The eternal consequences of the revelry. "Fresh Cavalier" Pavel Fedotov is not outdated even today. Pavel Fedotov. Fresh cavalier Opinion about the painting fresh cavalier
The painting “A Fresh Cavalier (Morning of an official who received the first cross)” by P. A. Fedotov, the first work of the domestic genre in Russian painting, was painted in 1847. The canvas was highly appreciated by critics and among the progressive intelligentsia.
In the plot and composition of the picture, the influence of English artists - masters of the everyday genre is clearly visible. On the canvas, we see an official who is hardly coming to his senses the next morning after a fun feast arranged on the occasion of his first order.
The official is depicted in a wretched environment, in an old dressing gown, unshod, with hairpins on his head and with an order fastened directly on the dressing gown. Haughtily and reluctantly, he argues about something with the cook, who shows him the fallen boots.
Before us is a typical representative of his environment - a corrupt bribe-taker and a slave to his boss. Immensely swaggering, he idolizes the order as if it were evidence of some unseen merit. Probably, in his dreams, he flew very high, but the fervent shout of the cook immediately returns him to his place.
The painting "The Fresh Cavalier" is an accurate reproduction of reality in its entirety. In addition to excellent mastery of writing technique, Fedotov demonstrates the subtlety of psychological characteristics. The artist depicts his hero with amazing sharpness and accuracy. At the same time, it is obvious that the artist, denouncing his character, at the same time sympathizes with him, treats him with mild humor.
In addition to the description of the painting by P. A. Fedotov “The Fresh Cavalier”, our website has collected many other descriptions of paintings by various artists, which can be used both in preparation for writing an essay on a painting, and simply for a more complete acquaintance with the work of famous masters of the past.
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Pavel Andreevich Fedotov was an incredibly talented person. He had a good ear, sang, played music, composed music. While studying at the Moscow Cadet School, he achieved such success that he was among the four best students. However, the passion for painting conquered everything. Already during his service in the Finnish regiment, Pavel enrolled in the classes of the Imperial Academy of Arts under the guidance of battle painting professor Alexander Sauerweid.
For study, he turned out to be too old, which Karl Bryullov, another teacher at the academy, did not fail to tell him about. In those days, art began to be taught early, usually between the ages of nine and eleven. And Fedotov crossed this line a long time ago ... But he worked diligently and hard. Soon he began to get good watercolors. The first work exhibited to the audience was the watercolor “Meeting of the Grand Duke”.
Its theme was prompted by the meeting of the guardsmen with the Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich in the Krasnoselsk camp, which the young artist saw, who joyfully greeted the high person. These emotions struck the future painter and he managed to create a masterpiece. His Highness liked the picture, Fedotov was even granted a diamond ring. This award, according to the artist, "finally imprinted in his soul artistic pride."
However, Pavel Andreevich's teachers were not satisfied with the work of the novice artist. They wanted to get from him polished and polished in the image of soldiers, which was required from the servicemen by the authorities at the May parades.
One artist guessed another
Fedotov did not like all this, for which he listened to constant remarks. Only at home he took his soul away, depicting the most ordinary scenes, illuminated by good-natured humor. As a result, Ivan Andreevich Krylov understood what Bryullov and Sauerweid did not understand. The fabulist accidentally saw the sketches of a young painter and wrote him a letter, urging him to leave horses and soldiers forever and take up the real thing - the genre. One artist sensitively guessed another.
Fedotov believed the fabulist and left the Academy. Now it is difficult to imagine how his fate would have developed if he had not listened to Ivan Andreevich. And the artist would not have left the same mark in Russian painting as Nikolai Gogol and Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin in literature. He was one of the first painters of the mid-19th century to resolutely embark on the path of critical realism and began to openly denounce the vices of Russian reality.
High mark
In 1846, the artist painted the first painting in the new genre, which he decided to present to the professors. This painting was called "The Fresh Cavalier". It is also known as "The Morning of the Official Who Received the First Cross" and "The Consequences of the Revel". Working on it was hard. “This is my first chick, which I“ nursed ”with various amendments for about nine months,” Fedotov wrote in his diary.
He showed the finished painting together with his second work, The Picky Bride, at the Academy. And a miracle happened - Karl Bryullov, who had not particularly welcomed Pavel Andreevich before, gave his canvases the highest rating. The Council of the Academy nominated him for the title of academician and assigned a financial allowance. This allowed Fedotov to continue the begun painting "Major's Matchmaking". In 1848, she, along with The Fresh Cavalier and The Picky Bride, appears at an academic exhibition.
The next exhibition, along with fame, brought censorship attention. It was forbidden to remove lithographs from the "Fresh Cavalier" because of the irreverent image of the order, and it was impossible to remove the order from the picture without destroying its plot. In a letter to the censor Mikhail Musin-Pushkin, Fedotov wrote: “... where there is constant poverty and deprivation, there the expression of the joy of the reward will reach the point of childishness to rush around with it day and night. ... stars are worn on robes, and this is only a sign that they value them.
However, the request to allow distribution of the painting "in its present form" was denied.
Here is what Fedotov wrote in his diary when he came from the Censorship Committee about the painting: “The morning after the feast on the occasion of the order received. The new cavalier couldn't stand it, he put on his new clothes on his dressing gown and proudly reminds the cook of his importance. But she mockingly shows him the only, but even then worn and perforated boots, which she carried to clean. Leftovers and fragments of yesterday's feast are scattered on the floor, and under the table in the background one can see a cavalier awakening, probably left on the battlefield, too, but one of those who stick with a passport to those passing by. The waist of the cook does not give the owner the right to have guests of the best tone. “Where there is a bad connection, there is a great holiday - dirt.”
In his work, Pavel Fedotov gave a certain share of his sympathy to the cook. Not bad-looking, a neat young woman, with a rounded, common people's face. A scarf tied around her head says that she is not married. Married women in those days wore a warrior on their heads. By the looks of it, she's expecting a baby. One can only guess who his father is.
"The Fresh Cavalier" Pavel Fedotov for the first time paints in oils. Perhaps that is why the work on it was carried out for quite a long time, although the idea was formed long ago. The new technique contributed to the emergence of a new impression - the complete realism, materiality of the depicted world. The artist worked on the painting as if he were painting a miniature, paying attention to the smallest details, leaving not a single piece of space unfilled. By the way, critics later reproached him for this.
poor official
As soon as they didn’t call the cavalier of criticism: “an unbridled boor”, “a soulless careerist official”. After many years, the critic Vladimir Stasov completely burst into an angry tirade: “... before you is a smart, stiff nature, a corrupt bribe taker, a soulless slave of his boss, who no longer thinks about anything, except that he will give him money and a cross in his buttonhole. He is fierce and ruthless, he will drown whom and what he wants, and not a single wrinkle on his face of rhinocers skin will not flinch. Anger, arrogance, callousness, idolization of the order as the highest and peremptory argument, life completely vulgarized.
However, Fedotov did not agree with him. He called his hero a "poor official" and even a "hard worker" "with a small content", experiencing "constant scarcity and deprivation." It is difficult to argue with the latter - the interior of his home, which is at the same time a bedroom, an office and a dining room, is rather poor. This little man found himself someone even smaller to rise above ...
He, of course, is not Akaky Akakievich from Gogol's "Overcoat". He has a small award, which entitles him to a number of privileges, in particular, to receive the nobility. Thus, receiving this lowest order in the Russian award system was very attractive for all officials and members of their families.
The gentleman missed his chance
Thanks to Nikolai Gogol and Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin, the official became the central figure in Russian literature of the 1830s-1850s. It was made hardly the only theme for vaudeville, comedies, stories, satirical scenes and other things. Even though they made fun of the official, they sympathized and sympathized with him. After all, he was tormented by the powers that be and he did not have the right to vote at all.
Thanks to Pavel Fedotov, it became possible to see the image of this small performer on the canvas. By the way, today the topic raised in the middle of the 19th century sounds no less relevant. But there is no Gogol among the writers who is able to describe the suffering of a modern official, for example, from the council, and there is no Fedotov, who, with his inherent share of irony, would draw a local-level official with a letter of thanks in his hands from another official, higher in his rank. Cash bonuses and serious awards are received by the leadership ...
The picture was painted in 1846. And in 1845, the awarding of the Order of Stanislav was suspended. So it is quite likely that the laughter of the cook, which is clearly heard from the canvas, just indicates that the broken girl knows the whole truth. They are no longer awarded and the "fresh gentleman" missed his only chance to change his life.
The genres of his paintings are varied.
Pavel Fedotov influenced the development of fine arts and went down in history as a talented artist who made important steps in the development of Russian painting.
The genres of his paintings are quite diverse, ranging from portraits, genre scenes and ending with battle paintings. Particular attention is paid to those written in his characteristic style of satire or critical realism. In them, he exposes human weaknesses and the very human essence for show. These paintings are witty, and during the life of the master were a real revelation. Genre scenes, where vulgarity, stupidity and, in general, different sides of human weaknesses are ridiculed, were an innovation in Russian art of the 19th century.
However, the artist's adherence to principles, along with the satirical orientation of his work, caused increased attention of censorship. As a result, patrons who previously favored him began to turn away from Fedotov. And then health problems began: vision deteriorated, headaches became more frequent, he suffered from rushes of blood to the head ... Which is why his character changed for the worse.
Fedotov died forgotten by everyone except friends
Fedotov's life ended tragically. In the spring of 1852, Pavel Andreevich showed signs of an acute mental disorder. And soon the academy was informed by the police that "a madman is kept at the unit who says that he is the artist Fedotov."
Friends and the administration of the Academy placed Fedotov in one of the private St. Petersburg hospitals for the mentally ill. The sovereign granted him 500 rubles for his maintenance in this institution. The disease progressed rapidly. In the autumn of 1852, acquaintances secured the transfer of Pavel Andreevich to the hospital of All Who Sorrow on Peterhof Highway. Here Fedotov died on November 14 of the same year, forgotten by all but a few close friends.
He was buried at the Smolensk Orthodox cemetery in the uniform of the captain of the Life Guards of the Finnish Regiment. The censorship committee forbade publishing the news of Pavel Andreevich's death in the press.
Natalia Shvets
Reproduction of Pavel Fedotov's painting "Fresh Cavalier"
P. A. Fedotov. Fresh Cavalier 1846. Moscow, State Tretyakov Gallery
The plot of "The Fresh Cavalier" by P. A. Fedotov was explained by the author himself.
- “Morning after the feast on the occasion of the order received. The new cavalier could not stand it: than the world put on his new clothes on his dressing gown and proudly reminds the cook of his significance, but she mockingly shows him the only, but even then worn and perforated boots, which she carried to clean. Leftovers and fragments of yesterday's feast are scattered on the floor, and under the table in the background one can see a cavalier awakening, probably left on the battlefield, but one of those who stick with passports to those passing by. The waist of the cook does not give the owner the right to have guests of the best tone. Where there is a bad connection, there is dirt on a great holiday.
It is quite obvious that the picture is not reduced to a direct narrative: a pictorial story includes rhetorical turns. Such a rhetorical figure appears, first of all, the main character. His posture is that of a speaker draped in a “toga”, with an “antique” body position, a characteristic support on one leg, and bare feet. Such is his overly eloquent gesture and stylized relief profile; papillots form a kind of laurel wreath.
However, the translation into the language of the high classical tradition is unacceptable for the picture as a whole. The behavior of the hero, at the will of the artist, becomes playful behavior, but objective reality immediately exposes the game: the toga turns into an old dressing gown, laurels into hairpins, bare feet into bare feet. Perception is twofold: on the one hand, we see before us the comically pitiful face of real life, on the other hand, we have before us the dramatic position of a rhetorical figure in an unacceptable “lowered” context.
By giving the hero a pose that does not correspond to the real state of affairs, the artist ridiculed the hero and the event itself. But is this the only expressiveness of the picture?
Russian painting of the preceding period was inclined to maintain a completely serious tone in its appeal to the classical heritage. This is largely due to the leading role of the historical genre in the artistic system of academism. It was believed that only a work of this kind was capable of raising Russian painting to a truly historical height, and the stunning success of Bryullov's "The Last Day of Pompeii" strengthened this position.
K. P. Bryullov. The last day of Pompeii 1830-1833. Leningrad, State Russian Museum
The painting by K. P. Bryullov was perceived by contemporaries as a revived classic. “... It seemed to me,” N. V. Gogol wrote, “that sculpture is the sculpture that was comprehended in such plastic perfection by the ancients that this sculpture finally passed into painting ...”. Indeed, inspired by the plot of the ancient era, Bryullov, as it were, set in motion a whole museum of ancient plastic art. The introduction of a self-portrait into the picture completes the effect of "resettlement" in the depicted classics.
Bringing one of his first heroes to public view, Fedotov puts him in a classic pose, but completely changes the plot-pictorial context. Removed from the context of "high" speech, this form of expressiveness is in clear contradiction with reality - a contradiction at the same time comic and tragic, because it comes to life precisely in order to immediately reveal its unviability. It must be emphasized that it is not the form as such that is ridiculed, but precisely the one-sidedly serious way of using it - a convention that claims to be the place of reality itself. This creates a parody effect.
Researchers have already paid attention to this feature of Fedotov's artistic language.
Fedotov. Consequence of Fidelka's death. 1844
“In the sepia-caricature “Polstofe”, in the sepia “Consequence of the death of Fidelka”, in the film “The Fresh Cavalier”, the category of the historical is ridiculed. Fedotov does this in different ways: instead of the sitter in a heroic pose, he puts half a shtof, puts the corpse of a dog in the main place, surrounding him with the figures of those present, likens one of the characters to a Roman hero or orator. But each time, exposing and ridiculing habits, character traits, laws, he ridicules them through signs and attributes of the academic genre. But it's not just a matter of denial. Denying, Fedotov at the same time and uses the techniques of academic art.
Sarabyanov D.P. P.A. Fedotov and Russian artistic culture of the 40s of the XIX century. p.45
The last remark is very significant; it proves that Fedotov's category of the historical (in its academic interpretation) is subjected not just to ridicule, but precisely to parody. From this, the fundamental orientation of Fedotov's painting towards “reading”, towards correlation with the art of the word, which is most subject to the game of meanings, becomes clear. It is not out of place to recall here the work of Fedotov the poet and his literary comments - oral and written - to his own paintings and drawings. Close analogies can be found in the work of a group of writers who glorified the art of parody under the pseudonym Kozma Prutkov.
The subjective oversaturation of the image in Fedotov is by no means a naturalistic property. The meaning of things here is like the meaning of actors. This is the situation we encounter in The Fresh Cavalier, where a great many things are presented, each with an individual voice, and they all seemed to speak at once, hurrying to tell about the event and interrupting each other in a hurry. This can be explained by the inexperience of the artist. But this does not exclude the possibility of seeing in this little ordered action of things crowding around the pseudo-classical figure, a parody of the conditionally regular structure of the historical picture. Recall the overly ordered confusion of Pompeii's Last Day.
K. P. Bryullov. The last day of Pompeii. Fragment
“Faces and bodies are in perfect proportions; beautifulness, roundness of body shapes are not disturbed, not distorted by pain, cramps and grimace. The stones are hanging in the air - and not a single bruised, wounded or contaminated person.
Ioffe I.I. Synthetic Art History
Let us also recall that in the author's commentary to The Fresh Cavalier, quoted above, the space of action is referred to only as a "battlefield", the event, the consequences of which we see, as a "feast", and the hero awakening under the table as " remaining on the battlefield, also a cavalier, but one of those who pester passers-by with passports ”(that is, a policeman).
P. A. Fedotov. Fresh Cavalier 1846. Moscow, State Tretyakov Gallery. Fragment. policeman
Finally, the very name of the picture is ambiguous: the hero is a cavalier of the order and a “cavalier” of the cook; the use of the word "fresh" is marked by the same duality. All this testifies to a parody of the "high style".
Thus, the meaning of the image is not reduced to the meaning of the visible; the picture is perceived as a complex ensemble of meanings, and this is due to the stylistic game, the combination of different settings. Contrary to popular belief, painting is able to master the language of parody. It is possible to express this position in a more concrete form: the Russian everyday genre goes through the stage of parody as a natural stage of self-affirmation. It is clear that parody does not imply negation as such. Dostoevsky parodied Gogol, learning from him. It is also clear that parody is not reduced to ridicule. Its nature lies in the unity of two foundations, comic and tragic, and "laughter through tears" is much closer to its essence than comic imitation or mimicry.
In the later work of Fedotov, the parodic principle becomes almost elusive, entering a much more “closer” personal context. Perhaps it is appropriate here to talk about autoparody, about playing on the verge of exhausting mental strength, when laughter and tears, irony and pain, art and reality celebrate their meeting on the eve of the death of the very person who united them.
Of the paintings by Pavel Fedotov, I like "The Fresh Cavalier" the most. This picture has other names: "Morning of the official who received the first cross" and "Consequences of the feast."
Every time I look at this picture, it's like seeing it for the first time. She, like a book, always opens up to me in a new way. But one thing is constant - the impression. I am surprised, amazed, admire the artist who, on a small piece of canvas, was able to create such an epoch-making work!
Fedotov P.A. Fresh Cavalier. 1846. Oil on canvas. 48.2×42.5
State Tretyakov Gallery.
I try to imagine how he painted the surroundings of the picture, details, faces with a small brush ... how he managed to convey his own feelings to the image! It happens that it is difficult to express your thoughts in words, but here everything is said only with paints!
I stand in front of the picture, I look at it, I notice how people approach it. Some silently consider and move on, this is at best. At worst, when advanced art lovers stop, and they often go in pairs, and exchange not their impressions of the picture, but their knowledge gleaned from various critical sources, most often from notes on painting by Vladimir Vasilyevich Stasov.
The well-known art critic of the 2nd half of the 19th century, Vladimir Stasov, in his work "25 Years of Russian Art" (1882), spoke about the "Fresh Cavalier" like this:
“Look this official in the face: we have before us an expert, stiff nature, a corrupt bribe taker, a soulless slave of his boss, thinking of nothing more than giving him money and a cross in his buttonhole. He is fierce and ruthless, he will drown anyone and whatever you want - and not a single wrinkle on his face made of rhinoceros skin will not flinch.Angry, swagger, completely vulgar life - all this is present on this face, in this pose and the figure of an inveterate official in a dressing gown and barefoot, in hairpins and with an order on his chest ".
I respect and appreciate Vladimir Vasilievich very much, I agree with his opinions about many paintings by Russian artists, but I do not agree with the interpretation of The Fresh Cavalier. Moreover, I protest against it. Where did Stasov look in the picture as evidence of those negative qualities that he attributed to the Fresh Cavalier?
Is the Fresh Cavalier a "corrupt bribe-taker"? If I were a bribe-taker, I would not live in poverty. Is he "a soulless slave of his boss"? No, this is just Stasov's unsubstantiated assumption. Where did the critic see "anger, swagger and vulgarity"? Not this, otherwise the Fresh Cavalier would not have arranged an invited feast for his comrades. Is the fresh cavalier fierce and ruthless? It is unlikely that a ferocious and ruthless person would shelter a retired soldier, a dog, a cat and a bird. And then, why did Stasov take that the Fresh Cavalier had a "rhinoceros (rhinoceros) skin"! An invention of pure water.
Art critic Stasov did not think that people always listen to the opinions of authoritative persons, trust their opinion, knowledge, and from their words begin to judge what they see (and even not see).
Fedotov's "fresh cavalier" is a vivid example of this. From school, we are used to hearing that Fedotov in his paintings denounces and castigates the vices of society in which officials, military men, merchants, aristocrats live ... This is how our teachers were taught, and the teachers taught us the same way. We began to perceive people like the Fresh Cavalier as careerists and opportunists, we deny them purely human feelings, because we are pre-configured for denial and condemnation. An official, which means a soulless bureaucrat, has an order, which means he curried and servility, curls his curls, which means he is a frivolous rake, not tidied up in the room, which means he is a reveler and a drunkard, holes in his boots, which means he is a quitter.
Armed with stereotypes, we start from them when evaluating a picture. In this case, it is appropriate to recall another quote from Stasov: “You can regret them, but it’s tricky to exact them. ".
What do we see when we first look at the painting "The Fresh Cavalier"? We see in the center the image of a man with his hands on his hips with an order on his robe; note the expression on his face; we pay attention to the holey boot that the girl pokes in his face; we see her mocking face; we observe a mess in the home, we look at a cat that is tearing up an already peeled chair ... These bright details form in us a feeling of condemnation, for which we are already prepared.
You can not pass by the paintings and you can not examine them briefly. Any painting by any artist requires respect through careful scrutiny. And, what is important, at the same time, one must trust one's own feelings and impressions, and not judge from the shoulder, keeping someone else's opinion in mind.
Paintings by Pavel Andreevich Fedotov demand such careful scrutiny. They must be considered for a long time and carefully, because in Fedotov every little thing can speak and explain the plot. This was also noted by Karl Bryullov, who spoke very well of Fedotov's work. It was Bryullov who gave Fedotov's paintings, presented at the exam at the Academy of Arts, a positive assessment. Bryullov has never spoken so flatteringly about a single Russian artist. None of the professors dared to object to the great Charles, and the Council of the Academy of Arts unanimously recognized Fedotov as an academician in "painting domestic scenes."
With the light hand of Stasov, the painting "The Fresh Cavalier" began to be considered a classic of critical realism. Each of the subsequent critics added to Stasov's response a few of his own words confirming this idea. The monograph about the artist says: "Fedotov takes off the mask not only from the official, but also from the epoch. Look with what superiority, with what irony and sober understanding of reality the cook looks at his master. Russian painting has not yet known such an art of denunciation."
I do not think that the artist painted his picture from the standpoint of a harsh civic denunciation. He did not denounce his hero, but sympathized with him, understanding his behavior. In a letter to the censor M.N. Fedotov wrote to Musin-Pushkin: "... where there is constant poverty and deprivation, there the expression of joy from the award will come to childishness to rush about with her day and night. [Where] stars are worn on dressing gowns, and this is only a sign that they value them" .
I believe that the person in the center of the picture is a happy person! And he does not hide his happiness. Fifteen years of service have finally been crowned with an award, and even though the Order of Stanislav of the 3rd degree is the lowest order in the hierarchy of imperial orders, it evokes a genuine feeling of joy in the newly minted cavalier. The order for him is an indicator of his significance: he was noticed, singled out, awarded, which means that he was not lost among millions of such officials, but in plain sight!
A fresh cavalier is an employee of the St. Petersburg council, or rather, an official of the police department. This can be judged by a uniform uniform with lapels hanging on the back of a chair, and a cap with a red band and piping. And also - according to the newspaper lying on the table. These are "Vedomosti of the St. Petersburg City Administration and the Metropolitan Police" - a subscription daily newspaper of the St. Petersburg City Council.
The mess in the room is the result of a feast that the Fresh Cavalier threw at his house. Drinking, refreshments, fun, a guitar with broken strings - the feast was a success, it is clearly read in the picture. Of course, Fedotov did not do without a grin - he depicts under the table a retired soldier with St. George's crosses who has not yet woken up after yesterday's washing of the order.
According to the statute, the St. George Cross is higher than the Order of Stanislav, but by placing the St. George Cavalier under the table, Fedotov emphasizes the importance of the order for the Fresh Cavalier, who considers his order more important. And it can be understood.
The Order of St. George was given for military exploits, but the Fresh Cavalier has the right to believe that he was also awarded for exploits, only for labor. We can imagine what kind of work this petty official had if he was singled out from the general bureaucratic mass and presented for an award!
Fedotov has no trifles in the picture, everything works to reveal the image. Even a book thrown on the floor can add an expressive touch to the portrait of the protagonist. The book is opened so that the audience can see its author and title: "F. Bulgarin" Ivan Vyzhigin ".
We know Bulgarin as the object of ridicule and epigrams of A.S. Pushkin. But Bulgarin is also a writer. He became famous for his book about Ivan Vyzhigin. The hero of the novel, Ivan Vyzhigin, is something like Ostap Bender, a rogue, a rogue, a servant of the authorities and a servant of people in power. By adjusting to their superiors, such people snatch a piece of happiness for themselves. Bulgarin's novel was very popular at one time, all segments of the population read it, from small employees to high-ranking nobles.
By placing an expanded book in the picture, Fedotov makes it clear about the ways of obtaining the order, that is, Bulgarin's novel was a kind of guide to action for the future order bearer, which, as we see, was a success.
The Fresh Cavalier has a goal in life: to become noticeable. To do this, he uses different methods, even his appearance: early in the morning he shaves, curls and is well-groomed (hair curlers, hair curlers, a magnifying mirror for plucking hairs from his nose). He is not yet dressed, but is already active, full of enthusiasm from the received award and wants approval and praise from those present. To do this, he stands in the pose of an ancient hero, even in front of a maid, sticks out his lip for importance and points his finger at the order on his robe - look, here I am! And although the maid does not share his triumph and shows him a prosaic boot with worn soles, this does not shame the gentleman, because happiness is not in the boot, but in the assessment of his service zeal. Finally he succeeded!
In addition, no one will see the worn sole of the boot, and the order - here it is, in plain sight. To heighten the pleasure, even suspenders were ordered to match the sash, and the badge "15 years of impeccable service" on the service uniform was polished to a shine! In addition, awarding the Order of Stanislav of any degree provided the right of hereditary nobility - is this not a joy!
How old is the fresh gentleman? In appearance, about 30 years old, so was Fedotov himself when he painted the picture. The age of a mature person does not prevent the Fresh Cavalier from rejoicing like a child and from the bottom of his heart to be proud of the award. The order for him is not only an assessment of his work, but self-respect and an incentive for further promotion (the motto of the order is "rewarding, encouraging").
After all, in the same way, Pavel Andreevich Fedotov was proud of receiving his first rank in the service, a diamond ring from the hand of Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich for the watercolor "Meeting the Grand Duke." There is nothing reprehensible and accusatory in this. These are the natural joys of any person.
In addition, according to the statute, the holders of the Order of St. Stanislav of the 3rd degree were entitled to a pension of 86 rubles, and the acquisition of a noble title gave a number of advantages, such as, for example, exemption from personal taxes, recruitment duty, obtaining the right to preferential loans from a bank and etc. Many order-bearers received an annual monetary reward, the so-called cavalier's pensions, as well as lump-sum allowances.
Since the "Rinoceros" Fresh Cavalier should not rejoice if the order improves his financial situation and facilitates his existence!
At the autumn academic exhibition of 1849, Fedotov presented three paintings: "Major's Courtship", "Choiceous Bride" and "Fresh Cavalier". The exhibition featured 400 paintings, but only in front of Fedotov's paintings was a crowd. Opinions, as always, were divided, some admired, others were indignant.
In articles about the art exhibition, the young but already well-known poet Apollon Maikov spoke of Fedotov as the best Russian genre painter:
"By the richness of thought, the dramatic nature of the situation, the thoughtfulness of the details, the fidelity and liveliness of the types. By the extraordinary clarity of presentation and true humor, the first place should belong to Mr. Fedotov ... To tell in more detail the content of these three paintings would mean writing three stories, and moreover with a pen Gogol!"
I saw the paintings of Fedotov and the 24-year-old critic Stasov. What did he think in that 1849 about the painting "The Fresh Cavalier"? Did he echo Maikov, saying that Fedotov's paintings are "a purely Gogolian creation in terms of talent, humor and strength"? Or did he say, "how surprised he would be, I think, if someone then told him that it was only with him that real Russian art would begin"?
Three decades later, having reached the peak of his critical activity, Stasov became sharper in his opinion about the painting "The Fresh Cavalier" (see Stasov's quote above).
According to the mature Stasov, "The Fresh Cavalier" is no longer a scene from the everyday life of a petty official, but a formidable denunciation of the existing system, which poor Pavel Andreevich did not even think about.
The heyday of Stasov's critical activity dates back to 1870-1880. During this time, he enjoyed the greatest public recognition and influence. His judgments about artists and musicians still serve as a priority point in creative disputes and discussions. And no one allows a shadow of doubt in his statements, although they are just a private opinion. Boldly expressed, and even printed and repeatedly repeated, Stasov's personal opinion became the opinion of many who do not know how to think independently.
Supporters of high art spoke negatively about Fedotov's paintings and called him "the main representative of a dangerous trend in art." ("Is a dangerous rebel worse than Pugachev?") Of course, neither the Academy of Arts nor the Russian Department of the Hermitage bought Fedotov's paintings after the exhibition.
At the moment, the painting "Fresh Cavalier" is in the collection of the State Tretyakov Gallery.
In conclusion, I will quote from the same Stasov: Fedotov "died, having brought into the world barely a small grain of the wealth with which his nature was gifted. But this grain was pure gold and later bore great fruits."
In our new section, we will tell and show the most significant paintings for the events of our history and not only try to decipher the colorful details that are well understood by the artist’s contemporaries, but also show that paintings often live for a very long time and reflect problems that are well known even today. Let's start with the eternal theme - the Russian bureaucracy. Even today it is by no means ideal and often comes across in various abuses. 170 years ago, during the time of Emperor Nicholas I, the shortcomings of officials were in many respects the same as those that the observant artist Pavel Fedotov showed in his ageless picture.
ironic realist
Pavel Andreevich Fedotov (1815-1852), who lived for a very short time, but managed to become famous, for the first time in the Russian everyday genre tried to give a critical analysis of everyday life. The painter's father was a military man, and Fedotov himself served in St. Petersburg, where he attended evening classes at the Academy of Arts. In 1846 he produced his first significant painting, The Fresh Cavalier. In 1848, the no less famous "Courtship of a Major" was written. The paintings of the first years are characterized by irony and sharpness of plots, and later Fedotov also mastered the art of psychological drama, an example of this in his later paintings The Widow (1851) and The Players (1852). The images of the artist hit the mark - already at the end of the 1840s, many painters appeared who imitated Fedotov.
Pavel Fedotov, Major's Matchmaking (1848)
Eye of censorship
Fedotov's painting, painted in 1846, bore several names at once: "The Fresh Cavalier", or "The Morning of the Official Who Received the First Cross", or "The Consequences of the Feast". Now it is stored in the State Tretyakov Gallery.
The first sketches of the future masterpiece appeared in the early 1840s. On the advice of the fabulist Ivan Andreevich Krylov, Fedotov decided to develop the plot and rework the sketches into a full-fledged canvas. After the painting was ready, the artist presented it to the Academy of Arts, where it was highly appreciated. In 1847, the "Fresh Cavalier" was presented to the public and caused a real sensation, bringing fame to its creator. But censorship immediately drew attention to the picture: the removal of lithographs from it was prohibited due to ... an irreverent image of the order.
Gloomy morning
All three names of the picture tell about its plot. We see an ordinary average official on the morning after receiving his first order and celebrating such an important event. Himself offending censorship, the Order of St. Stanislav of the 3rd degree was the youngest in the hierarchy of state awards and was often used to distinguish officials.
Such a small award contrasts on the canvas with the very appearance of the newly-made cavalier: a proud and swaggering facial expression, the pose of a Roman senator wrapped up as if in a toga, and not a shabby robe, and an order attached not to a uniform, but to the same robe - all this should evoke in the viewer a sense of contradiction and inconsistency between the event and its perception by the main character.
But the irony of the maid depicted to the left of the order bearer completely coincides with ours, the audience. A simple maid, in front of whom the gentleman exposes his robe, looks at him with undisguised mockery and defiantly holding the owner’s old worn boots in her hands. The comical image of the official, who imagines himself an important bird after receiving a small award, is emphasized by the papillots in his head (maybe, with a hero's hangover, they turn into a laurel crown?) And his bare feet.
Pavel Fedotov, Fresh Cavalier (1846)
The situation around also shows the contrast between the gentleman's attitude towards himself and the harsh reality. In the room of the order-bearer, furniture of various colors, a terrible mess reigns everywhere, things are scattered. On the table, we can see the sausage left over from the party, lying not on a plate, but on a newspaper, and not an easy one, but on Vedomosti of the St. Petersburg City Police. Skeletons of herring and shards of broken dishes are lying around the table. A guitar with broken strings leaned against a chair. A skinny mongrel cat is tearing at the upholstery of a chair.
All this taken together is a pitiful sight, but it does not prevent the newly minted gentleman from cherishing his ambitions. He dreams of being no worse than everyone else and keeping up with the fashion of the capital - this is what the curling irons, mirror and shaving accessories lying on the table tell us about. A fashionable book is a moralizing novel by Faddey Bulgarin, close to power, Ivan Vyzhigin. But the book is lying under the chair - it seems that our hero could not master it either.
The painting by Pavel Fedotov is incredibly rich in telling details (which generally distinguishes the everyday genre in painting). The “Fresh Cavalier” makes it possible to judge the life of St. Petersburg officials of the 1840s, who were able to receive an order, but actually live in poverty and are spiritually poor. Today, by the way, it is much more difficult to obtain an order than in 1846, but the morals, conceit and manners of bureaucrats have not changed very much. That is why we are interested in the artist Fedotov, who died 165 years ago.
Pavel Fedotov, "It's all cholera's fault!" (1848)