UNIT 5
Boyarina Morosova
Vasily Ivanovich Surikov was the foremost Russian painter of large-scale historical subjects. His major pieces are among the best-known paintings in Russia. Surikov painted images from Russia's past that focused on the lives of ordinary people. His works are remarkable for the original way in which they represent space and movements of people. In some cases he seems to have painted the same image in more than one size, probably as a prototype to a bigger image which he has in his mind, or he may have liked the smaller version so much that he decided it would look nicer when enlarged.
“Boyarina Morosova” is an amazing epic canvas that belongs to the brush of V. Surikov, an outstanding Russian Itinerant and was painted in 1887. The subject of the painting is based on a historic fact that actually occurred during the reign of Tsar Aleksei Mikhalovich and depicts a tragic event arising from the religious schism that shook the country in the 17th century. That was a form of spontaneous protest by the masses against oppression, poverty and spiritual enslavement
A cold winter morning in Moscow. The street is filled with groups of people. Seated in an ordinary peasants sledge Boyarina Morosova, the first Boyarina in Moscow, is being driven off to exile for her unbending adherence to the old believers, the so called dissenters.
Boyarina forms the centre of the composition and immediately attracts the attention of the spectators. Burning and fanatical are the woman’s eyes as she looks into the crowd, pale and inspired is her face, set off by her dark garment and marked by an inner storm of emotions. With the motion of her hand raised in an eloquent gesture with two fingers marking the sign of the cross, the symbol of the dissenters, she calls upon the people to stand firm in defense of their religion. The artist captured with superb skill Morosova’s spirit that no amount of torture could break.
The crowd surrounding the sledge is made up of a rich variety of vivid types, some distressed and sympathizing with Morosova, some jeering and spiteful, some just gaping in idle curiosity. The Boyarina’s sister, princess Urusova, who is walking by the sledge is ready to share the fate of the Boyarina. The kneeling old beggar woman worships the heroic martyr. The pilgrim is absorbed in deep thought. The young girl with a brightened expression in her eyes. All the parts are brought together with great mastery revealing Surikov’s great sense of composition. From the point of view of the composition the picture is devided into two parts with the sledge bearing the Boyarina in the centre.
Surikov spells out the great national tragedy with such force and power, with such a deep insight into the human nature, that the story seems to be unfolding live, not on canvas. The crowd is portrayed in a superb realistic manner one can feel its heaving motion and agitated state. Due to the overall effect of the swaying crowd, the running boy and the fresh ruts in the snow the sledge seems to be moving before one’s very eyes.
This was a theme new to art, and Surikov used new expressive means to give it substance – an original compositional arrangement, a harmonious selection of pure, sonorous colours and a play of light and shadow. The tragic figure of Morosova, which is the conceptual centre of the picture, stands out as a dark patch against the motley crowd. Bluish tints predominate on the canvas. The blues and the reds and yellows merge into one another and create a harmonious whole.