''Guessing Svetlana'' is a painting by the Russian artist

Karl Bryullov Karl Pavlovich Bryullov (russian: Карл Па́влович Брюлло́в; 12 December 1799 – 11 June 1852), original name Charles Bruleau, also transliterated Briullov and Briuloff, and referred to by his friends as "Karl the Great", was a ...

, painted in 1836, based on the ballad of

Vasily Zhukovsky Vasily Andreyevich Zhukovsky (russian: Василий Андреевич Жуковский, Vasiliy Andreyevich Zhukovskiy; – ) was the foremost Russian poet of the 1810s and a leading figure in Russian literature in the first half of the 19 ...

"Svetlana". This is the only painting by the artist created on the theme of Russian national life. The painting was painted in oil on canvas measuring 94 × 81 cm. It is stored in the Nizhny Novgorod State Art Museum.

History

At the end of the summer of 1835, Bryullov 's painting The Last Day of Pompeii , which brought him fame, arrived from

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, where it was painted, to

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

. The canvas made an impression on

Nicholas I of Russia Nicholas I , group=pron ( – ) was List of Russian rulers, Emperor of Russia, Congress Poland, King of Congress Poland and Grand Duke of Finland. He was the third son of Paul I of Russia, Paul I and younger brother of his predecessor, Alexander I ...

, and he granted Bryullov the post of professor at the

Imperial Academy of Arts The Russian Academy of Arts, informally known as the Saint Petersburg Academy of Arts, was an art academy in Saint Petersburg, founded in 1757 by the founder of the Imperial Moscow University Ivan Shuvalov under the name ''Academy of the Thre ...

and immediately summoned him to the capital. The artist at that time was in Constantinopolis, and having received the order of the sovereign, immediately went to St. Petersburg. His trip passed through

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, where he arrived on December 25, 1835. In Moscow, the artist stayed for six months where he lived with

Antony Pogorelsky Antony Pogorelsky ( Russian: Анто́ний Погоре́льский) is a pen name of Alexey Alexeyevich Perovsky (Russian Алексе́й Алексе́евич Перо́вский), (1787–) a Russian prose writer. He was a natural son ...

, for whom he made "Guessing Svetlana" during his stay in the city. The artist's arrival coincided with the eve of Christmas, and Bryullov was able to observe the rite of fortune-telling in Perovsky's house, which helped to give the painting "life". Before the

October Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key moment ...

, the painting was in the collection of Vladimir Orlov-Davydov. Afterwards, it was transferred to the Nizhny Novgorod State Art Museum, where it remains to this day. The current conservation status is satisfactory.

Plot

The painting depicts a scene of Christmas divination. A girl with a fair-haired braid in a

kokoshnik The kokoshnik ( rus, коко́шник, p=kɐˈkoʂnʲɪk) is a traditional Russian headdress worn by women and girls to accompany the sarafan. The kokoshnik tradition has existed since the 10th century in the ancient Russian city Veliky Novgo ...

and a Russian

sarafan A sarafan ( rus, сарафа́н, p=sərɐˈfan, from fa, سراپا ''sarāpā'', literally "romhead to feet") is a long, trapezoidal Russian jumper dress (pinafore dress) worn by girls and women and forming part of Russian traditional folk ...

sits with her back to the viewer. In front of her, on the table, there is a burning candle in a high candlestick and a figured mirror, into which the heroine looks fearfully and tensely, hoping to see her betrothed in the reflection. The plot was inspired by the ballad 'Svetlana'.

Artistic features

Bryullov managed to convey romantic mysticism, in the spirit of which the original ballad was written. In the subtext of the picture, the mirror is guessed as a symbol of connection with the other world; reflection in the mirror - as the duality of interpretation inherent in

romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...

; and the scene of fortune-telling itself is like a desire to go beyond reality.

Public perception

The painting evoked a lively response in Moscow, where the artist lived. Ivan Dmitriev hurried to write about this to P. Svinin: "He wrote here ... for Perovsky a small picture representing a handsome girl in common Russian clothes." Shalikov published verses about this in Moskovskiye Vedomosti:

''Bryullov, who painted a young girl in a Russian dress in front of a mirror,'' ''Bow down your brow, friend of genius, before the one'' ''who dominates creative art, the'' ''Soulless suddenly endows everything -'' ''And life, and beauty, and feeling.''

References

{{Reflist 1836 paintings Paintings by Karl Bryullov