What is Ivan the Terrible doing in the school of wizards, or What masterpieces of painting adorned the walls of the famous Hogwarts

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Everyone is familiar with the Harry Potter films today - from young to old. And many admire not only the plot of the famous saga, but also the amazing beauty of the scenery! Portraits on the walls of the wizarding Hogwarts have been seen throughout the famous Potter saga. Interestingly, a number of paintings were based on famous canvases by artists. What kind of masterpieces of painting are covered in "Potterian"?

These enchanted paintings are great! And you don't have to be an artist or art connoisseur to appreciate any work along the walls of Hogwarts. Many of them in the Harry Potter movie were living, speaking. Let's start with the office of the director of Hogwarts. A famous painting by a no less famous Russian painter hangs in it. Intrigued? Then look at the top right corner. Do you recognize? Of course, this is Ivan Vasilyevich the Terrible ("Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich the Terrible"). Portrait by Viktor Vasnetsov. It turns out that one of the directors of the school in England was Ivan Vasilyevich the Terrible! And it is his portrait that hangs in Dumbledore's office. Perhaps the only thing that Dumbledore has in common with Vasnetsov is his love for everything fabulous.

But above the portrait of the Terrible hangs the work of "the great Karl" - Bryullov - "Portrait of Nestor Kukolnik". By the way, Nestor Vasilyevich Kukolnik was a Russian prose writer and playwright who was repeatedly accused of "freethinking". The portrait at the very bottom is strikingly reminiscent of the portrait of the archaeologist Michelangelo Lanci by the same Karl Bryullov.

Professor Amrose Swott was a wizard and once the headmaster of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Two of his portraits hung at Hogwarts: one of a young man with glasses, and the other, hanging in the director's office, depicts an older wizard with a long red beard. The portrait of the young Swott was based on a 1685 self-portrait by the real artist, Sir Godfried Kneller. Gottfried Kneller was a German painter, a leading portrait painter in England in the late 17th - early 18th centuries, and also a court painter of the English and British monarchs from Charles II to George. I.

Another portrait, this time a portrait of a woman, hung on the Great Staircase of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, not far from the second floor landing. And he is very reminiscent of … Anne Boleyn. Anne Boleyn is a historical figure who was married to King Henry VIII. She was the second wife of the infamous king, who … executed her because he considered a witch. The king accused his wife of witchcraft. And at that time (1542-1735) in Scotland, England and Ireland, "witchcraft" was actually considered a legal crime. While King Henry considered Anne Boleyn's "witchcraft" horrifying, the Harry Potter wizards proudly greeted the heroine.

Another girl from the living pictures of Hogwarts is a sorceress sleeping in a chair in a cap. Doesn't it remind anyone? Of course, this is a portrait of the artist's wife Ilya Repin - “Rest. Portrait of VA Repina, the artist's wife”(1882). And to the right of the sleeping sorceress on the wall hangs and equipped with a triangular cap, the protodeacon from the portrait of the same Repin.

The famous Protodeacon is a portrait of the Chuguevsky deacon Ivan Ulanov, who later became a collective image of the bass lions of the Russian clergy with their rudeness, gluttony and hypocrisy. This picture is the beginning of another famous work of Repin - "Procession of the Cross in the Kursk province." Apparently, the "Potterians" decorators and directors had a sincere love for the Russian painter, given the use of several of his canvases at once.

Company Repin and Vasnetsov on the walls of Hogwarts, among other unidentified works, are "Portrait of Charles V with a Dog" by Titian and "Marriage Contract" by W. Hogarth.

In the first part of Hogarth's series "The Marriage Contract" we see the process of agreements on the upcoming marriage between the son of a bankrupt Earl Squander and the daughter of a wealthy but stingy merchant. Construction of the Count's new mansion, visible through the window, has been halted, and the moneylender is negotiating payment for further construction. The fathers of the spouses are more interested in the marriage of their children than they are themselves. Thanks to marriage, the groom's family will avoid financial ruin, and the bride's family will buy themselves connections in high society. Even the faces on the walls seemed to come to life and fear the current situation. And laughter and tears.

And here's another interesting shot from the film. In a woman with a cane in an extravagant costume, it is easy to recognize Elizabeth Pope by the royal British painter Robert Peak. This portrait was painted in the 17th century on the occasion of the wedding of a girl, the daughter of a shareholder. The portrait of Elizabeth Pope may have been commissioned by her husband, Sir William Pope. Lady Elizabeth is depicted with her hair down (a symbol of virginity). She is wearing a gown and a turban embroidered with pearls. The pointed hat suits her very well!

Undoubtedly, it is nice to see masterpieces of Russian artists in the famous Western film based on the books of the English writer, which once again proves the skill and great heritage of Russian painting.