#State Tretyakov Gallery

[sy666th]

The painting "Unequal Marriage" by Vasili Pukirev (1862) was surrounded by legend. It was said that after looking at it, older men who were planning to marry young women gave up their intent.

The painter's work is an open and courageous denunciation of the Russian society of the time. In particular, the custom was condemned (universally in vogue in the not too distant past and still present today in some countries) whereby young girls were often forced into arranged marriages with men much older than them.

The painting was highly successful and generated heated debate in the press, with its supporters praising it for representing a serious theme of modern life, unlike the usual genre scenes, which tended to be nostalgic or sentimental.

The canvas is based on an episode that actually happened and is full of details. The same painter - who was rumored to be romantically linked to the bride - depicted himself on the far right with his arms crossed, as a sign of opposition to what he is witnessing. Two old women appear half hidden in the crowd: one can be seen between the groom and the priest, the other can be seen behind the religious man: it is probable that they are the groom's deceased wives. The priest himself is hunched over and partially in shadow, perhaps to symbolize some sort of divine condemnation of this union.

However, the figure of the young, beautiful and sad bride is illuminated. Under the oblique and inquisitorial gaze of her almost-husband, she mechanically performs the ritual and keeps her gaze turned to the ground, her eyes red from crying. We can only imagine her state of mind but perhaps these verses come to our aid:

As if, once the sentence was pronounced, frozen they were escorting you from the luxurious prison of doubt to the gallows, and to the dead, -

when the veil your eyes had sewn - a creature gasped - "Pity" - What anguish was then the most atrocious - To die, or to be alive?

(Emily Dickinson)

📌Vasili Pukirev, The Unequal Marriage (1863)., State Tretyakov Gallery - Moskow

[russianpaintings]

Vasili Pukirev. Unequal Marriage. 1862–1862. State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow.

Unequal Marriage is a masterpiece of Vasily Pukirev (1832-1890). It is one of art history's most heartbreaking paintings. To study it, you need to keep track of the whole "abyss of little things", for every detail, because otherwise we risk missing a lot.

There are two strange figures on the canvas — old women. One stands behind the groom, the other behind the priest. Both for some reason came in wreaths, and one either in a white dress, or even in a sheet or a funeral shroud. The figure of the second bride behind the priest's back looks even more strange, because this is not according to the rules of the rite. There is nothing for guests to do next to the priest — unless, of course, they come from another world.

It turns out that there are three brides at the wedding at once. Two of them are dead and looking at the old groom. And here is the artist Vasily Pukirev! He's standing with his arms crossed in the right corner and looking at the young bride. Next to him, his friend, the artist Pyotr Shmelkov, who suggested the idea of the painting to him, looks at us and seems to be asking a question: "Do you understand what's going on?".

[arthistoryanimalia]

For #WorldLionDay 🦁:

Natalia Goncharova (Russian, 1881-1962) Lev [Lion], 1911 1. ink (study), private collection (auctioned in 2010) 2. oil on canvas (finished piece), State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow

[ancientpansy]

Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy and Ilya Repin

Leo Tolstoy and Ilya Repin in Yasnaya Polyana

Sophia Andreevna Tolstaya

1908

(State Museum of Leo Tolstoy Collection)

Ilya Repin and Leo Tolstoy were close friends for many years. The artist frequently visited the writer at Yasnaya Polyana (a rural estate owned by the writer, who was born, lived, and was buried there), where he painted an entire gallery of portraits from life. Repin was impressed by the great writer: "No matter how this giant humbles himself or covers his mighty body in mortal rags, the Zeus in him always shines through."

Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy in the ploughed field

Ilya Repin

1887

(Tretyakov Gallery)

Portrait of Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy Ilya Repin

1887

(Tretyakov Gallery)

Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy resting in the Forest

Ilya Repin

1891

(Tretyakov Gallery)

Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy shoeless

Ilya Repin

1901

(The State Russian Museum)

[unhonestlymirror]

I think we should joke more about Tretyakov Gallery the same way people joke about British Museum.

[monkeyssalad-blog]

Борис Кустодиев «Купчиха», 1915 г. by Art Therapy by Julianna Via Flickr: Государственная Третьяковская Галерея, г. Москва

[artthatgivesmefeelings]

Henryk Siemiradzki (Polish, 1843-1902) Game of dice, 1899 State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow

[snobbishkitsch]

Mikhail Nesterov, 'Portrait of artists P. D. and A. D. Korinykh' (1930), Canvas, oil. 126 x 126 cm., State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow.

[i-love-this-art]

Vasily Polenov / "Granny's Orchard" / 1878 / State Tretyakov Gallery

[kobzars]

Pavlo Makov, master of etching and creator of utopian worlds

Pavlo Makov, a Ukrainian artist born in 1958, is widely regarded as a master of etching, a technique he has elevated into a profound medium for crafting utopian worlds. With a career spanning decades, Makov has developed a distinctive style that blends meticulous printmaking with imaginative storytelling, drawing viewers into intricate landscapes that hover between reality and fantasy. His works, often rooted in his experiences in Kharkiv, reflect a deep engagement with themes of place, memory, and societal exhaustion, earning him international acclaim, including membership in the Royal Society of Painters and Graphic Artists of Great Britain.

Makov’s creative process is as unique as his vision. Rejecting mass production, he labors over each etching, using an etching press to transform his drawings into singular, layered compositions. Projects like Utopia, Gardens, and Book of Days showcase his ability to construct "macro-worlds" and "micro-worlds," where every detail invites exploration. His innovative approach extends to artist’s books, where text and image intertwine, offering a deeper plunge into his constructed realities—worlds that feel both familiar and otherworldly, shaped by his observations of Ukraine’s shifting cultural and physical landscapes.

Perhaps most notably, Makov represented Ukraine at the 2022 Venice Biennale with his installation Fountain of Exhaustion: Aqua Alta, a sculptural work symbolizing depletion on personal and global scales. Conceived in the 1990s and updated amid conflict, this piece—featuring water trickling through bronze funnels—mirrors the fragility and resilience he sees in the world. Despite war disrupting his plans, Makov’s art persists as an act of resistance and reflection, cementing his legacy as a creator of utopian realms that challenge and captivate, preserved in prestigious collections like the Victoria and Albert Museum and the State Tretyakov Gallery.

More of Pavlo Makov's works can be found in Kobzar Art Gallery

[adini-nikolaevna]

Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich of Russia by Sokolov. I think the original is in the State Tretyakov Gallery.

[julias-74]

"Autumn Morning", 1893, Myasoedov Grigory (1834-1911), State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow.

Welsh Forest, 1904, James Watts (1853-1930).

"Expectation" , Stanislav Brusilov (born 1976).

"Harvest", Bessonov Boris Vasilievich (1862 - 1934)

“Autumn in Yasnaya Polyana Park”, 1960, Shcherbakov Boris (1916-1995)

"Autumn" Tatyana Yushmanova (Russia, b. 1979)

Efim Efimovich Volkov (1844-1920) "Foggy Morning", 1890

[russianpaintings]

Vasily Tropinin. Self-Portrait with Brushes and a Palette Against a Window Facing the Kremlin. 1846. State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow.

The outstanding Russian painter Vasily Andreevich Tropinin was born a serf peasant and until 1823 he was a serf of Count A.S. Minikh, and later Count I.I. Morkov. He got his freedom only at the age of 47, when he already became a famous artist. Having gained the long-awaited freedom, Tropinin decided to settle in Moscow, where he became one of the most respected artists among the residents of the city. His paintings are painted in the spirit of realism with notes of romanticism.

[history-of-fashion]

1845 Petr Zabolotskiy - Portrait of a boy in red

(State Tretyakov Gallery)

[ancientpansy]

Before the Thunderstorm (initial sketches-variants of the painting Over Eternal Peace by Issac Levitan, 1893

State Tretyakov Gallery

Above the Eternal Peace by Isaac Levitan, 1894

State Tretyakov Gallery

Moscow. Russia

Photos Wikipedia

[miscellaneous-art]

Valentin Serov (1865-1911), Abduction of Europe, 1910. State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow

''In 1907, Valentin Serov, together with the artist Léon Bakst, travelled to Greece. (…) In Greece, Serov conceived the idea of the “Abduction of Europe”. He turned to the theme of ancient mythology loved by artists, to the scene of the abduction of Europa, daughter of the Phoenician King, by the god Zeus, who, in the guise of a bull, took her to the island of Crete. (…)''