Little-known facts about Repin's painting "The Cossacks write a letter to the Turkish Sultan"

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

Today I would like to talk about a brilliant canvas, a pearl of world art "Cossacks write a letter to the Turkish sultan" the brilliant classic of Russian painting Ilya Repin. Or, to be more precise, tell about the most interesting facts of the history of its creation, about the double picture, about celebrities who acted as models and about many other things that may interest the discerning reader.

"The Cossacks" is perhaps one of the most fundamental and masterpiece creations of the master, on which he spent a huge amount of energy, mental strength, love, and of course time. Repin wrote his creation with short interruptions for almost 13 years, namely from 1878 to 1891.

However, not many people know that the painter wrote two versions of this canvas almost simultaneously. The first, less famous, is now kept in the Kharkov Art Museum of Fine Arts, and the second, world famous - in the Russian Museum of St. Petersburg. Although the artist began to write the second version, the final one, two years later, the work was carried out in parallel on two versions at once. Making changes and additions to the first version, Repin, in the second, main version, strove for the perfection of the expression of his idea.

But now I would still like to return to the history of painting.

Unique design of the painting

Sometime in the summer of 1878, 34-year-old Ilya Repin was visiting the house of the famous patron Sava Mamontov in Abramtsevo near Moscow, famous for his hospitality and friendship with many famous historical figures of Russia. So, one day over evening tea, in the company of talented young people, Repin heard a letter from the Cossacks to the Turkish sultan read by one of the guests.

According to historical legend, the famous message was written in 1676 by the koshevoy ataman Ivan Serko "with all the kosh of Zaporozhye" in response to the ultimatum put forward by the Turkish Sultan Mohamed IV, in which, dignifying himself, commanded the recalcitrant Cossacks to change their minds, lay down their arms and accept Turkish citizenship.

The Cossacks angered the Sultan's ultimatum a lot: it was not fit for them to serve outsiders. And without thinking twice, they decided to write an answer to the Turkish Sultan, moreover, without diplomatic etiquette, but in a folk way, without hesitation in expressions. The verbatim text of which would not be particularly correct to reproduce now.

However, the beginning was as follows: and then followed the sophisticated offensive nicknames assigned by the Cossacks to the title of the arrogant Sultan. The letter ended with the following postscript:

Repin himself, who knew well the history of the Zaporozhye Cossacks, once wrote:

This letter made a considerable impression on the guests present. And what can we say about the subtle soul of the artist. Such a colorful folk humor of the Cossack letter instantly sunk into the soul of Ilya Efimovich, who himself was from Ukraine, and who knew not by hearsay about the legendary exploits of the Zaporozhye Cossacks, who embodied in the eyes of society the image of a freedom-loving, cheerful, unconquered people.

The eloquence of this letter touched the artist's imagination so much that almost immediately an irresistible desire arose in him to capture the spirit of that time in painting and create indestructible and courageous images of the folk heroes of the Zaporozhye freemen. It was there, in Abramtsevo, that the painter sketched his first graphic sketch with charcoal, which predetermined the composition of the future brilliant creation. By the way, the artist's first sketch for this canvas is currently kept in the Tretyakov Gallery.

From that moment, the collection of materials began for a brilliant creation, which will enter the treasury of world art as a bright pearl. In the future, the creation of this ingenious creation was preceded by more than one hundred preparatory studies, sketches, sketches, as well as a trip directly to the Zaporozhye land, which the artist undertook in the summer of 1880 with his beloved student, 15-year-old Valentin Serov. It is there that the artist will write many watercolor sketches, and from there he will bring several albums with graphic sketches of weapons, costumes, dishes and various items of Cossack everyday life.

For a convincing historical truth and in order to imbue the spirit of that heroic time, a little later Repin had to undertake another trip to the Caucasus and the Kuban. There he will write many sketches depicting the descendants of the Cossacks who moved there from the Zaporozhye freemen after its disintegration, and he will also enthusiastically listen to the artist stories about the legendary grandfathers, hawks, handed down from generation to generation.

Very valuable historical information and advice was given to Repin by his compatriot - a famous Ukrainian historian, a connoisseur of old Zaporozhye DI Yavornytsky, who had a unique gift of a storyteller. It was from him that Repin received not only a lot of valuable material, but also copied from him the image of the clerk, the key figure in his painting. Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy himself also visited the artist's studio at that time, giving Repin advice and pointing out the historical details for which he was "ready to kiss" the writer.

Ilya Repin used all his experience as an artist, psychologist and, if I may say so, stage director, placing this bulk of human bodies on one picture plane. Dozens, hundreds of times Repin rewrote this canvas, moving and moving his characters, and sometimes completely replacing some types with others. Eyewitnesses with a sense of admiration and horror recalled how the author permanently removed from the canvas the images of the heroes that did not fit into the overall composition of the picture. And he was not sorry, because the search and incredible work were subordinated to one thing - the artistic intention of the master.

And what is very curious, in the process of work, Repin constantly sculpted small figures of Cossacks from clay in various poses and arranged them in different variations in order to achieve an original construction of the picture plane. The most careful thoughtfulness was felt in every image, in every detail and trifle. And after the picture was ready, the master, satisfied with his work, declared: And it really was so.

And finally, the completed "Cossacks" were exhibited at the jubilee exhibition of works by Ilya Repin in 1891, which was organized by the Academy of Arts on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the painter's creative activity. The amazing state of mind of the author and his attitude towards his characters were instantly conveyed to the audience. The canvas was very warmly received by the public and highly appreciated in the press, which commented on this event in the following way:

After the triumph of the Zaporozhtsev at exhibitions in galleries in Russia, as well as in Munich, Stockholm, Budapest and Chicago, Emperor Alexander III personally paid a fortune for the masterpiece - 35 thousand rubles. And this pearl of Russian painting remained in the royal collection until the revolution, and then it was nationalized and transferred to the Russian Museum.

Legendary images of Zaporozhye Cossacks and real people who posed for the artist

The Zaporozhians … Here they appear before the public in all their glory and mighty prowess: sunburned, "weathered by the steppe winds, scorched by the sun, tanned by adversity, chopped up in fierce battles, but still devilishly beautiful, exuding strength, energy overflowing."The gallery of types created by the painter on the same picture plane is original, inimitable and legendary, it can be viewed tirelessly for hours. All this motley band of fearless warriors are carried away by composing an answer to the Sultan. And the viewer can only admire the vivid characters, their strong heroic bodies and sparkling humor, which were so skillfully created by the painter's brush.

The group of Cossacks depicted in the foreground is as close as possible to the audience, who become, as it were, direct participants in what is happening. And the dynamics of the movement of this mass of figures, tightly united by an emotional connection, creates a feeling of indestructible unity, a powerful spiritual closeness of Ataman Ivan Serko and his brothers-in-arms.

And now about the most interesting … For most of the images of the Cossacks, Repin was posed by his acquaintances and friends, very famous historical figures: for the clerk - the historian-ethnographer D. Yavornitsky, for Taras Bulba - the professor of the St. Petersburg Conservatory A. Rubets, for the esaul - the soloist of the Mariinsky Theater D Stravinsky; in the image of a Zaporozhets with a bandage on his forehead, one can recognize the artist N. Kuznetsov. A Cossack in a high black hat was painted from V. Tarnovsky, a Ukrainian collector and philanthropist, and the character who lowered his fist on his neighbor's back was from the artist Y. Tsionglinsky. Half-naked Zaporozhye soldier - Repin's friend, teacher of the public school K. Belonovsky. And even the back of the head of a Zaporozhets, who collapsed on a barrel with his back to the viewer, was written off from the nature of a friend.

For a long time, Repin was looking for a real type for the role of the main character and inspirer of the message to the Sultan, who literally hung over the clerk. Devilishly smiling ataman Ivan Sirko, was a heroic person - he spent fifty serious battles and came out of all invulnerable. In the end, the model for this image was an equally outstanding military figure - General Mikhail Dragomirov, the hero of the Russian-Turkish war, who later became the governor-general of Kiev. And, as we can see, Repin really hit the mark, it was impossible to find a better candidate.

And sometimes, for his characters, the painter borrowed only certain facial features from the models. Yes, what do the models have … To depict the toothless smile of the character in the central upper part of the canvas, the artist used the skull of a Cossack-Zaporozhian, found during excavations of the mass graves of the Zaporozhye Sich. Once the Russian writer Dmitry Mamin-Sibiryak recalled: Repin had many such models, among them the military lawyer Alexander Zhirkevich, the manager of the staff and finances of the imperial court Georgy Alekseev, the Ukrainian playwright Mark Kropyvnytsky and, this is not counting the unfamiliar people who simply fell under the arm artist. So, a colorful toothless wrinkled old man with a cradle was sketched by Repin from a random companion on the pier of the city of Aleksandrovsk (now Zaporozhye).

BONUS. The first version of the painting "The Cossacks"

And finally, I would like to provide the reader with a detailed view of the first version of "Zaporozhtsev", which, although not so famous, is no less valuable.

Initially, the "first" Cossacks from Repin were bought by the famous Russian philanthropist Pavel Tretyakov. And after the revolution in 1933, the painting was transferred from the Tretyakov Gallery to Ukraine as a parity exchange between the museum collections of the two republics. Since then, the creation of the brilliant painter has been kept in the Kharkov Museum.

And as you can see, the essence and design of the first and second versions of the painting are unchanged, but the images … For the second version of the canvas, the artist took the most successful finds and types.

And summing up the above, I would like to say that what is stored today in the Russian and Kharkov museums is only part of the colossal work that the brilliant master of the brush, Ilya Repin, has done, creating these canvases. Over the 13 years spent, the artist rewrote, rearranged and changed the images and details in them an uncountable number of times. And this truly deserves the deep respect and worship of the descendants of the greatest talent of the 19th century.

These works are an ideal example of a "spellbound moment" when a brilliant painter, by the power of his most powerful talent, transfers to us "today" a scene of the distant past with all its attributes and heroes.

Read also: "The Cossacks" by Ilya Repin: why there is one Cossack without a shirt in the picture.