Valery Ivanovich Jacobi (1834-1902) was a Russian painter, professor, academician, member of the Academic Council of the Imperial Academy of Arts, one of the founders of the Society of the Itinerants, whom some critics caustically considered "a typical artist of the 1850s-60s." "He has a broad figure, wears a goatee and upturned moustache. He is dressed smartly in black velvet, smells of perfume, has an important and inaccessible appearance. He is a genius of painting, who managed to make society happy with his masterpieces."
Jesters at the court of Empress Anna Ioannovna
There were grounds for such obvious irony: Jacobi was a rather weak draftsman, but the themes of his paintings were interesting, and they themselves were memorable and mercilessly truthful. At the beginning of his career, he saw injustice, was not afraid to depict it in his paintings, and this social message was much more important in those years than any purely technical nuances. Therefore, it is not surprising that Tretyakov himself bought his paintings, and Jacobi was awarded gold medals.
Bright holiday of the beggar
Jacobi comes from a village in the Kazan province. His father was an ordinary Russian landowner, but his older brother became a revolutionary, so some freethinking was certainly welcomed in the family. He studied at a gymnasium, then entered the Physics and Mathematics Department of the Penza Noble Institute. But he did not finish it, and voluntarily joined the militia to participate in the Crimean War. However, he did not manage to fight, by the time the Kazan militia reached Crimea, everything was already over.
Wedding in an Ice House
Instead of returning to his studies, Jacobi decided to become an artist and went to St. Petersburg, where he entered the Academy of Arts. And here he found himself in his place: the themes for his paintings were so successful that almost every one of them was awarded a medal.
Fruit carrier
Types of Tangier (1879)
Portrait of a Woman (1870)
As a result, he collected a whole collection of them, including the most prestigious large gold medal for the painting "Prival's Halt". Many spectators gathered around it, and Tretyakov himself did not spare 1400 rubles - a huge amount of money at that time, especially for the work of a novice artist.
The Prisoner's Rest (1861)
But what is so special about it? The painting was written based on Jacobi's childhood impressions. Not far from the estate where he lived, there was the infamous Kazan Highway, along which prisoners were escorted to Siberia. One prisoner could not withstand the hardships of the journey and died, which led to the forced delay of the rest.
On the left are the prisoner's crying wife and children, they probably accompanied him on his difficult journey, but now they have to think about how to live on and where to get money for food. It would be good if they had some money, otherwise they would have to go a different way: from one house to another, from church to church, begging for alms, and it is not known which of them is easier.
The Prisoner's Rest. fragment
But they are the only ones who are moved by the death of the prisoner. The other convicts are completely indifferent to it, and the gendarme accompanying them looks around with a businesslike air to see if the prisoner really died in order to compile a corresponding report. He does not show any feelings or emotions, he could look at a horse's mouth with the same air at a fair. Although it would be better to watch the other convicts: one of them surreptitiously stole a ring from the deceased's hand. Nothing sacred, only a thirst for profit, and exclusively at the expense of others.
The painting was one of the first in Russian painting to touch on the themes of social injustice. And Jacobi caught this demand of society sensitively, and therefore "skimmed the cream."
The Prisoner's Rest (1861). Sketch
The monstrous situation of the prisoners and the difficult road to Siberia, which only the strongest and most resilient people could endure, had long worried progressive society. Many of the convicts were simply ordinary Russian peasants who had stolen something out of hunger, and not some kind of fierce thugs, and the measures applied to them seemed too cruel. By the way, Alexander II himself soon began reforms aimed at alleviating the situation of convicts, which were supported by the entire public.
«The Prisoner's Rest (1861) (diminished author's repetition)»
Jacobi painted several author's copies of it, which was done only if the picture was very successful. However, there were critics, including very influential ones, for example, Dostoevsky wrote that in Jacobi's work "there is nothing artistic or beautiful, everything is ugly there, and for the sake of melodramatic effects the artist sinned against the truth of life and common sense. Why would a thief take a ring off his hand at the very moment when a gendarme was nearby, couldn't he have waited for a more suitable moment?" And here it is difficult to argue with the great writer. And what do you think, was this picture overrated at the time - write in the comments.Buy handmade goods or modern art you can on artAlebrio - is an international marketplace for people who want to create, sell, buy and collect unique items and art - buy the best with us artAlebrio.com.
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