Аннотация: Three prose portraits of Leo Tolstoy by Ilya Repin. A literary note.
Three prosaic portraits of Leo Tolstoy by Ilya Repin. A literary note.
Ilya Repin repeatedly drew Leo Tolstoy, painted his portraits.
In the book "The Distant and the Close" ("The Far and the Nearby") ("From my communications with Leo Tolstoy") Ilya Repin presented a prosaic description of Leo Tolstoy. (Edited and with an introductory article by Korney Chukovsky. Edition 5. M., 1960).
Three portraits are outstanding in their power. All three portraits describe Leo Tolstoy when he is not engaged in literary work, when he is outside the literary environment.
They deserve the special, separate attention.
In 1891 Ilya Repin visited Leo Tolstoy in Yasnaya Polyana.
"One hot August day, in the heat of the day, after breakfast, Lev Nikolaevich was going to plow the field of a widow; I got permission to accompany him...
We set off at one o'clock in the afternoon. He was wearing a summer white cap and a light coat over a purple-colored work shirt. At the stable, Lev Nikolaevich took two working horses. He put on them working collars ... and led them by the reins...
Beyond the outskirts of the village of Yasnaya Polyana, we enter the yard of beggar view.
Lev Nikolaevich gives me one horse to hold by the leash. He ties a harrow lying right there in the yard (the horned bad homemade) to the other horse...
He ... goes into the shed, which familiar to him, pulls out a plow from there, and ..., correcting, repairing ... skillfully, like carpenters prepare a saw. He ties the plow to the another horse.
He takes his coat, takes a bottle of water out of his side pocket, takes it to the ravine, under the bushes, and covers the bottle with his coat. Now, having tied a horse with a harrow to his belt from behind by the rein, he picks up ... the plow. We left the yard and began to plow. It was monotonous, it was so long - up to a boredom...
For six hours, without rest, he ploughed the black earth with a plough, climbing up the mountain, going down the sloping terrain to the ravine...
Occasionally, after climbing along the loose ground onto the hillock, he would leave the plow for a minute and go to the ravine to drink from a bottle of water, with a little addition of white wine. His face glistened in the sun from streams of sweat streaming down the facial wrinkles with a black solution of dust.
Finally I asked permission to try to plow. I barely passed the line downhill - I curved the furrow line terribly, and when I had to climb the hill, I couldn't take ten steps. It's terribly difficult! The fingers, unaccustomed to holding these thick shafts, became stiff and could not bear it any longer, the shoulders were terribly tired from constantly lifting the plough to provide the correct furrow depth. In the elbows, which were fixed, in the same bend position, with constant effort,... was an unbearable pain. There was no strength and patience. "That it is. By the sweat of my brow," I thought, wiping myself.
"It is because of the lack of habit," - Lev Nikolaevich said. - "And it took me a while to get used to it; you will still have discomfort in your hands and shoulders tomorrow. Yes, after all, physical labor is the hardest," - he reasoned good-naturedly with a smile.
And again the endless heavy walking back and forth on the loose, fragrant earth began...
We were returning to the [Leo Tolstoy's] house at dusk; it was cold. The air was already so fresh that I was afraid he might catch a cold. His shirt is soaked through [from sweat]. The light shone merrily in the windows of the house: we were expected for dinner. I could repeat after the fly: "We plowed."" ["the Fly sitting on the horn of the Bull..."]
In 1891 -1893, Tolstoy worked among the hungry peasants: he visited some counties affected by crop failure, opened canteens, etc.
In 1892, Repin arrived to Begichevka, Dankovsky District, Ryazan province - to see Tolstoy.
After inspecting the canteens for the hungry (in different settlements), Tolstoy and Repin were returning to Begichevka.
Winter. The frost was about 25 degrees Celsius. The heavy snow covered the ravines.
At one of the turns, when descending from a hillock, the sleigh, in which Leo Tolstoy and Ilya Repin were traveling, fell into a ravine covered with snow.
The horse was immobilized - she was in a hopeless situation.
It remained to wait for help from some people randomly passing by, driving by.
Ilya Repin described the situation.
"She made attempts after attempts, the poor [horse], and, at last, she calmed down quietly... She felt soft underlay [the snow] under herself. We were sitting in the sleigh, up to our chests in snow.
I was decidedly perplexed our ability to find a way out of the situation. To sit and wait, may be good people drive by and pull us out of the deep snow?
But Lev Nikolaevich quickly flounders in the snow, takes off his five-pound sheepskin coat, throws it on the snow towards the horse and begins to crush, to press the snow to get to her.
- First of all, it is necessary to unhitch her - he says, - to free her from the harness, gear, so that she can get out on the road.
The north wind was raising a white cloud of snow dust around us. Against the background of the blue sky, Lev Nikolaevich, floundering in the white snow, seemed like some kind of mythical god in the clouds. His energetic face became red, his broad beard sparkled with spangles of gray and frost. Like some kind of magician, he moved decisively and beautifully. Soon he was already near the horse.
Then, following his example, I begin to make my way to the horse from the other side along the edge of the sledge ... to help... Here I am near the horse.
But it is not far from a trouble, - to be nearby the animal: it does not understand our good intentions... She'll hurt you, break your leg! I have already received several sensitive thrusts from her shod hoof.
And Lev Nikolaevich had already unwound the supon, took out the arc, threw it into the sleigh and, freeing the horse ..., took it by the tail and led it to the road, onto a steep slope. The horse jumped onto the road, and Lev Nikolaevich, without letting go of its tail from his hands, was already standing on the road; he held the horse by the reins, throwing the harness elements to me to tie to the sledge - to pull the sledge onto the road using the strength of the horse.
My hands were numb from the cold and from the unaccustomed. It's difficult, but, as a hypnotized person, I somehow manage everything: I understand everything and I do everything right. I tied the harness elements to to the sledge; even I pulled out a sheepskin coat, was trampled into the snow, put the sheepskin coat on the sledge and I climb to Lev Nikolaevich through the already significantly crushed, pressed snow with the ends of the reins.
He pulls me out on the free ends of harness, ties them to the yoke, and our sleigh solemnly rises to the road. What a happiness!
And during all this time, not a soul passing by, driving by.
Thank God, both the sledge and the harness are all intact. It's necessary just to harness the horse. Lev Nikolaevich did this quite easily and simply, like a usual, familiar to him work.
The arc is laid on, the leg rises to the yoke..., the rein is threaded into the ring of the arc..., and it's done.
It was only necessary to knock out, to clean the sheepskin coat. We took it by the edges and tried for a long time to shake out the snow, which covered the sheepskin. What a burden! It is difficult to stay in place during the shaking. It is not right to put clothes on - if the clothes covered with the snow from the inside...
I even got fired up from these exercises, it became fun to me.
- Ho-oh, so that's how ... - Lev Nikolaevich smiled happily.... - I notice: painters are capable people.".
The third literary portrait is the shortest of the three.
In 1907 Ilya Repin visited Leo Tolstoy in Yasnaya Polyana.
"During this visit of mine, I accompanied Lev Nikolaevich twice in his horseback rides...
From the hill Lev Nikolaevich suddenly set off ... towards the stream. At the stream, his horse ... jumped to the other side. I was even surprised; I'm moving - but quieter - and intend to look for a place to ford, to cross the stream.
- Did you stopped?- I looked around, Lev Nikolaevich was looking at me. - You'd better jump over at once. Our horses are used to it. You'll get stuck in a stream - it's swampy, it's not even safe... Nothing, nothing, you may to stroke horse; return yourself a little back and push, direct the horse at once. I know, he jumps well.
I had never had to ride through, above such a stream before, and I felt ashamed. Well, I think, come what may... And again, as if hypnotized, I try to do as I was told. And I was so prepared for the jump that I didn't even recognize the moment itself, and it's like a big move, like a swinging with a large amplitude, on a swing - it's even nice; only very soon.
"Well, that's it," - Lev Nikolaevich said with a satisfied smile. - "Yes, you ride well and sit in the saddle somehow firmly".
He grinned.
- It's you do better, better, than you play chess. Chertkov fell here. But it's not his fault: the horse got stuck with her foot - Chertkov is an excellent cavalryman-horse guard! And the horse fell under him and Chertkov even damaged his leg. I was already pulling him out ... and he even lay with his leg for a bit...
And I marveled at the agility of a rider at the age of seventy-nine. In very steep places, where I adapted with difficulty, he moved without hesitation, easily.
- You know, on these steep climbs you have to hold on to the mane and to do it good..."
These prose portraits of Leo Tolstoy by Ilya Repin are a confirmation of the artist's enormous literary, writing talent.
The choice of these portraits and their numbering is the result of my subjective discretion. It can be assumed that someone will like other literary portraits from Ilya Repin.
October 17, 2021 11:14
Translation from Russian into English: October 17, 2021 17:46.
Владимир Владимирович Залесский 'Три прозаических портрета Льва Толстого от Ильи Репина. Литературная заметка'.
{ 2462. Три прозаических портрета Льва Толстого от Ильи Репина. Литературная заметка.
MСCCСXXXII. Three prosaic portraits of Leo Tolstoy by Ilya Repin. A literary note. (English). }