In the Tretyakov Gallery, which was based inone thousand eight hundred and fifty-sixth year by a very famous merchant, is the only portrait painting of Chekhov in his lifetime. The young Petersburg artist Joseph Braz painted this picture by order of Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov in one thousand eight hundred and ninety-eighth - in the year of the death of this famous patron of the arts and collector of Russian art. The entire collection includes more than one thousand famous canvases, about five hundred drawings and ten sculptures of Russian creators, as well as about a hundred canvases by foreign artists.
Thus, the portrait of Chekhov completeda brilliant collection that Pavel Mikhailovich tirelessly collected for many years. The portraits of Alexander Nikolaevich Ostrovsky, Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky, Anton Pavlovich Chekhov were the only and unique chronicle of Russian culture.
Today, the portrait of Chekhov inThe Tretyakov Gallery is permanently stored in its archival storerooms. And exhibited in its stately halls only on special holidays. These are either the dates of Anton Pavlovich's jubilees, or the days of special celebrations.
Such a unique collection of works -The greatest treasure for any museum. And Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov’s desire to have a portrait of A. P. Chekhov in his collection is natural and understandable. It is difficult to explain something else: why did such a responsible and honorable order go to Repin's student who barely declared himself?
At that time, Ilya Repin dreamed himselfwrite the image of Anton Pavlovich for many years. And once, having learned about it, Chekhov, in his usual manner — half seriously and half-jokingly — noticed that he was ready to give up everything and pose for the great artist around the clock.
Subsequently, Ilya Efimovich will write a literarya portrait of Chekhov, and it must be admitted that this particular description would be much more accurate and expressive than the picture of Joseph Braz. "A subtle, purely Russian analysis prevailed in his eyes over the whole expression of his face. He was happy to feel the coat of courage upon himself."
It is precisely this "chain mail of courage" that is notIt was on the canvas, which was created by Joseph Braz. Chekhov’s portrait did not impress the writer himself. He was not thrilled with this masterpiece. And he even spoke in a peculiar way about this: “I have such an expression here, as if I was sniffing a damn ...”.
А несколько лет спустя он выразился еще резче:"After all, this is a terrible portrait. And if I began to write dark stories, then my portrait is to blame." The simplicity and tolerance of the greatest writer of many was misleading. Even among the people who personally knew him, there were quite a few who tried to present the writer with an inactive and dismal kind. A weak man.
Chekhov was very active and responsive in kind.After all, men from the neighboring village of Melikhov came to him with a request to build a school. Anton Pavlovich built three schools that were considered exemplary. All this and much more was done by this great writer who lived by literary work - at that time not very profitable and profitable. It is not for nothing that lack of money is a constant topic of Chekhov's jokes.
In the autumn of one thousand eight hundred and ninety-eight, inthe year when the portrait of Chekhov was created by the artist Joseph Brazom, the writer notified his sister of his decision: the fee from “The Seagull” would go to school. And this is the whole of Anton Pavlovich.
This is a creator who could in his personalitycombine the most important qualities. It is compassion, prosaic work and a sense of beauty. He had a unique world view, subtle and sensitive movements of the soul.
None of these qualities could not convey in histhe work is still very young, novice painter. Joseph Braz worked on the canvas for several years. The first portrait, created in one thousand eight hundred and ninety-seven, did not like not only the artist himself, he was rejected by Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov himself - the owner of the museum.
But the second job sold to the customer is notimpressed Anton Pavlovich. The portrait seemed uninteresting to him. According to Chekhov, there was something superfluous in this image, but something else was not enough. Even the usual photo conveyed the image of Anton Pavlovich is much more alive than the canvas of Joseph Braz.
The portrait of Anton Pavlovich turned out to be too elegant and mannered. The artist depicted him as an ordinary person who belonged to the typical Russian intelligentsia of the late nineteenth century.
Иосиф Браз создал изящный образ Чехова, который is buried in an old elegant armchair with a velvet back. The face of the writer is very thin. It is inclined to a pale bloodless hand, and the eyes behind the glasses of pince-nez are infinitely sad and dry. The whole picture is written in very cold and dark colors, which give the appearance of Anton Pavlovich not only a serious, but even some kind of painful expression.
If you compare the description of the portrait of Chekhov anda picture of a great writer, you can see a noticeable difference. A copy of the image made by the photographer shows a person who is full of vitality and young enthusiasm.
The open face of Anton Pavlovich Chekhov glowssome special wickedness. It feels simplicity and fearlessness. And the writer's radiant eyes express a deep thought and at the same time some kind of childlike spontaneity. And nevertheless, there is undoubted intelligence in the whole image, which adds a special charm to the depicted image of Anton Pavlovich.
And looking at the portrait of Chekhov, written by JosephBraz, it is impossible not to notice that here the writer looks much stricter and at the same time sadder. In his image is no longer the immediacy that is present in the photographs. All the facial features seemed to be stricter and tougher, and my eyes filled with deep thought. There is in him a certain coldness of the intelligentsia.
Nevertheless, the described portrait of Chekhov inThe Tretyakov Gallery remains the only work of art that was created during the lifetime of the greatest writer. No one ever decided to take up the brush and write Anton Pavlovich Chekhov. This portrait was reproduced in countless copies, but the young student of Ilya Repin, the painter Braz, is considered to be the true creator of the unique masterpiece.
