ART
Kramskoy and his Mystery
Violetta Ermakova
Lyceum BSPU,
Blagoveshchensk (Russia)
Ivan Nikolaevich Kramskoy is a famous
Russian painter. He was born on June 8, 1837 in
Ostrogozhsk in a clerk's family. After
graduating from the Ostrogozhsky county
school, Kramskoy worked as a clerk in the
Ostrogozhsk Duma. From 1853 he started
working as a photo color correction artist. In
1865 Markov invited him to help with painting
the dome of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior
in Moscow. In 1869 Kramskoy received the title
of academician. He is known for creation of
portraits of prominent Russian writers, artists
and public figures such as Lev Nikolaevich
Tolstoy, Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin, Pavel
Mikhailovich Tretyakov, among others.
Moreover, he is associated with the Realism
a n d H u m a n i s m m ove m e nt s . H e wa s a
prominent figure in a minor revolt of some of
Russia's most talented art students against
the conservatism of the Imperial Academy of
Arts in 1863, which led to the formation of the
Society for Itinerant Art Exhibitions, which
members (known as peredvizhniki, itinerants,
or wanderers) travelled around Russia,
preaching political reforms and holding art
exhibitions of works created along the way. His
paintings are very expressive and realistic.
They show complex and sincere emotions of
the subjects, their personalities and fates.
Unfortunately, the artist died quite early of an
aortic aneurysm on March 24, 1887 while
working on a portrait of Dr. Rauchfus, when he
suddenly leaned over and fell. He created
many famous paintings and I would like to tell
you about one of them.
«Unknown». This mysterious painting
was created in 1883. I call it mysterious
because no one exactly knows the identity of
the depicted person, there are only a lot of
guesses on it. This painting is a part of the
collection of the State Tretyakov Gallery. This
oil painting shows a young woman riding in an
open carriage along Nevsky Prospect. There is
the Alexandrinsky Theater behind her back.
She is attired in the latest fashion of the 1880s.
She is wearing a velvet hat with feathers, a
coat, decorated with fur and ribbons, a clutch
and thin leather gloves. The look in her eyes is
regal, mysterious and a little sad.
The «Unknown» is considered to be one
of the most significant and famous works of
Ivan Kramskoy. By giving this name to the
painting, the artist gave it a halo of mystery
and intrigue. As for the "Unknown" image
content, ideologically and artistically the
painter managed to create a work that was
on the verge of the portrait and narrative art.
"Unknown" is still remaining a mystery of the
artist. Neither in letters, nor in diaries does he
leave any mention of the identity of the
unknown. There is an unconfirmed legend that
the prototype of the heroine in the painting
was the Kursk girl, a peasant woman Matryona
Savvishna, who married a nobleman Bestuzhev
(whose personal name is not indicated, which
confirms the legendary story). Kramskoy met
her in St. Petersburg and was captivated by
her beauty. But in the private collection of D.
Friedrich in Prague there is a sketch, in which
the same woman is portrayed in apparently
more authentic way.
Follow Violetta on Instagram: @viola_0_4
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SUNRISE
February 2019 №2