Grigoriy Vasilyevich Soroka (russian: Григорий Васильевич Сорока, real surname Vasilyev (Васильев); —) was a Russian painter, one of the most notable members of
Venetsianov school.
Life
Soroka was born as a
serf
Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism, and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery, which developed ...
in Pokrovskoye village (
Tver Guberniya
Tver Governorate (russian: Тверская губерния, ''Tverskaya guberniya'') was an administrative division (a '' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire and Russian SFSR, which existed from 1796 until 1929. Its seat was in Tver. The governo ...
), owned by the
Milyukov Milyukov (russian: Милюков), also spelled Milukoff, Milukov, Melukov, Melukoff, is an old Russian noble family (first recorded in the mid-14th century). Milyukovs were recorded in the ancient nobility books of Moscow, Orlov, Simbirsk, St.& ...
family. In 1842-1847 he studied art from
Alexey Venetsianov then he was returned to his owner. In the 1850s-1860s he resided in his home village. He fell in love with his owner's daughter Lydia but was forcibly married to a serf woman. After the
emancipation reform of 1861
The emancipation reform of 1861 in Russia, also known as the Edict of Emancipation of Russia, (russian: Крестьянская реформа 1861 года, translit=Krestyanskaya reforma 1861 goda – "peasants' reform of 1861") was the first ...
in Russia, Soroka remained under the serfdom system. He made a formal complaint but it was rejected and he was flogged. Soroka's body was found in the baking room where he had hanged himself.
[B. Eklof, ‘Worlds in Conflict: Patriarchal Authority, Discipline and the Russian School, 1861-1914’, ''Slavic Review'' 50 4 (1991) 792]
Hrono.ru
/ref> His beloved Lydia poisoned herself soon after.
Art
Though Soroka's surviving output is relatively small and includes no more than 20 undated paintings, Soroka proved himself to be a gifted draughtsman. He also painted several icons for local churches, among them ''Saviour
Savior or Saviour may refer to:
*A person who helps people achieve salvation, or saves them from something
Religion
* Mahdi, the prophesied redeemer of Islam who will rule for seven, nine or nineteen years
* Maitreya
* Messiah, a saviour or li ...
Not Made by Hands''.
Image:Fishermen. View in Spasskoe by G.Soroka (1840s, Russian museum).jpg, Fishermen
Image:View on the dam in Spasskoe by G.Soroka (1840s, Russian museum).jpg, Dam in Spasskoye, Tambov Guberniya
Image:Lidia Milykova by G.Soroka (1840s, Hermitage).jpg, Lydia Milyukov, 1840s
Image:Peasant boy by G.Soroka (1840, Russian museum).jpg, Peasant boy, 1840s
Image:Reflection in the mirror by G.Soroka (c.1850, Russian museum).jpg, Reflection in a mirror, 1850s
References
Further reading
* Обухов, В. ''Григорий Сорока''. М., 1982
{{DEFAULTSORT:Soroka, Grigory
19th-century painters from the Russian Empire
Russian male painters
Artists who committed suicide
1823 births
1864 deaths
Suicides by hanging in Russia
People from Tver Oblast
1860s suicides
19th-century male artists from the Russian Empire