Princess Tarakanova (painting)

Last updated
Princess Tarakanova
Tarakanova.jpg
Artist Konstantin Flavitsky
Year1864 (1864)
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions245 cm× 187 cm(96 in× 74 in)
LocationState Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow

Princess Tarakanova is the most famous painting by the artist Konstantin Flavitsky. Completed in 1864, the painting depicts the story of Princess Tarakanova, who was imprisoned during the reign of Empress Catherine II. [1] Flavitsky's use of light and shadow and attention to detail in the painting earned him the title of professor of historical painting, and it remains one of his most famous works. [2]

Contents

Plot

The plot for the painting was based on the legend of Princess Tarakanova's death during the flood in Saint Petersburg on September 21, 1777 (historical records show that she died two years before this event). The canvas depicts a casemate in the Peter and Paul Fortress, with floodwaters raging outside the walls. [2] On a bed, a young woman stands, trying to escape from the water that is flowing through a barred window. Wet rats emerge from the water, crawling towards the prisoner's feet.

Although the legend about Tarakanova's death during the flood is not true, it was this version of her death that was fixed in the popular memory, thanks to Flavitsky. For example, in the poem "Soul," Boris Pasternak writes: "you fight like Princess Tarakanova fought when the ravelin was flooded in February."

Creation history

The story of Princess Tarakanova, a social climber who claimed to be the daughter of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna and sister of Yemelyan Pugachev, served as the basis for creating the painting. By order of Empress Catherine II, she was arrested and in May 1775 was taken to the Peter and Paul Fortress, where she was subjected to lengthy interrogation by Field Marshal Prince Golitsyn, during which she gave various testimonies. She died of consumption on December 4, 1775, hiding the secret of her birth even from a priest.

The painting was created in 1864 and was first exhibited at the Academy of Arts exhibition in the same year. Vladimir Stasov, a famous critic of the time who highly valued the painting, called Flavitsky's canvas a "miraculous painting, the glory of our school, the most brilliant creation of Russian painting." The painting was acquired by Pavel Tretyakov for his collection after the artist's death.

Other versions

1862 version 1862 Flavitsky Prinzessin Tarakanow anagoria.JPG
1862 version

In the Ekaterinburg Museum of Fine Arts, the presumed original version of the painting, created in 1862, is stored. The differences lie in the size of the canvas, which is 214 × 147 centimeters, and in the figurative interpretation: the face and figure of the young woman do not yet convey the tragedy and final despair. [3] Therefore, the version from the Tretyakov Gallery collection is a later copy. [4]

Another version from 1864 is stored in the K. A. Savitsky Penza Regional Art Gallery  [ ru ]. It is smaller in size, measuring 123 × 94 centimeters. [5]

Additionally, in the Russian Museum, there is the "Head of Princess Tarakanova," a study for the painting of 1863. [6] It measures 44.5 × 33.5 centimeters and was donated to the museum by Pyotr Ge  [ ru ] in 1903.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexei Razumovsky</span> Ukrainian-born Russian Registered Cossack

Count Alexei Grigorievich Razumovsky was a Ukrainian-born Russian Registered Cossack who rose to become the lover, and it was suggested he was the morganatic spouse, of the Empress Elizabeth Petrovna of Russia. A member of the House of Razumovsky, he survived Elizabeth. The matter of any children they may have had together is unresolved.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Princess Tarakanova</span> Pretender to the Russian throne

Princess Tarakanova was a pretender to the Russian throne. She styled herself, among other names, Knyazhna Yelizaveta Vladimirskaya, Fräulein Frank, and Madame Trémouille. Tarakanova is a later name, used only in entertainment, apparently on the basis of how she lived her last months and died. In her own time, she was not known by that name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vladimir Borovikovsky</span> Russian artist (1757–1825)

Vladimir Lukich Borovikovsky was a Russian artist of Ukrainian Cossack origin. He served at the court of Catherine the Great and dominated portraiture in Russia at the turn of the 19th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Konstantin Flavitsky</span> Russian painter

Konstantin Dmitriyevich Flavitsky was a Russian painter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aurora Karamzin</span> Finnish philanthropist

Eva Aurora Charlotta Karamzin was a Finnish philanthropist. Her better-known names are Princess Aurora Demidova and Aurora Karamzin, titles that were acquired after her first and second marriages, respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Varvara Golovina</span> Russian artist and memoirist

Countess Varvara Nikolayevna Golovina, néePrincess Golitsyna was an artist and memoirist from Russian nobility, maid of honour of the Russian court, a close confidant of Empress Elizabeth, favorite Ivan Shuvalov's niece and Dame of Order of Saint Catherine (1816).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aleksandr Borisov (painter)</span> Russian painter

Aleksandr Alekseyevich Borisov was a Russian painter notable for his Arctic landscapes.

<i>Girl with Peaches</i> 1887 painting by Valentin Serov

Girl with Peaches is an 1887 painting by the Russian painter Valentin Serov.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anastasia Tarakanova</span> Russian figure skater

Anastasia Anatolyevna Tarakanova is a Russian retired figure skater. She is the 2017 JGP Austria and 2018 JGP Slovenia champion, and the 2017–18 JGP Final bronze medalist. She has won seven medals on the ISU Junior Grand Prix series.

<i>Homeopathy Looks at the Horrors of Allopathy</i> Painting by Alexander Beideman

Homeopathy Looks at the Horrors of Allopathy is an allegorical painting by Russian artist Alexander Beideman, painted in 1857. It is owned by the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow, Russia. The picture measures 65.5 × 77.3 cm. and has the accession number 1795. In the 19th century, the painting was also known as Triumph of Homeopathy.

<i>Princess Tarakanova</i> (1910 film) 1910 film

Princess Tarakanova is a 1910 Russian short film directed by Kai Hansen.

<i>Ivan the Terrible and His Son Ivan</i> Painting by Ilya Repin

Ivan the Terrible and His Son Ivan on 16 November 1581 is a painting by Russian realist artist Ilya Repin made between 1883 and 1885. It depicts the grief-stricken Russian tsar Ivan the Terrible cradling his dying son, the Tsarevich Ivan Ivanovich, shortly after the elder Ivan had dealt a fatal blow to his son's head in a fit of anger. The painting portrays the anguish and remorse on the face of the elder Ivan and the shock and heartbreak of the dying Tsarevich, shedding a tear at the unexpected betrayal and shock of having been killed by his father's hands.

Vereshchagin's Turkestan Series is a collection of 13 paintings produced by Russian artist Vasily Vereshchagin in the 19th century. While initially purchased en masse by a Russian collector, the works have since been added to the collections of the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow and the Russian Museum in Saint Petersburg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander Grigoriev (artist)</span> Mari Soviet artist, public figure and academician

Alexander Vladimirovich Grigoriev, was a Mari Soviet artist, public figure and academician. He is considered to be the first-renowned and the greatest Mari artist, who contributed to the development and formation of the fine arts in the Mari Territory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aleksey Teksler</span> Russian politician (born 1973)

Aleksey Leonidovich Teksler, is a Russian statesman and politician who is currently the 5th Governor of Chelyabinsk Oblast since 20 September 2019. He is also the secretary of the Chelyabinsk regional branch of the United Russia party since 2 October 2020.

<i>In the Ploughed Field: Spring</i> Painting by Alexey Venetsianov

In the Ploughed Field: Spring is an oil painting by Russian artist Alexey Venetsianov made in the first half of the 1820s. The painting depicts an elegantly dressed peasant mother leading two horses with a harrow while also keeping an eye on her child who is seated near the furrows. It has been in the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow, Russia since 1893, and is regarded as one of Venetsianov's greatest works.

<i>Arrived on vacation</i> 1948 painting by Fyodor Reshetnikov

"Arrived on vacation" is an oil-on-canvas painting by Soviet artist Fyodor Reshetnikov. It was painted in 1948 and is an example of socialist themes in art. It is located in the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow. In 1949, the artist was awarded the Stalin Prize of the second degree.

<i>Piazza della Rotonda and the Pantheon</i> 1799 painting by Bernardo Bellotto

Piazza della Rotonda and the Pantheon is an oil-on-canvas cityscape painting by the Italian painter Bernardo Bellotto and his son Lorenzo, from 1769, based on an engraving by Piranesi. It and its pair View of the Forum in Rome are both now in the Pushkin Museum, in Moscow. It shows Piazza della Rotonda and the Pantheon, in Rome.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marina Vasilevskaya</span> Belarusian spaceflight participant

Marina Vitalyevna Vasilevskaya is a flight instructor and flight attendant for Belavia Airlines in Belarus. She is the first Belarusian woman to be launched into space.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Khakassia National Museum</span>

The Khakassia National Museum is a museum located in Abakan, in the Minusinsk Hollow, Russia. It is located Ulitsa Pushkina, 28А Abakan, Respúblika Khakásiya, Russia, 655012.

References

  1. @NatGeoUK (2019-08-06). "The 'pretender princess' who tried to steal Catherine the Great's throne". National Geographic. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  2. 1 2 "ФЛАВИЦКИЙ Константин Дмитриевич. Юный живописец. 1760-е. Масло". staratel.com. Retrieved 2023-03-16.
  3. "Княжна Тараканова - . Подробное описание картины, фото картины в хорошем качестве, аудиогид, интересные факты. Официальный сайт Artefact". ar.culture.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  4. Аникинwrote, Александр; msalex, Александр Аникин; r17. "Откуда в Екатеринбурге подлинник "Княжны Таракановой" или что не знает Википедия..." msalexandr17.livejournal.com. Retrieved 2023-03-14.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. "Княжна Тараканова - Флавицкий К.Д. Подробное описание экспоната, аудиогид, интересные факты. Официальный сайт Artefact". ar.culture.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  6. "Голова княжны Таракановой". rusmuseumvrm.ru. Retrieved 2023-03-14.