The State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow (Государственная Третьяковская Галерея)
Date: 1913-18
Technique: Oil on canvas
Source
Showing posts with label Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov. Show all posts
5/21/12
Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov, Dobrynya Nikitich Fights the Seven-Headed Zmey Gorynych (Бой Добрыни Никитича с семиглавым Змеем Горынычем)
The State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow (Государственная Третьяковская Галерея)
Date: 1913-18
Technique: Oil on canvas
Source
12/2/11
Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov, Kashchei the Immortal (Кощей Бессмертный)
House-Museum of Viktor Vasnetsov, Moscow
Date: 1926-27
Technique: Oil on canvas
In Slavic folklore, Koschei (Russian: Коще́й, Koshchey, also Kashchei or Kashchey; Ukrainian: Кощій, Koshchiy; Polish: Kościej) is an archetypal male antagonist, described mainly as abducting the hero's wife. None of the existing tales actually describes his appearance, though in book illustrations, cartoons and cinema he has been most frequently represented as a very old and ugly-looking man. Koschei is also known as Koschei the Immortal or Koschei the Deathless (Russian: Коще́й Бессме́ртный, Ukrainian: Кощій Безсмертний), as well as Tzar Koschei. As is usual in Russian transliterations, there are numerous other spellings, such as Koshchei, Kashchej and Kaschei. The spelling in Russian and other Slavic languages (like Polish "Kościej" or Czech "Kostěj") suggests that his name may be derived from the word kost' (rus. кость, pol. kość) meaning 'bone', implying a skeletal appearance.
Koschei cannot be killed by conventional means targeting his body. His soul is hidden separate from his body inside a needle, which is in an egg, which is in a duck, which is in a hare, which is in an iron chest (sometimes the chest is crystal and/or gold), which is buried under a green oak tree, which is on the island of Buyan, in the ocean. As long as his soul is safe, he cannot die. If the chest is dug up and opened, the hare will bolt away. If it is killed, the duck will emerge and try to fly off. Anyone possessing the egg has Koschei in their power. He begins to weaken, becomes sick and immediately loses the use of his magic. If the egg is tossed about, he likewise is flung around against his will. If the egg or needle is broken (in some tales this must be done by specifically breaking it against Koschei's forehead), Koschei will die.
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6/30/11
Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov, Flying Carpet (Ковeр-самолeт)
Нижегородский государственный художественный музей / The Art Museum of Nizhniy Novgorod
Date: 1880
Technique: Oil on canvas, 165 x 297 сm
In Russian folk tales, Baba Yaga can supply Ivan the Fool or Ivan Tsarevich with a flying carpet or some other magical gifts (e.g., a ball that rolls in front of the hero showing him the way or a towel that can turn into bridge). Such gifts help the hero to find his way "beyond thrice-nine lands, in the thrice-ten kingdom".
In 1880, the rich industrialist Savva Mamontov commissioned Viktor Vasnetsov to illustrate a folk talk about Ivan and the Firebird. The painting represents Ivan returning home after capturing the Firebird, which he keeps in a cage. Ivan is riding the flying carpet in the early morning mist. This work was Vasnetsov's first attempt at illustrating Russian folk tales and inaugurated a famous series of paintings on the themes drawn from Russian folklore. When exhibited at the 8th exhibition of the Peredvizhniki, the painting was panned by leading critics as a commercially motivated betrayal of realism and return to the aesthetics of Romanticism. On the other hand, it was enthusiastically received by the Slavophile artists from the Abramtsevo art colony.
Source
1/19/11
Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov, Sirin and Alkonost. The Birds of Joy and Sorrow (Сирин и Алконост. Птицы радости и печали)
The State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow
Date: 1896
Technique: Oil on canvas, 133 x 250 cm
Sirin is a mythological creature of Russian legends, with the head and chest of a beautiful woman and the body of a bird (usually an owl). According to the myth, they lived "in Indian lands" near Eden or around the Euphrates River.
These half-women half-birds are loosely based on the Greek stories about sirens. They sang beautiful songs to the saints, foretelling future joys. For mortals, however, the birds were dangerous. Men who heard them would forget everything on earth, follow them, and ultimately die. People would attempt to save themselves Sirins by shooting cannons, ringing bells and making other loud noises to scare the bird off.
Sometimes Sirin is seen as a metaphor for God's word going into the soul of a man. Sometimes she is seen as a metaphor of heretics tempting the weak. Sometimes Sirin was considered equivalent to the siren or the Polish Wila. In Russian folklore, Sirin was mixed with the revered religious writer Saint Ephrem the Syrian. Thus, peasant lyrists such as Nikolay Klyuev often used Sirin as a synonym for poet.
Famous writer Vladimir Nabokov wrote some of his first novels and poems under the pseudonym Vladimir Sirin.
The Alkonost is a legendary bird in Slavic mythology. It has the body of a bird with the head and chest of a woman. The name Alkonost came the name of Greek demi-goddess Alcyone transformed by gods into a kingfisher. The Alkonost reproduces by laying eggs on the sea-shore then putting them into the water. The sea is then calm for six or seven days at which point the eggs hatch, bringing a storm. For the Russian Orthodox Church Alkonost personifies God's will. She lives in paradise but goes into our world to deliver a message. Her voice is so sweet that anybody hearing it can forget everything. Unlike Sirin, another similar creature, she is not evil.
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Source 2
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