibitions.

K. BASILASHVILI - What's the matter here?

T. YUDENKOVA - Well, because this is one of the central works of Russian art, and the gallery has always believed that such key items, significant, should be on display.

K. BASILASHVILI - Well, we will now enter the hall where this painting hangs, and we will talk about it in detail. But, first, as always, at the beginning of our program "A Case in the Museum", and this time from his CEO Valentina Rodionova.

V. RODIONOV - I noticed at the transition to the gallery about 15 young people aged 20-22-25, there were 15 of them, one was older. And they stood and smoked all together. Maybe I didn't pay attention, but I noticed that they were all wearing tarpaulin boots. And there was just a thaw and a sowing campaign, I thought: these people must be from Silver Ponds, or from the Kashirsky district, or from Stupinsky. They stood and smoked, and then the elder said: guys, let's finish the smoke break, let's go to the temple. He said "to the temple", not "to the museum". And they went to the main entrance of the Tretyakov Gallery.

K. BASILASHVILI - Valentin Rodionov, who invites everyone to his gallery, we follow him, but, first, of course, the question will now sound, and the prizes that we are giving you today are an invitation to the opening of the exhibition of Dmitry Zhilinsky, “Painting-Graphics ". The exhibition will open in the Engineering Building of the Tretyakov Gallery. This is from the cycle "Living Classics, Living Legends", a wonderful contemporary artist Dmitry Zhilinsky for the vernissage, the vernissage will take place on September 13 at 4 pm. We have several invitations for you. In addition, CD-ROMs with walks around the Tretyakov Gallery and new release magazine "Tretyakov Gallery", also with detailed announcements of those exhibitions that will be, with those collections, including private ones, which you can get acquainted with on the pages of the "Tretyakov Gallery" and in the Tretyakov Gallery itself. And now the question, attention. The wife of Ilya Repin, Natalya Borisovna Nordmann-Severova, was fond of everything new, passionately carried away. In particular, she was a consistent vegetarian, feminist, and also read the latest philosophical teachings, including being a fan of the teachings of this famous theosophist at that time, then her name began to thunder throughout Russia, and the whole world. I hope that you yourself will be able to name this theosophist, if not, I will help you by naming some of her writings. I'm just afraid to do it in advance - everyone will immediately answer then. So. What kind of theosophist is this, whose teaching was carried away by Natalya Borisovna Nordmann-Severova, the wife of the artist Ilya Repin? Please send your answers to our SMS +7-985-970-45-45. Well, don't forget to ask questions to our guest Tatyana Yudenkova. Well, let's get to the painting. So, "The procession in the Kursk province." They scolded the picture, praised it.

T. YUDENKOVA - Well, when the picture appeared at the exhibition, at a traveling exhibition in St. Petersburg in 1983, naturally, it caused a flurry of critical reviews of a very negative, sharply negative quality, although the censorship reacted quite favorably to this picture, it was not withdrawn from the catalog, was not removed from the exhibition. But critics were unhappy. Critics were mostly dissatisfied with the image, in fact ... the plot itself is the Procession of the Cross, such a solemn religious procession, and the critics were outraged that in this procession there were Russian people, the Russian people, which, in general, understandably, personifies all of Russia here. In the selection of the people themselves, criticism found deliberately ugly brutal idiotic types.

K. BASILASHVILI - But somehow it seems to me that everything is quite realistic.

T. YUDENKOVA – Yes, I think so too.

K. BASILASHVILI - V public transport I go - in general, nothing in the faces has changed.

T. YUDENKOVA - That, in fact, was the opinion of Repin's contemporaries. Moscow News wrote: “This fathom caricature of the procession is a mockery of the plot. In their main figures there is only one denunciation, unjust, strong, exaggerated. No, this is not an impartial depiction of Russian life, but an exposure of the artist's views on this life. I must say that this topic of caricature, the topic of criticism modern Russia, it sounded every time in relation to Repin's painting, and also, in fact, Soviet art historians, they continued this theme, the theme of criticism of the various social strata of Russia, which are depicted here in this picture.

K. BASILASHVILI - And then let's recall the picture itself. Before us is such a boundless field, or is it a road.

T. YUDENKOVA - No, we have a big road in front of us, this is a path that leads from the city of Kursk, where a great shrine was located in the Znamensky Cathedral - this is the Kursk Root Icon of the Mother of God of the Sign. Indigenous, it was so called because it was found at the root of a tree, it was lying in the ground, and one peasant, walking in the forest - this happened at the end of the 13th century ...

K. BASILASHVILI - Such a legend exists.

T. YUDENKOVA - Yes, there is such a legend. Here, in fact, I stumbled upon this icon. When he picked it up, a life-giving spring gushed from the root of the tree. And about this time a chapel was built on that spot. Some time later, a monastery arose, which was called the Nativity of the Theotokos Hermitage, a male monastery. That is, this is the place where this icon was found, which later became miraculous and performed many miracles. But it was kept for the whole year in the Znamensky Cathedral in Kursk, and only for a while it was taken out of the cathedral by the Procession of the Cross. Here is the Root Desert...

K. BASILASHVILI - That is, she made the same path ...

T. YUDENKOVA - She made this path, was carried out by the procession.

K. BASILASHVILI - It usually happened in the summer ...

T. YUDENKOVA - This always happened in the summer and was timed to coincide with the feast of the Nativity of the Virgin, which was held on September 8 according to the old style, and September 21 according to the new one. This icon was taken out on the ninth Friday after Easter, that is, it was always at different times, depending on, in fact, the day of Easter. And already back and the icon lived, so to speak, the feast of the Nativity of the Virgin in the Root Hermitage, and after this feast it was returned back to Kursk with a less solemn procession. That is, what we see is the most solemn procession from Kursk to the Root Hermitage, to the monastery.

K. BASILASHVILI - But these were very famous religious processions.

T. YUDENKOVA - It was one of the most famous religious processions, which gathered many pilgrims, this procession has its own history. He somehow faded away, faded away. At one time he was under Catherine II ... these processions were banned. Then, at the request of the merchants, the processions were resumed again, because at the time of the transfer of the icon, a large Root Fair was opened in the Root Hermitage, which was the third in its significance and dignity after the Nizhny Novgorod Fair and the Irbitsk Fair, which unfolded in Siberia.

K. BASILASHVILI - By the way, now, when we were preparing for the program with you, we found a lot on the Internet, and in print media, and I, for example, found that this fair has now been resumed in Kursk, and they are again recalling the picture "Religious procession in the Kursk province" ...

T. YUDENKOVA - They remember this picture again ...

K. BASILASHVILI - ... Kursk authorities.

T. YUDENKOVA - Yes, and, moreover, this icon, of course, has its own interesting and tragic story ...

K. BASILASHVILI - We'll talk about this more now, I just wanted to turn directly to the canvas itself. It's big, isn't it?

T. YUDENKOVA - Yes, this canvas is large, but, of course, people are depicted smaller than, in fact, in nature, because otherwise it would be a colossal canvas. But it is large, monumental, and here it is completely Repin, besides the fact that he refers to the plot is quite traditional in Russian painting, because we know that many famous Russian artists also turned to the theme of the procession: Perov, Solomatkin, and Pryanishnikov , but Repin surprisingly solves this plot from the point of view of composition and color. And in this sense, he acts simply as an innovator, a realist innovator who depicts a procession that has no end and no beginning.

K. BASILASHVILI - Absolutely. Here is some kind of huge ... in the foreground we still distinguish faces, as if the first three plans, and then just a huge field of heads, which is why I compared it with the field.

T. YUDENKOVA - Indeed, here they are walking along a deserted road, along a dusty road, we see a clear blue sky above them, which also plays a big role in this color and plastic composition. We see the gold of the sand, this silver dust that…

K. BASILASHVILI - It feels like it hasn't rained for a long time, it's such a drought.

T. YUDENKOVA - Yes, yes, yes. And usually, when they prayed to this icon, they asked for fertility and the sending of rain, because all the processions of the Cross, they took place in the summer. And here, in fact, it is also interesting that, according to the recollections of eyewitnesses, the sun always shone on the day of the procession. And this was also one of the miracles that, in fact, this shrine bestowed. And Repin depicts in the picture the moment of the midday procession of this Religious procession, the sultry midday sun. You can see how short the shadows are in the picture. Repin, as a realist, as a lover of details, there are a lot of all sorts of interesting details, the smallest details, which we simply consider with interest and rapture, thus plunging into this solemn, sedate procession, and, how to say, ... carried away by each image. Repin works on each image, develops it and characterizes it. Someone with the help of action, movement, someone with the help of a pose, there, a gesture ...

K. BASILASHVILI - And this is all real, real people? Each had some kind of prototype, prototype, model?

T. YUDENKOVA - I think that, of course, there were many prototypes. Repin worked directly on the canvas for two years, created a great many sketches, and he deliberately ... after all, Repin was a person who worked by direct impression, it was important for him to see a certain event, and then somehow process it creatively. And he specially goes to the Kursk province for this procession. That is, he himself is an eyewitness and witness to this procession. Besides…

K. BASILASHVILI - And did he pass, or did he observe?

T. YUDENKOVA - We don’t know these details, but we know that he specially went there, observed, made all kinds of sketches and sketches, and then for two years he lived in Khotkovo, not far from Abramtsevo, where they walked past him pilgrims to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, and he observed there, in fact, these types, sought them out. And there are a lot of letters where he writes that I worked very hard all week, because the sun was shining all this week. He needed...

K. BASILASHVILI - The same weather.

T. YUDENKOVA - He needed sunny weather, yes, he needed the sun.

K. BASILASHVILI – There are types here who just stand out in individual portraits. This boy, a cripple with a stick...

T. YUDENKOVA - Here is a crippled hunchback - this is one of, in general, the central images of this canvas. And Repin was looking for this image for a long time ...

K. BASILASHVILI - Are there portraits, yes, in my opinion, separate ones?

T. YUDENKOVA - There is a whole series of picturesque sketches of this hunchback. Repin talked to him. Here there is a hunchback, we have a hunchback sitting on a bench, a watercolor study, there is a sepia, there is an oil painting. That is, he worked on this image for several years.

K. BASILASHVILI - And left some memories of this man?

T. YUDENKOVA - I even left about him verbal portrait. What is interesting is that in order to comprehend the image of a person, it was not enough for Repin to experience him plastically and artistically in watercolor, in oil, he also creates literary portrait some of their images. This also tells us about the method of work of this artist, in general, quite extraordinary. Here is what Repin writes about this hunchback: “A hunchback, a monastery hanger, he loves large convents, and the nuns love him very much, especially the old women. In the monastery kitchen, he is a necessary assistant. With his long arms, the humpbacked man with extraordinary dexterity and agility washes dishes and cleans dishes. He is a good guy. He has a thin voice. Lots of character and energy. At the processions, with the help of a crutch, this fellow manages to overtake the procession several times, run ahead to collect alms. He is a religious, in his own way decent, honest young man, you can rely on him. He is quiet and will keep his word."

K. BASILASHVILI - That's interesting ...

T. YUDENKOVA - It’s actually interesting that here is Repin ...

K. BASILASHVILI - A whole destiny ...

T. YUDENKOVA - A whole destiny that he writes in the portrait and then introduces it into the picture. In the picture, in fact, this is one of those very important images, because the dramaturgy itself in the picture is built in such a way that it is important for Repin to reveal in the picture different shades of attitude to faith, to the icon. And now the hunchback is that higher, pure, sincere attitude to what is happening, and the hunchback is one of the few in this picture who is full of genuine faith.

K. BASILASHVILI - But I can understand why, suppose the authorities did not immediately accept this picture, because the power is shown here in an unattractive way. Who's here? Convoy, or who is it?

T. YUDENKOVA - These are the military, foremen who ...

K. BASILASHVILI - ... just hit someone from the crowd with a whip right now. Seems to be…

T. YUDENKOVA - ... some violator.

K. BASILASHVILI - Apparently, even a woman, because there is a woman's hand here.

T. YUDENKOVA - Here is a woman's hand and a man's hand. And this type of constable...

K. BASILASHVILI - He is now whipping very painfully!

T. YUDENKOVA - Yes, yes. This sergeant type, he haunted many of Repin's contemporaries, including Vereshchagin and Tretyakov. They were extremely dissatisfied and advised Repin to remove this sergeant, and even Tretyakov bursts into such regret in one of his letters: if only this sergeant who ... brandishing a stick would get out.

K. BASILASHVILI - Because you were afraid that they would not exhibit because of this?

T. YUDENKOVA - No, they weren't afraid, the painting had already been exhibited. But the picture, of course, was discussed very lively, both in the press and in letters, as I said. Here is a constable, he was, as it were, disgusted by very many contemporaries. But let's deal with you. A crowd of thousands is walking along the road, and, as contemporaries write, when the actual procession arrived at its final point in the Root Hermitage, in the monastery, some people were still leaving Kursk. That is, this procession stretched for several kilometers, the path itself was about 30 miles. Naturally, such a crowd of people had to be somehow regulated ...

K. BASILASHVILI - Everything is clear, but you can't be a whip on the head!

T. YUDENKOVA - ... of course, yes. But Repin, in fact, he, as he writes in many of his letters and more than once, that he is a fan of the truth, and he never embellishes nature, does not idealize it. This is what he sees, he, in fact, is trying to convey on his canvas.

K. BASILASHVILI - Is it true that ...

T. YUDENKOVA - And he was not shy about this truth.

K. BASILASHVILI - Is it true that Tretyakov also asked to rewrite this image ... here comes, in my opinion, one of the peasants, yes, such bearded men. And he asked to rewrite the girls more plausible.

T. YUDENKOVA - Well, there is a certain preface here, which I will talk about, because I don’t want to take it out of context so easily. The fact is that Repin had two paintings. The very idea of ​​the "Religious Procession" arose in Chuguev in 76-77, when Repin came from Paris to his homeland, and for the first time he sees the Procession, the local procession, Chuguev, in the field, and makes the first icon. And here is the first icon - it's like some kind of confusion occurs in this procession, when the peasants are trying to fight for the right to carry the icon. And this sketch is abandoned. The second large sketch of the painting is “The Procession in the Oak Forest” or “The Manifested Icon”, which, as it were, reproduces the patriarchal, so to speak, very decorous Procession, and for Repin this is a memory of Chuguev’s life, memories of childhood. And in this procession, in the first version of this large picture, there was a dean girl who carried the icon with delight, with reverence. And Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov recalled it and asked Repin to include in this second last final version of the painting “Religious procession in the Kursk province”. And I have here the words of Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov, which I would like to read out.

K. BASILASHVILI - Let's do it without fail, but after a short news release.

NEWS

K. BASILASHVILI – 2:34 pm, the “Collection of the Tretyakov Gallery” continues, Ksenia Basilashvili is at the microphone, our guest is Tatyana Yudenkova, senior researcher of the Tretyakov Gallery. We are talking about Ilya Repin and his painting "The procession in the Kursk province." But first, starting this second half of our program, I will answer the question, there are already winners. We asked you a question: Repin's wife, Natalya Borisovna Nordmann-Severova, was fond of everything new, including being a consistent vegetarian, a sincere feminist, and also reading the latest philosophical teachings, was a fan of the teachings of this famous theosophist, and so, indeed, the correct answer is Elena Blavatsky. And there are many who answered correctly, but here are the names of the winners: these are Laura 912, Irina 686, Andrey 8-904-700, Viktor 8-909-919, Andrey 916907 and Anna 916-212, all of you will definitely be called, you will receive your legitimate prizes. Well, we're back to the painting itself. So, I wonder what Tretyakov answered to the wish, to Repin's words that the truth, that same realism, is closest to him?

T. YUDENKOVA - No, Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov just said that, well ... he said so very subtly. He said that the other day I heard a conversation between artists, that in Repin's paintings, people are all ugly. That's just what the press was talking about, that they are all worsened against nature. And there is, perhaps, some truth in this, says Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov, in the previous “Procession” there was only one girl, a fine-looking girl who carried the icon with some kind of hope, with faith or even hope. It would be nice ... but you destroyed it. Now, it would be nice if you avoided everything caricatured, and penetrated all the figures with faith, then it would be a really deeply Russian picture. These words were written by Tretyakov to Repin. Repin answers Tretyakov: I cannot agree with the conversation of artists about which you write. These are all outdated homemade theories and patterns. For me, the truth is above all, look into the crowd anywhere. How many beautiful faces will you meet, and, moreover, they will certainly come to the fore for your pleasure. And then look at the paintings of Rembrandt, Velazquez, how many beauties and beauties do you count in them? In the picture, you can leave only such a face, which in the general artistic sense is tolerated. Embellishment, any embellishment would ruin the picture, for the living harmonic truth of the whole one cannot but sacrifice details. Painting is a very complex, subtle and difficult thing. And only by the tension of all internal forces in one feeling can one perceive the picture. And then you will only feel that above all is the truth of life. And I, like, refuse to correct it, I consider it profanity and sacrilege.

K. BASILASHVILI - Somehow sharply, he answered, in general, his benefactor, by and large, Tretyakov. Which…

T. YUDENKOVA - ... Repin answered quite a lot of people sharply ...

K. BASILASHVILI - ... paid quite a lot for the purchase of his paintings. After all, he bought this picture!

T. YUDENKOVA - Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov bought this painting, in my opinion, moreover, he agreed with Repin on the first day of the opening of the exhibition that he would acquire it, but, as you know, Tretyakov's paintings were already appearing in the 80s competitors. And one of these venerable collectors, a well-known industrialist and philanthropist, was Fyodor Tereshchenko, who wanted to purchase this painting.

K. BASILASHVILI - Outbid.

T. YUDENKOVA - And there was even a small scandal at this ... at the exhibition, here. But, nevertheless, Tretyakov ...

K. BASILASHVILI - ...and what kind of scandal?

T. YUDENKOVA - Well, a scandal, because for a long time Repin did not set the price of this painting and there was no ... there was no sign on the painting that the painting was sold. And there were five...

K. BASILASHVILI - ... so intrigued ...

T. YUDENKOVA - ... there were five competitors, yes, for the purchase. And people came to Repin's studio and turned to the board of the Association of Traveling Art Exhibitions with a request to set a price, to determine the price of the painting. And there was even a rumor that Tereshchenko bought this painting for 15 thousand rubles. But, nevertheless, Tereshchenko bought a second very popular painting Repin's Poprishchin, which Tretyakov also wanted to acquire, and Tretyakov was not offended by Repin for this, but the Procession for the Religious Process for 10 thousand rubles was bought by Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov.

K. BASILASHVILI - And now let's listen to the story of how the picture came to the gallery, its further path from Elena Chinyakova.

Path to the gallery.

The painting “Religious procession in the Kursk province” was acquired by Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov in 1883. The author had the opening of the 11th traveling exhibition in St. Petersburg. It is interesting to note that the collector had a special right to visit artists' studios and look at paintings before grand opening exposure traveling exhibitions. Having seen The Procession before insertion, Tretyakov appreciated the size and significance of this work in the history of Russian art, and decided that this work should certainly replenish his collection of national art. On the first day of the exhibition on March 2, 1883, the collector agreed with Repin on the cost of the painting, offering 10,000 rubles for it, a huge amount at that time. So the work of Ilya Efimovich Repin "Religious procession in the Kursk province" ended up in the Tretyakov Gallery.

K. BASILASHVILI - Tatyana, I have a question. And why do I see here: in all the catalogs there is a clear date, the writing of the picture is 1877-1883. At the same time, it is known that for some reason Repin finished writing it in his Penates ...

T. YUDENKOVA - No, no, Ksenia, this is an option ...

K. BASILASHVILI - ... in the 20s.

T. YUDENKOVA - ... firstly, this little book is old from the Soviet era, there is a mistake in dating. “The procession in the Kursk province”, which we are talking about today, they date from the 81st year, that is, at the moment when Repin begins work directly on the canvas, when he visited the Kursk province on the procession and until the 83rd year, when he exhibits this painting at the exhibition and ...

K. BASILASHVILI - ... but then he did not finish writing?

T. YUDENKOVA - No, no, no, he added it later, made minor corrections, the painting was already acquired by Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov directly in the halls, but this is an insignificant moment in its history. But there was another picture that I was talking about, “The Procession of the Miraculous Icon” ...

K. BASILASHVILI - ... this one here ...

T. YUDENKOVA - ... in an oak forest, which, as it were, reproduced the old procession of the patriarchal procession ...

K. BASILASHVILI - ... a more decent one ...

T. YUDENKOVA - ... a more dean, about whom Repin himself wrote such good words: "... with all holiness, the Orthodox people have risen and carry the icon solemnly revealed in the forest to the place of its appearance." These are, in fact, the words of Repin himself to Kramskoy in 1978, the year when…

K. BASILASHVILI - ... he returned to her in the 24th ...

T. YUDENKOVA - ... no, no, he went to her ... this canvas was in his studio, it was not completed. Carried away by the “Religious procession in the Kursk province”, he abandoned the “Miracle-working icon”. She stood on his easel. And, by the way, one of those collectors who wanted to buy The Procession in the Kursk Province, having come to Repin's studio, asked him to sell the Miraculous Icon. But Repin refused him, because it was not completed. And for the exhibition of his personal in the 91st year, Repin finishes this picture with a large “Miracle Icon”. And he exposes her. A small photograph of this icon has been preserved, so I brought it. Of course it's hard for her...

K. BASILASHVILI - ... icons?

T. YUDENKOVA - ... sorry, pictures. It is difficult to make out what is depicted here, but we see that here a solemn procession takes place in an oak forest.

K. BASILASHVILI - I see a huge cross ...

T. YUDENKOVA - ... the cross ...

K. BASILASHVILI - ... the priest in the foreground.

T. YUDENKOVA – That same deacon, here, in fact, the study of the protodeacon of 1977, which was painted in Chuguev, it was the prototype of this image, it was painted for this picture. This means that the painting was exhibited in 1991, no one bought it. And later, in 16-24, before selling to a certain collector, Repin rewrites this picture. And now this picture, it dates from 1877-1924…

K. BASILASHVILI - ... understandable.

T. YUDENKOVA - ... and it is located in the Czech Republic in the city gallery Hradec Kralov.

K. BASILASHVILI - Why in the Czech Republic?

T. YUDENKOVA - She got there because already after the revolution of the 17th year, Repin lives in Penates, yes, he turns out to be ...

K. BASILASHVILI - ... in Finland.

T. YUDENKOVA - ... in Finland, yes. And, in fact, those works that were with him in the studio, they diverge, in fact, throughout Europe and his daughter, the eldest daughter Vera, she helped her father, but, in fact, to sell his works, and this work went to a certain Czech, as far as I understand… ah, no, first she went to the Czech Industrial Bank, and then…

K. BASILASHVILI - ...to the collectors.

T. YUDENKOVA - ... to the collection of a certain Mavrich.

K. BASILASHVILI - Here in the picture to which our program is dedicated, “The Religious Procession in the Kursk Province”, there, after all, there is some kind of such a full magnificent lady, she carries ...

T. YUDENKOVA - ... she carries a miraculous image ...

K. BASILASHVILI - ... well, the fate of this miraculous image, this particular icon, is known, because this is a work that existed, does it still exist?

T. YUDENKOVA - It really exists even now.

K. BASILASHVILI - What is the story?

T. YUDENKOVA - Well, I have already begun to talk about the fact that, in fact, this icon of the Mother of God of the Sign, the Kursk root, which was found at the end of the 13th century. And, in fact, there were many, how to say, attacks on this icon, the Tatars ran into the chapel where it was kept, they cut it into two parts, by some miracle these two parts were found, they grew together, this icon healed people, it helped ... Peter the Great prayed before her before the Battle of Poltava. A list with this icon was sent to Kutuzov's headquarters and she overshadowed the Battle of Borodino. This icon healed the Monk Seraphim of Sarov when he was still a young boy… Prokhor Moshnin. His mother took out her sick son, put it to this icon, and he was healed. It is interesting that, in fact, they tried to blow up this icon at the end of the 19th century ...

K. BASILASHVILI - ... blow up? My God…

T. YUDENKOVA - ... to blow up the revolutionary terrorists. And everything around it, around this icon, was blown up and mutilated by bombs, but the icon remained intact and unharmed. This icon was stolen and...

K. BASILASHVILI - ... how was it kidnapped?

T. YUDENKOVA - ... was abducted during the revolution in the 17th year, she disappeared from the temple. Then they found her again. And already in the 19th year, she was taken out ... the rector of the temple took her out, took her abroad, she was in Serbia for a long time during the war, and there she also kept the people who keep this icon. And already somewhere in the middle of the 50s it was taken to the USA. And in the USA a new Root Hermitage was founded, where at one time this icon was kept, and now it is kept in one of the cathedrals in New York, this icon. And already representatives of the Russian Church Abroad, although now it is already such a single structure, institution, they call this icon the Adegetry of the Russian Diaspora. In 1989, when changes began in our country, a list of this icon came from New York. And now in Kursk ... in the Cathedral of the Sign in Kursk, yes, it, in fact, has been restored, it has become operational, the processions have begun, and there is a list of this icon, and the townspeople of the city of Kursk, they hope that someday ...

K. BASILASHVILI - ... will return. Are such negotiations going on?

T. YUDENKOVA - Such negotiations are underway, they are indeed underway, but, as far as I understand, now there is not even a question about this shrine coming to Kursk for some time and, in fact, visiting its native land, not yet.

K. BASILASHVILI - It would be interesting to exhibit it next to this painting. Interestingly, such a turn would be ...

T. YUDENKOVA - Yes.

K. BASILASHVILI - ... for the Tretyakov Gallery.

T. YUDENKOVA - ... it’s also interesting, in any case, this icon has its own history, very interesting, and it’s curious that in many memoirs dedicated to this icon, the history of the Kursk Cathedral of the Sign, the history of the Root Hermitage, one way or another, Repin’s painting is mentioned, which immortalized this procession. And every time they write that in this picture, in fact, Repin conveyed the very grace that descends on people participating in the procession. And today this picture is perceived in this way by many believers. It is interesting. Meanwhile, as we have already said, in the 19th century this picture was treated with both a plus sign and a minus sign ...

K. BASILASHVILI - ... you amazing read to me ...

T. YUDENKOVA - ... yes, yes. Now I want to read...

K. BASILASHVILI - ... the opinion of Korney Chukovsky ...

T. YUDENKOVA - ... well, the opinion of Korney Chukovsky was quite negative ...

K. BASILASHVILI - ... well, well ... Korney Chukovsky, in general, did not communicate closely with Ilya Repin ... lived nearby ...

T. YUDENKOVA - ... in one of his articles of 907, he wrote that it was an orgy of bestiality, a pandemonium of everything base, muddy, and so on. And he is indignant that ... he gives an example that the dean ... handsome, or rather, German ... a representative of the German bourgeoisie is indignant that this picture is allowed by the government and is in the museum. And at that time, as in the guidebook of the Tretyakov Gallery of the same year, it was written that in this picture a lively national feeling, religious reverence for the shrine was conveyed with great brightness. But I would like to give an example of our critic Stasov, who wrote a lot about Repin and reacted quite well to this picture, highly appreciating it. And he described some images, and I just want to compare ...

K. BASILASHVILI - ... of course ...

T. YUDENKOVA - ... and how neutral and not even neutral, but somehow complacently, Stasov described this picture, here are separate images. And then I will give excerpts from the works Soviet period Soviet art history, just curious for comparison, for some small accents.

K. BASILASHVILI - Please.

T. YUDENKOVA - So, now, where is our lady ... here she is: “... the center, a miraculous image, small, all in gold, with a ray of light hitting it, which is carried with a great parade and swagger by a local aristocrat, merchant's wife or landowner, fat , stocky, sun-soaked, squinting from it, all in bows and silks. Nearby is a local influential person, a farmer, a gold bag, in a German frock coat, but clearly from the peasants: a rude, impudent, shameless fist ... "

K. BASILASHVILI - ... I'll interrupt you, how interesting, even learn the lessons. We… now completely lost this feeling of who is who… the farmer…

T. YUDENKOVA - ... you need to peer, and each image, it is amazingly characterized, here the character is given very aptly ...

K. BASILASHVILI - ... the question is: who is a farmer?

T. YUDENKOVA - ... yes, here, in fact, are the images of these two petty-bourgeois women who carry an empty icon case from the icon, with what piety ...

K. BASILASHVILI - ... petty bourgeois? I thought they were peasants.

T. YUDENKOVA - ... how they carefully step, they are afraid to stumble. But behind them comes the choir, and here is the old choir director, he teaches the little boys how to hit the right note. And ... but, in fact, returning to the topic we started, as in Soviet time described this lady of ours, who comes with a miraculous image.

K. BASILASHVILI - So.

T. YUDENKOVA - The face swollen with fat expresses stupid arrogance, a sense of superiority over others, next to it is an angry headman with a badge on his chest, who furiously brandished a stick at a peasant who dared to approach the shrine. And next to her...

K. BASILASHVILI - ... by and large, this is also possible ...

T. YUDENKOVA - ... of course, and next to her, listen further, here is this farmer who interested you: a fat-faced merchant made of fists, torn from the heat, his pumpkin-shaped face with small evil eyes betrays the predatory nature of a bloodsucker, exploiter ... in general, I must say, what…

K. BASILASHVILI - ... that's how we wrote the presentation.

T. YUDENKOVA - ... so they wrote the presentation, yes. The fact is that here is the procession itself, it passes along this road and against the backdrop of the landscape. This landscape with cut down stumps, it is also no coincidence that it ends up here. Repin regretted that in the 80s, with the advent of, in fact, the big bourgeoisie, deforestation began, and he wrote with regret in one of his letters: they cut down my favorite forests. Here, the forests, in fact, of his childhood. And this image of these very stumps sticking out is also an image of modern Russia for Repin, post-reform Russia. And, in fact, this is how this is all ... all these people with different characters, with different social status, with different attitude to the shrine, to faith; By the way, Stasov noticed a very true thing when he described this picture. What are they going, they are already tired, and everyone is busy with their own business, gradually distracted from the important work to which they owe ...

K. BASILASHVILI - ... Tatyana, I have a question for you, I'm sorry, I'll interrupt you, but you were on your own, it wasn't like that, out of pure curiosity, go there, check how it is ...

T. YUDENKOVA - ... you know, after this program I will definitely go! This is exactly.

K. BASILASHVILI - Will you go, yes?

T. YUDENKOVA - Of course, with great pleasure.

K. BASILASHVILI - ... and what position you choose for yourself, that's how Repin, he looks, he seems to be not from the crowd, yes, he is a little bit further away. Or, nevertheless, you will enter ...

T. YUDENKOVA - ... you mean, will I go to the procession, I don’t know, but I would really like to see ...

K. BASILASHVILI - ... did not look, no, did not see, just for comparison? So this is all, or, indeed, the artist invented something ...

T. YUDENKOVA - No, I think that, of course, what Repin captures in his canvas, in fact, it was so. Because if we begin to analyze in detail all the images, we will see that there really is no embellishment here.

K. BASILASHVILI - And my question is, why did he decide to paint this picture at all?

T. YUDENKOVA - Repin is quite ...

K. BASILASHVILI - ... was it a religious picture for him, was it an anecdote for him, was it really a caricature?

T. YUDENKOVA - No, it is by no means an anecdote or a caricature.

K. BASILASHVILI - What is it? What is the purpose?

T. YUDENKOVA - Repin was looking for a long time for a plot that would embody the main idea of ​​his time, the nerve of his time. Such a plot was quite difficult to find. And at the time when he conceived the theme of the Procession, when he found it for himself, he turned to all sorts of subjects. And he had plots on the theme of peasant life in the main, there, the rural volost government, the village court, the village school, all sorts of plots, from this revolutionary people's will theme, we discussed it last time. There were many plots that interested and attracted him, but when he attacked the plot of the Procession, he understood, in fact, the significance of this plot. And when in one of his letters he describes this plot to Kramskoy, Kramskoy answers him: you hit a gold mine, that is, this plot in itself gave Repin the opportunity to reveal, in fact, all that inclusiveness of Russian life, Russian Russian life, to which, in fact, Repin wanted and aspired. Find that nerve.

K. BASILASHVILI - ...there was already a procession for Easter, a terrible picture.

T. YUDENKOVA - there was Perov's Easter procession, there was Savrasov's procession, and Pryanishnikov, and Solomatkin, there were many of these processions, which were painted by artists. Because what is a procession? The procession is the moment of the highest tension in the spiritual life of the people. Yes? Here, in this case, Mother Russia herself is walking towards us, and the composition is built in this way ... I also wanted to say about this that here Repin finds a place for the viewer, and the viewer is on the side of the road, and he is, as it were, a witness to what is happening, the composition as if it draws the viewer into this space, into this procession.

K. BASILASHVILI - But at the same time, he was practically his contemporary, Nesterov - we recently had a program dedicated to him - who somehow had a completely different attitude to this topic. I think that if he, probably, it seems to me, absolutely did not take such a position, he would probably not put the cripple in the foreground, he has in the foreground a boy with a thin beautiful face, so handsome, handsome .

T. YUDENKOVA - Very well, but the fact is that Nesterov ...

K. BASILASHVILI - ... two so different, two absolutely ... two different phenomena, if you like ...

T. YUDENKOVA - ... Nesterov is an artist of the younger generation, nevertheless. He was much younger than Repin. Here. Therefore, as it were, this is a different approach to life, a different analysis of life, a different worldview. And, in fact, the fact that Repin puts this cripple in the forefront, look at this cripple, at this face. This face, overshadowed by faith, overshadowed by hope. And this wonderful image was found by Repin, who really ... there were many such images, there were many of these wanderers, there were many cripples, holy fools who inhabited our Mother Russia. And Repin, in fact, was not shy about this, he was not shy about this truth, he was not afraid of it. And whenever he painted a picture or a portrait, he actually wrote about it without fear, without hiding what he saw.

K. BASILASHVILI - And why then did he decide not to return to Russia after all, that's when they offered him that, that was his name? And Lunacharsky sent commissions to Kuokkala, to the Penates to Ilya Efimovich, and they wrote letters, and soldiers and sailors came. And then this picture thundered all over Russia, it was raised practically as such a poster image of that pre-revolutionary bad Russia.

T. YUDENKOVA - No, understand that the post-revolutionary time was a completely different time for Repin, and he was already an old artist, he already had some habits, concepts, and how to change this life, go into the unknown, go to uncertainty ... what was waiting for him there in St. Petersburg? After all, there were various rumors, not only some kind of ideal coloring with the proposal of Voroshilov, who wrote letters to him, inviting him to return to Russia, or Lunacharsky, or Brodsky’s stories, but, apparently, there were some more sober views on what was happening in Soviet Russia. And Repin was a sober person, quite perspicacious, and then, apparently, he too ... this fact is known, about how hard life was for his youngest daughter Tatyana, who stayed with her family in the Repinsky estate Zdravnevo, and how many different kinds of troubles she had survive. And Repin knew this too.

K. BASILASHVILI - Tatyan, I feel that we will simply return to Repin more than once. I recently drove past the Penates, I so wanted to go there, there was no time. It seems to me that you can visit Repin indefinitely. We will definitely do it for you...

T. YUDENKOVA - And, in my opinion, we still need to return to a couple of paintings ...

K. BASILASHVILI - Let's go back ...

T. YUDENKOVA - ... because we talked a little about this picture.

K. BASILASHVILI - ... and not to one picture. And now it's time for us to say goodbye. I thank Tatyana Yudenkova, senior researcher at the Tretyakov Gallery and invite you to the museums and galleries of Moscow.

T. YUDENKOVA – Thank you very much.

K. BASILASHVILI - There are angels among us! Unknown Anatoly Zverev, but first to the Tretyakov Gallery. Of the temporary exhibitions in the Tretyakov Gallery, only one is open - the gallery froze in anticipation of the new season, which is about to start, but for now, look in the graphic halls for a cozy exposition from the collections of old Moscow collectors. Waiting for you on Krymsky Val renovated halls"Arts of the 20th century". Now next to the high-ranking classics of socialist realism, the works of repressed artists coexist. In the circles of Muscovites of the generation of the sixties, it is probably difficult to find a family that is not familiar with the work of Anatoly Zverev. For the capital, he was something of a living legend, as in Leningrad, Dovlatov could go to the nearest store around the corner in slippers. And his watercolors multiplied in the apartments of friends and casual acquaintances. Now, when Zverev's drawings are leaving - and expensively - from auctions, collectors have learned the value of gifts, sometimes written on paper scraps. Graphics by Anatoly Zverev, new, from private collections in the capital, again and for the umpteenth time exhibited in the gallery Dom Nashchokina now. Will last until October 21st. What does it mean to see an angel? For someone - the birth of a god, and for another - the news of the end of the world. How do they look? Really with wings over his shoulders, as the ancestors thought, or is it different? They present their reflections on angels contemporary artists, from the man-orchestra Mamyshev-Monroe to Zurab Tsereteli. New angelarium opened at the Museum contemporary art in Ermolaevsky lane. The angels descended on the Patriarch's for a short time - until October 7th.

"Religious procession in the Kursk province". History of the painting

While still living in Chuguev, in the mid-1870s, Repin found a great plot for the picture, “finally found an “idea” for himself,” he informed V.V. Stasov. The artist took, as he himself said, the plot is very complex, it will take three years to paint a picture, but "it's very worth it." He will paint a picture in Moscow, because "there is no more convenient place." What is this plot, what is the future picture, Repin does not say, and "will not tell anyone" until the picture is finished.
It was about the Crusade. The idea was grandiose. The paintings created by Repin in Chuguev and depicting images of people from the people and the oppressors of the people, such as “A timid peasant”, “A peasant with an evil eye”, “Protodeacon”, excellent in themselves, were essentially only a stage on the way to “ Procession", a kind of etudes. Already the first sketch new painting, made by Repin in 1877, reveals the ideological concept of the artist - the opposition of the rich and the poor, the clergy and the peasants, the authorities and the people, and in the development of the final version, in the images of the peasants, something else is emphasized - the spiritual wealth of the simple Russian people, enslaved, humiliated, living in poverty, but smart, hardworking, dreaming of a new life.
Repin's idea met with great sympathy from all his friends, especially from I.N. Kramskoy. The spectacle of religious processions attracted Repin as a child, when he and his mother visited a monastery near Chuguev. “We entered the thick maple forest with pleasure... and kept up with the start of the evangelism... After a long service in the church, the revealed icon was carried to the well. Through the shady forest, the crowd scattered and so beautifully, in spots, was illuminated in the dense hazel. The boys clapped their hands loudly on the maple leaves. But children's impressions were only colorful, spectacular. Gold and silver banners, brilliant decorations of icons, robes of priests sparkling in the sun, crowds of people in festive clothes - all this, of course, attracted the boys. But now that he is great artist- I saw religious processions in Chuguev, children's perception bright colors receded into the background, and the main thing was the denunciation of modern Russian reality.

I.N. Kramskoy, while in Moscow, saw this painting in Repin’s studio, in fact, just begun, and, returning to St. Petersburg, expressed his delight to Stasov, and he, as always, did not hesitate to inform Repin about this. Replying to Stasov's letter, Repin says that Kramskoy really admired the Procession, but "I think he's exaggerating." Repin further reports that he continues to work on the painting. And in conclusion he says: “In general, in Moscow I work a lot and with pleasure.” And Stasov, who had not yet seen even the initial sketch of The Procession, wrote in an article where he spoke so negatively about the painting Princess Sophia: one perfect creature, like "Barge haulers". Rumors are circulating that he has in his studio an amazing half-finished painting "The Religious Procession". Last year's "Deacon" (Stasov speaks about Repin's painting "Protodeacon") was only one of the studies for this picture. Imagine what it would be like artistic creation, for which such etudes exist, are already masterpieces in themselves.

Repin continues to work on The Procession with ever-increasing enthusiasm. In July 1878, Repin wrote to Stasov that he continued to write the painting “The Procession of the Religion”, making sketches for the painting, “an interesting subject was caught”, “I have a rather large garden near my apartment, and I write sketches in the sun and in the air” . Repin writes sketches for The Procession in Moscow, and in Zvenigorod, and in the Trinity-Sergievsky and Savvinsky monasteries, in Abramtsevo and Khotkovo, travels and walks a lot, alone or in company with artist friends Polenov, Levitsky and Vasnetsov . He admires the beauty of the Moscow River, monastic antiquities. In Moscow and around Moscow, he finds "amazing everyday pieces." In the Savvinsky Monastery near Zvenigorod, Repin saw "a holy fool, a miracle!" Work begins on sketches for The Hunchback. At first it is only a head, a face distorted by suffering, then a sitting hunchback, with a gloomy, stern face, dotted with wrinkles, then a half-length image of a hunchback, in whose gesture a striving forward already appears, finally, the last sketch - a hunchback in full growth, in a position close to the picture - he rushes forward, pushing away the tenth, blocking his path to the icon.
Repin worked hard on this picture. On August 9, 1881, he wrote to Stasov from Khotkovo that in the winter of this year he would still be living in Moscow, completing The Procession, and that he was now busy with sketches for this picture. “It’s a pity the weather is deadly, there are almost no sunny days, but everything should be in the sun for me!”
And a little later he reports that he is working mostly on The Procession, but this winter the picture will not be finished either. It will have to end, he writes, in Petersburg.
Repin traveled in the vicinity of Kursk, to the famous Root Hermitage, famous for its religious processions, visited Kyiv and Chernigov - watched the procession from the Trinity Monastery. His longtime friend, the artist N.I. Murashko, a friend at the Academy of Arts, with whom Repin was visiting in Kyiv, later recalled how Repin watched the procession: “We appeared quite early and took a place on one of the hills ... Around us and everything was noisy nearby ... There was a parade and a procession of the clergy ... Repin was somewhat embarrassed and, as it were, annoyed, noticing that some of the clergy were talking calmly during the procession itself. And in Repinsky's "Procession" the priests talk among themselves about something that is by no means sacred...
Almost all of 1881, Repin worked hard on the picture. “This week I worked all in the sun, with great success,” he wrote to P.M. moreover, an interesting wanderer was caught (walking past); but I'm terribly tired this week. If with such "success it was possible to work through at least half of September, then I would have collected all the materials for the procession."
In April 1882, he informed Stasov that he would write The Procession in the summer, and would finish it in the Tretyakov Gallery, where there were free rooms. "The procession" was finally completed only in St. Petersburg, but all the main things in the picture were painted during the Moscow period of the artist's life.

Vasily Perov was always worried about Russian characters. He even returned from a trip to Italy, where the Academy of Arts sent him for his services. ahead of schedule, because he considered that that life was incomprehensible to him, and he would not be able to create something of his own there. Perhaps his most resonant canvas was the “Rural Procession at Easter”. Some praised the picture for its veracity, while others were indignant: how could the artist not be exiled to Solovki for his audacity.

At first glance, the painting by Vasily Perov, written in 1861, depicts uniform disgrace. The drunken priest can hardly stand on his feet, next to him, even in the worst condition, the peasants are lying around. Yes, and the procession is not in at its best. The icon in the woman's hands is scratched, and the old man walking nearby holds the icon upside down.

The action takes place on Bright Week (a week after Easter), so the picture does not depict a procession around the church on Easter night, as it might seem. So what then happens on Perov's canvas?

The point is that in Russian Empire Priests were not paid salaries. As a rule, parishes had plots of land and a tiny subsidy from the state. Therefore, in an effort to increase their income, the priests came up with the custom of glorification at Easter. One week after happy holiday priests went to peasant farmsteads. They went into each hut and performed church hymns. The peasants, in turn, had to thank the priests for wishing prosperity with a gift or money.

In fact, things didn't look so good. The priests, trying to go around as many houses as possible, performed the chants very quickly. The peasants, on the other hand, believed that they were simply being robbed. After all, the time for Easter was the most economically difficult, when after the winter there was no money left, and food supplies were coming to an end. To get rid of the priests, they were most often poured alcohol and escorted out of the hut.

It was this side of the relationship between the church and the peasants that Vasily Perov depicted in his picture. It is worth noting that his canvas caused an uproar both in church circles and among artists. The painter Vasily Khudyakov wrote an emotional appeal to Tretyakov, who purchased the painting "Rural Procession at Easter" for his collection:

“And other rumors are circulating that you will soon be asked from the Holy Synod; on what basis do you buy such immoral paintings and exhibit them publicly? The painting ("Priests") was exhibited on Nevsky Prospekt permanent exhibition, from where, although she was soon removed, she nevertheless raised a big protest! And Perov, instead of Italy, how not to get to Solovki ”.
Tretyakov had to remove the painting from the exhibition.

But there were also those who considered the true position of the peasants in the picture of the forerunner Perov. Critic Vladimir Stasov spoke of the canvas as truthful and sincere, conveying real types of people.

Another incredibly emotional painting by Vasily Perov cannot leave anyone indifferent.

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