The most mysterious paintings in history. Very interesting! Mystical paintings by Russian artists

Any real art emits a strong energy that is impossible not to feel. Most often it is positive. But there are creations with pronounced negative energy, then it is believed that they bring trouble and even disaster. Musical and literary works, performances and films and, of course, painting have mystical properties.

"The Scream" by Edvard Munch

Of course, most often when it comes to mystical paintings, one remembers “The Scream” by the Norwegian expressionist artist Edvard Munch. They say that the painting, which costs 70 thousand dollars, takes cruel revenge on anyone who “offends” it in one way or another. It all started when one of the employees of the museum where the painting was exhibited accidentally dropped the canvas, after which he began to have terrible headaches. Doctors could not make a diagnosis, and no medicine could save the unfortunate man from suffering, unable to bear it he committed suicide. Another minister dropped the "Scream" while he was moving it from one place to another, and soon got into a terrible car accident - he survived, but was left crippled. A visitor, who just touched the painting, burned alive in a fire a few days later...

This vindictiveness of the painting is explained by the difficult fate of the painter himself, who lost all his loved ones as a child and suffered from schizophrenia. At first this painting was called “The Scream of Nature”; many believe that the artist depicted the end of the world on it. He himself assured that he really saw such a terrible landscape: “I was walking along a path with two friends, the sun was setting, suddenly the sky turned blood red. I paused, feeling exhausted, and leaned against the fence - I looked at the blood and flames above the bluish -a black fjord and a city. My friends moved on, and I stood, trembling with excitement, feeling an endless cry piercing nature." Munch wrote four versions of The Scream, two of which can be seen in the Munch Museum and the National Museum of Norway, both in Oslo.

"Hands That Protect Him" ​​by Bill Stoneham

The painting “Hands Resist Him,” painted by the American artist Bill Stoneham, created a “furor” at the very first exhibition at which it was presented: many visitors to the vernissage suddenly felt inexplicably weak and dizzy, they began to sob and even fainted. The first owner of “Hands” died two months after he purchased the painting, and his relatives, blaming the painting for everything, threw it into a landfill. There she was picked up by a poor family. “Hands” was hung in the nursery, but the owners’ little daughter asked to remove the canvas from there: she assured that the children depicted on it fought at night. The father considered this story a fantasy, but, deciding to check the girl’s words, he hung a camera in the room - it recorded the movement in the painting. Subsequently, “Hands” often changed owners, but the painting was always quickly disposed of. Its last owner was collector Kim Smith from Chicago, who has not yet sold it to anyone.

"Hands That Protect Him" ​​was written by Stoneham from a photograph of him at the age of 5 with his younger sister. One could say that the painting is a copy of the photo, if not for several differences. Stoneham portrayed himself with a strange, distorted face, and his sister as a doll with round, empty eyes. But, probably, the scariest thing on the canvas is the door, behind which on a bright sunny day there is pitch darkness, and children’s palms stretching from there to the glass. The artist himself said that behind this door is the entrance to other world, and the doll is a guide to the world of spirits.

Ancient icon depicting Christ

It would seem that images of saints should radiate only positivity, but employees of many museums literally unanimously say: it is very difficult to spend the whole day in the hall where icons are displayed. Very strong – and often negative – energy comes from them. One of these icons, which depicts Christ, is kept in the storerooms of the Hermitage. It used to be on display, but after several unexplained deaths of museum staff it was removed from view. One of the specialists who examined the painting suggested that the artist who painted the icon had powerful extrasensory abilities, and transferred them to his creation. People with similar energy potential can withstand such tension; the icon will harm everyone else.

But, fortunately, there are also cases where icons saved people’s lives. In 1812, the detachment of Prince Eugene, Viceroy of Italy, part of Napoleon’s army, stopped near one of the monasteries near Zvenigorod. At night, the prince dreamed of a gray-haired old man in long black clothes. He stood next to Eugene for about a minute, and then said: “Do not order your soldiers to destroy the monastery, and especially not to take anything from the church. If you fulfill my request, God will have mercy on you, and you will return home unharmed.”

In the morning, Eugene ordered his army to continue moving towards Moscow without touching the monastery. Before leaving, they decided to go to the monastery church. There was a tomb in the room, and above it was a portrait of an old man, in whom Eugene recognized his night guest. It was the founder of the monastery, Saint Sava, and his relics... Eugene went through many battles, but was never even slightly wounded. He returned safely to France, while almost all of Napoleonic marshals who came with the emperor to Russia died or were subsequently executed.

"Water Lilies" by Claude Monet

"Water Lilies" by Claude Monet

The painting "Water Lilies" by the impressionist Claude Monet is considered one of the most fire-hazardous masterpieces of painting.

Like every mystical painting, “Water Lilies” has its own legend. Having settled in the town of Giverny in Upper Normandy, where Monet had a house with a garden, the artist became interested in flowers: he not only grew them, but also painted them. Later, having diverted water from the river, he equipped a pond in the garden, where he began to grow lilies - Monet wrote a whole series of paintings (about 80 paintings on this topic are kept in museums around the world), uniting them under a common title. Monet decided to celebrate the completion of one of his paintings with a party to which he invited his friends. Tipsy guests inadvertently started a fire in the artist’s studio, as a result of which the painting itself caught fire, which was immediately doused with wine. Subsequently, “Water Lilies” hung in one of the cabarets in Montmartre, in the house of philanthropist Oscar Schmitz and in the New York Museum contemporary arts, and fires started everywhere. Twice the hero of the “triumph” was saved, but the third time she was badly charred. This happened half a century ago, and since then scientists have been puzzling over how to restore the masterpiece. They say that NASA specialists who own space technologies will take on this.

"Old Man with Outstretched Hand" unknown author

The cause of the fire several times was the painting by an unknown author, “The Old Man with an Outstretched Hand,” which is kept in the Royal Museum in Edinburgh. If a person sees an old man moving his fingers, he is destined to die by fire. Rumor ascribes to the painting two victims - Captain Belfast and Lord Seymour, who were unlucky enough to experience the curse of the painting on themselves. After this, the public was divided into two parts: some asked to remove the ill-fated painting from the museum, while others demanded that it be left in order to make sure that it really brings misfortune. Curiosity won out, which is why “The Old Man with an Outstretched Hand” can still be seen in Edinburgh.

"The Crying Boy" by Giovanni Bragolin

"The Crying Boy" by Giovanni Bragolin

The story associated with the painting by the Spanish artist Giovanni Bragolin caused so much noise in its time and was retold so many times in a variety of variations that it is no longer possible to distinguish where it is true and where it is fiction.

According to the existing legend, Bragolin really wanted to paint a crying boy, and made his own son, an active and cheerful boy who was not afraid of anything in the world except fire, as the model. Therefore, in order to make his son cry, the sadistic father lit matches in his face. One day the boy could not stand it and in the heat of the moment shouted: “May you burn yourself!” The curse was fulfilled very quickly: two weeks later the baby died of pneumonia, and a couple of years later his father died in a fire. The painting itself is now considered lost, but reproductions of it were at one time very popular in England. Until one day it turned out that copies of “The Crying Boy” were kept in almost all the houses in which fires occurred, and the reproduction was the only property that was not damaged by the fire.

"Mona Lisa" by Leonardo da Vinci

"Mona Lisa" by Leonardo da Vinci

A landmark of the Louvre, the famous "La Gioconda" by Leonardo da Vinci is not nearly as harmless as it might seem at first glance. Some researchers of the work of Leonardo da Vinci consider it a portrait that “feeds” on the energy of those who look at it.

According to their version, it does not depict the Mona Lisa at all, but the black widow Pacifica Brandano. Being an energy vampire, she brought misfortune to everyone with whom fate encountered her. Her lover, the Duke of Medici, who married the French princess, fell ill with consumption soon after the wedding and died. Pacifica's son was poisoned. And da Vinci himself suffered greatly from his model: he painted the picture for about three years, and, according to eyewitnesses, during this time he turned from a man full of strength, who, like a strongman in a circus, could easily bend horseshoes, into a decrepit old man. He was overcome by fatigue and apathy, and right hand. It seemed that life was leaving the great artist drop by drop.

The genius of da Vinci managed to convey with unique authenticity not only appearance its model, but also its energetic essence. The portrait continues to live and draw energy from visitors to the Louvre, many of whom come to the capital of France just to see this painting. Today "Mona Lisa", the image of which is replicated on calendars and in various types of advertising, is a trademark. Research by marketers has shown that nine out of ten people fall for it. It is hypnotically attractive and, like an obsession, it is impossible to get rid of it. There are many known cases of visitors falling into deep faint in front of the portrait - several centuries later, the image of Pacifica continues to feed on the energy of living people. This version is supported by the fact that in those times when the Louvre is closed for some reason for a while, the painting fades, and the woman depicted in it seems to grow old. But as soon as visitors appear in the hall, she begins to shine again.

"Adoration of the Magi" by Pieter Bruegel-senior

"Adoration of the Magi" by Pieter Bruegel the Elder

To that biblical story Many artists painted, from Leonardo da Vinci to Hieronymus Bosch, but only the painting “The Adoration of the Magi” by a representative is notorious Northern Renaissance Pieter Bruegel the Elder (Muzhitsky). The painting, painted in 1564, is in the London Art Gallery. It is believed that women should not look at it for a long time - it supposedly causes infertility. This is explained by the fact that his cousin, who could not have children, posed for the artist. What kind of strength and energy must the artist’s brush have in order to convey its sterility through time and distance. It is interesting that the “Adoration of the Magi” by Pieter Bruegel the Younger, who repeated the painting of his father, has a good reputation - it was not noticed to have a bad influence on people.

"Venus with a Mirror" by Diego Velazquez

Another popular subject, especially among Renaissance masters, is “Venus with a Mirror”; Giorgione, Titian, and Rubens painted pictures of it. But only Venus by Diego Velazquez, which is in the London Art Gallery, is considered dangerous. The painting was resold several times at auctions, because its owners, wealthy merchants, as soon as they handed over the money for the purchase, immediately went bankrupt, or even died: in one case, pirates captured and sank ships with goods, in another, warehouses caught fire from a lightning strike and All property was lost, and the third was completely killed during the robbery. They began to say that “Venus” brings misfortune, so for a long time it was not purchased until the painting was purchased for the London Art Gallery in 1906. Eight years later, the unfortunate painting itself suffered - in 1914, suffragist Mary Richardson attacked it with a knife. After restoration, “Venus with a Mirror” returned to the London gallery, where anyone can see it.

Portrait of Alexandra Neburchilova

The history of the portrait of merchant Alexandra Fedorovna Neburchilova, exhibited at the Burylin Museum of Industry and Art in Ivanovo, is interesting. It was written unknown artist in 1840, and since Neburchilova is depicted in blue dress, museum staff call her “the woman in blue.” As soon as the portrait was hung, the museum staff first began to hear the merchant’s heavy steps. Every year she became bolder and bolder, following the museum workers trail after trail, especially along the stairs. It got to the point where they were afraid to walk the halls alone. And only during excursions the ghost did not appear, but only gazed at those present from the portrait, pursing his lips. Because of these lips, museum workers considered Neburchilova to be evil and capricious. But it was she who once saved the life of a woman restorer. She, standing on the stairs right near the ceiling, suddenly swayed and began to fall, but suddenly felt someone’s hands quite strongly and confidently supporting her. The ghost of the “woman in blue” calmed down only after the portrait was sent to the Kolomna workshops for restoration.

Alexandra Voloshina

Today I was sent a link to the work of one artist (in the process, who took great advantage of the methods of Salvador-our-Dali) artist.

For the sake of curiosity, I naturally went to look, despite the management, which was unfriendly to everyone playing the fool. The pictures evoke an unsettling feeling. Which is basically what the author intended. And my thoughts flowed in the direction of the mystical and mysterious (I love this topic, yeah). After all, many paintings (as, by the way, many musical works - I’m ready to write about this separately) evoke strange feelings or (even better) strange incidents with those who were depicted in them at an unkind hour, or bought/received them by accident/too much stared for a long time. Before starting research on this topic, I only knew about two paintings with an “evil” reputation, but once I dug around, I...

Painting by Claude Monet “Water Lilies”- one of the masterpieces of world culture. I wonder if the artist himself thought when he painted the picture that decades later it would have such a bad reputation? But the thing is that behind the picture there is a whole trail of fires. Moreover, the first happened at Monet’s own home, literally immediately after finishing work on the painting. The fire in the workshop where “Water Lilies” was located was quickly put out, and the painting itself was not damaged.
Soon the owners of an entertainment establishment in Montmartre became the owners of the painting, and a month later the owners were packing their bags, leaving the burnt cabaret building. By the way, the suitcase also contained the painting itself - one of several things that were taken out of the building engulfed in flames. After this, the painting was acquired by Oscar Schmitz, a philanthropist who lived in Paris. He was luckier than the previous owners - his house stood untouched whole year... A year later, only ashes remained from the house, and the fire, according to eyewitnesses, started in the very room where the Monet painting hung. By the way, the canvas was again among the few things that were saved. And again the painting moved to a new owner. This time not to the sole owner, but to a museum - the New York Museum of Modern Art. And the fire did not bypass it - it happened 4 months later, this time the canvas was quite seriously damaged.

Another canvas that constantly accompanies trouble is "Venus with a Mirror" by Diego Velazquez.

The first owner of the painting - a Spanish merchant - went bankrupt, his trade worsened every day, until most of His goods were not captured by pirates at sea, and several more ships sank. Selling everything he had by auction, the merchant also sold the painting. It was acquired by another Spaniard, also a merchant who owned rich warehouses in the port. The money for the canvas had barely been transferred when the merchant's warehouses caught fire from a sudden lightning strike. The owner was ruined. And again the auction, and again the painting is sold along with other things, and again a wealthy Spaniard buys it... Three days later he was stabbed to death in own home during a robbery. After that, the painting could not find its new owner for a long time, its reputation was too damaged, and the canvas traveled to different museums, until in one of them a mentally ill tourist rushed at the painting with a knife and ruined it.

The misfortunes that are associated with different paintings are completely different. For example, many owners of “The Adoration of the Magi” by Pieter Bruegel the Elder got rid of the painting, believing that it was associated with infertility in the family.

It is interesting that the artist’s cousin, with whom he painted this canvas, also suffered from infertility, which seemed to be transmitted through the painting to the families where it was kept. Children did not appear even where women had previously given birth without problems.

Known, of course, is the fame of the famous "La Gioconda" by Leonardo da Vinci and: the painting supposedly has an incomprehensible effect on those who look at it for a long time.

This was noted by the 19th century writer Stendhal, who, after admiring the canvas for a long time, fainted. The caretakers of the Louvre note that such fainting spells are not uncommon; they happen to visitors quite often, especially in front of the portrait of the Mona Lisa. And da Vinci himself, according to the recollections of his loved ones, was as if obsessed with the painting, constantly trying to correct details, redraw, etc. And while working, he often experienced a breakdown and became depressed.

Mysterious events also happened to those who inadvertently “offended” the famous painting Edvard Munch "The Scream".

The cost of this painting reaches 70 million dollars. And perhaps collectors would be immensely happy to have this painting in their possession. private collection:, if not for one thing: they say that the picture seems to be taking revenge on all its offenders.

For example, a museum employee who accidentally dropped a canvas then suffered from unbearable headaches for a long time, which ultimately led him to commit suicide. Another museum employee, who also dropped the painting, ended up in intensive care a few days later after a terrible car accident: almost everything was broken - his arms, legs, ribs, pelvic bones... One of the museum visitors who touched the painting was soon burned alive at home in fire time. Perhaps much of what is said about this painting is fiction, but there are dozens of stories about people who somehow came into contact with the painting, then became very ill, fell into severe depression and even died. Many people associate this impact of the canvas with the life of the artist himself. Munch survived the death of almost all his loved ones: his mother died of tuberculosis - Munch was 5 years old; his beloved sister died suddenly when he was 14; a brother soon died, and another sister fell ill with schizophrenia. The artist himself experienced depression and severe nervous breakdowns.

During Pushkin’s time, the portrait of Maria Lopukhina was one of the main “horror stories”. The girl lived a short and unhappy life, and after painting the portrait she died of consumption. Her father Ivan Lopukhin was a famous mystic and master Masonic lodge. That's why rumors spread that he had managed to lure the spirit deceased daughter into this portrait. And that if young girls look at the picture, they will soon die. According to the salon gossips, the portrait of Maria destroyed at least ten noblewomen of marriageable age...

The rumors were put to rest by the philanthropist Tretyakov, who in 1880 bought the portrait for his gallery. There was no significant mortality among female visitors. The conversations died down. But the sediment remained!

Dutch artist Pieter Bruegel the Elder painted “The Adoration of the Magi” over two years. He “copied” the Virgin Mary from his cousin. She was a barren woman, for which she received constant blows from her husband. It was she who, as simple medieval Dutch gossiped, “infected” the picture. “The Magi” was bought by private collectors four times. And each time the same story was repeated: no children were born in a family for 10-12 years...
Finally, in 1637, the architect Jacob van Kampen bought the painting. By that time he already had three children, so the curse did not particularly frighten him.

Probably the most famous bad picture on the Internet with the following story: A certain schoolgirl (Japanese is often mentioned) drew this picture before cutting her veins (throwing herself out of a window, taking pills, hanging herself, drowning herself in a bathtub). If you look at her for 5 minutes in a row, the girl will change (her eyes turn red, her hair turns black, fangs appear).
In fact, it is clear that the picture was clearly not drawn by hand, as many people like to claim. Although no one gives clear answers to how this picture appeared.

Now it hangs modestly without a frame in one of the Vinnitsa stores. “Rain Woman” is the most expensive of all works: it costs $500. According to the sellers, the painting has already been bought three times and then returned. Clients explain that they dream about her. And someone even says that they know this lady, but they don’t remember where. And everyone who has ever looked into her white eyes will forever remember the feeling of a rainy day, silence, anxiety and fear.
Where did it come from? unusual picture, said its author, Vinnytsia artist Svetlana Telets. “In 1996, I graduated from Odessa Art University. Grekova,” recalls Svetlana. “And six months before the birth of “Woman,” it always seemed to me that someone was constantly watching me. I drove such thoughts away from myself, and then one day, by the way, not at all rainy, I sat in front of a blank canvas and thought about what to draw. And suddenly I clearly saw the contours of a woman, her face, colors, shades. In an instant I noticed all the details of the image. I wrote the main part quickly - I finished it in about five hours. It seemed as if someone was guiding my hand. And then I finished painting for another month.”
Arriving in Vinnitsa, Svetlana exhibited the painting in a local art salon. Art connoisseurs came up to her every now and then and shared the same thoughts that she herself had during her work.
“It was interesting to observe,” says the artist, “how subtly a thing can materialize a thought and inspire it in other people.”
A few years ago the first customer appeared. A lonely businesswoman walked around the halls for a long time, looking closely. Having bought “Woman”, I hung it in my bedroom.
Two weeks later, a night call rang in Svetlana’s apartment: “Please pick her up. I can not sleep. It seems that there is someone in the apartment besides me. I even took it off the wall and hid it behind the closet, but I still can’t do it.”
Then a second buyer appeared. Then a young man bought the painting. And I also couldn’t stand it for long. He brought it to the artist himself. And he didn’t even take the money back.

About the rest - including my “favorites” - next time.

There is a superstition that painting a portrait can bring bad luck to the model. In the history of Russian painting there have been several famous paintings that have developed a mystical reputation.

"Ivan the Terrible and his son Ivan November 16, 1581." Ilya Repin

Ilya Repin had a reputation as a “fatal painter”: many of those whose portraits he painted died suddenly. Among them are Mussorgsky, Pisemsky, Pirogov, Italian actor Mercy d'Argenteau and Fyodor Tyutchev.

Repin's darkest painting is "Ivan the Terrible Kills His Son." An interesting fact: it is still unknown whether Ivan IV killed his son or whether this legend was actually invented by the Vatican envoy Antonio Possevino.

The picture made a depressing impression on visitors to the exhibition. Cases of hysteria were recorded, and in 1913, icon painter Abram Balashov ripped open the painting with a knife. He was later declared insane.

A strange coincidence: the artist Myasoedov, from whom Repin painted the image of the Tsar, soon almost killed his son Ivan in a fit of anger, and the writer Vsevolod Garshin, who became sitter for Tsarevich Ivan, he went crazy and committed suicide.

"Portrait of M. I. Lopukhina." Vladimir Borovikovsky

Maria Lopukhina, descended from the Tolstoy family, became the artist’s model at the age of 18, shortly after her own wedding. Amazing beautiful girl was healthy and full of strength, but died 5 years later. Years later, the poet Polonsky would write “Borovikovsky saved her beauty...”.

There were rumors about the connection of the painting with the death of Lopukhina. Born urban legend that you cannot look at the portrait for a long time - the “model” will suffer the sad fate.

Some claimed that the girl's father, a Master of the Masonic Lodge, captured the spirit of his daughter in the portrait.

80 years later, the painting was acquired by Tretyakov, who was not afraid of the portrait’s reputation. Today the painting is in the collection of the Tretyakov Gallery.

"Unknown." Ivan Kramskoy

The painting “Unknown” (1883) aroused great interest among the St. Petersburg public. But Tretyakov flatly refused to purchase the painting for his collection. Thus, “The Stranger” began its journey through private collections. Soon strange things began to happen: its first owner’s wife left him, the second’s house burned down, the third went bankrupt. All misfortunes were attributed to the fatal picture.

The artist himself did not escape trouble; soon after painting the picture, Kramskoy’s two sons died.

The painting was sold abroad, where it continued to bring nothing but misfortune to its owners, until the painting returned to Russia in 1925. When the portrait ended up in the collection of the Tretyakov Gallery, the misfortunes stopped.

"Troika". Vasily Perov

Perov could not find a model for the central boy for a long time, until he met a woman who was traveling through Moscow on a pilgrimage with her 12-year-old son Vasya. The artist managed to persuade the woman to let Vasily pose for the picture.

A few years later, Perov met with this woman again. It turned out that a year after painting Vasenka died, and his mother specially came to the artist to buy the painting with her last money.

But the canvas had already been purchased and exhibited in Tretyakov Gallery. When the woman saw Troika, she fell to her knees and began to pray. Touched, the artist painted a portrait of her son for the woman.

"Demon defeated." Mikhail Vrubel

Vrubel's son, Savva, died suddenly shortly after the artist completed the portrait of the boy. The death of his son was a blow for Vrubel, so he concentrated on his last picture"Demon defeated."

The desire to finish the painting grew into obsession. Vrubel continued to finish the painting even when it was sent to the exhibition.

Not paying attention to the visitors, the artist came to the gallery, took out his brushes and continued to work. Concerned relatives contacted the doctor, but it was too late - tabes spinal cord brought Vrubel to the grave, despite treatment.

"Mermaids". Ivan Kramskoy

Ivan Kramskoy decided to paint a picture based on the story by N.V. Gogol's "May Night, or the Drowned Woman". At the first exhibition at the Association of Itinerants, the painting was hung next to the pastoral “The Rooks Have Arrived” by Alexei Savrasov. On the very first night, the painting “Rooks” fell from the wall.

Soon Tretyakov bought both paintings, “The Rooks Have Arrived” took a place in the office, and “Mermaids” was exhibited in the hall. From that moment on, the servants and members of Tretyakov’s household began to complain about the mournful singing coming from the hall at night.

Moreover, people began to note that next to the painting they experienced a breakdown.

The mysticism continued until the old nanny advised to remove the mermaids from the light to the far end of the hall. Tretyakov followed the advice, and the strangeness stopped.

"On the death of Alexander III." Ivan Aivazovsky

When the artist learned about the death of the emperor Alexandra III, he was shocked and painted the picture without any order. According to Aivazovsky, the painting was supposed to symbolize the triumph of life over death. But, having finished the painting, Aivazovsky hid it and did not show it to anyone. The painting was first put on public display only 100 years later.

The painting is broken into fragments, a cross is depicted on the canvas, Peter and Paul Fortress and the figure of a woman in black.

The strange effect is that under certain angle female figure turns into a laughing man. Some see this silhouette as Nicholas II, while others see Pakhom Andreyushkin, one of those terrorists who failed in the assassination attempt on the emperor in 1887.

Let's see what other stories there were related to paintings and artists.

Fine art has always been considered closely related to the mystical sphere. After all, any image is an energetic imprint of the original, especially if we're talking about about portraits. It is believed that they are able to influence not only those from whom they are written, but also other people. You don’t have to look far for examples: let’s turn to Russian paintings of the 19th century- beginning of the twentieth century.

On August 5, 1844, the famous Russian Itinerant artist Ilya Repin was born. He created truly realistic canvases, which are still the golden fund of art galleries. Repin is called a mystical artist. I present a selection of inexplicable facts related to the painter’s paintings.

Ilya Repin - a thunderstorm for sitters?

It is unlikely that anyone will argue that Ilya Efimovich Repin is one of the greatest Russian painters. But there is one strange and tragic circumstance: many who had the honor of being his sitters soon died. Among them are Mussorgsky, Pisemsky, Pirogov, and the Italian actor Mercy d’Argenteau. As soon as the artist took up the portrait of Fyodor Tyutchev, he also died.

I. Repin “Portrait of the composer M.P. Mussorgsky”

It must be said right away that Repin painted a portrait of his friend even when he was dying. Experienced doctors at the Nikolaev Marine Hospital knew about this. The composer himself knew. The artist knew too. The inspired portrait created by Repin made a stunning impression. The portrait was painted within 4 days.
The brilliant Russian composer who had just died appeared before everyone as if alive. Revived and immortalized by the brush of a master.
Psychological truth. Deep similarity. The very nature of the giant musician is reflected in the picture. It is now, sad as it may be, that the gigantic scale of that phenomenon in national culture which Mussorgsky showed.
The canvas was immediately brought to the mobile.
Stasov rushed straight from the funeral service to the exhibition to hasten the exhibition of the portrait. There was no frame.
We decided to drape the canvas with black material.
The first thing Stasov saw was the numb figure of Kramskoy. He was sitting on a chair.
He moved close to the painting and devoured it with his eyes:
“What Repin is doing today,” he exclaimed, “is simply incomprehensible. Here he has some unheard of techniques, never tried by anyone. This portrait was painted God knows how quickly, fieryly. But how everything is drawn, by what master’s hand, how it’s sculpted, how it’s written! Look at these eyes: they look as if they were alive, they are thoughtful, all the inner, spiritual work of that moment was depicted in them, and how many portraits are there in the world with such an expression! And the body, and the cheeks, forehead, nose, mouth - a living, completely living face, and everything in the light, from the first to the last line, all in the sun, without a single shadow - what a creature!
Tretyakov had sent a telegram the day before, informing him that he was asking behind the scenes to leave the portrait behind him.
This act contained all the character of a unique collector.
From the first moments, everyone who saw the portrait, shocked by what had been created, “with one voice trumpeted the glory of Repin.”
X artist Ilya Efimovich Repin, portrait of surgeon N.I. Pirogov

The portrait of N. I. Pirogov was painted in May 1881, a few months before the death of the great Russian surgeon and scientist. This year the fiftieth anniversary was solemnly celebrated in Moscow. professional activity Pirogov. The brilliant surgeon agreed to pose for Repin, despite busy schedule events.
Subsequently, Repin recalled how he was captured by his talent and the unique personality of the person being portrayed, and how easily and quickly he worked. It only took three sessions to create a stunning finished portrait.
Pirogov died in November 1881 from jaw cancer.
Artist Ilya Efimovich Repin, Portrait of the writer A.F. Pisemsky. 1880

Repin also painted Pisemsky’s portrait when he was ill. Repin knew him personally and knew well the caustic sarcasticness of this writer; sometimes his works deliberately contained unfriendly mockery and skepticism - all this can be felt in the portrait. Pisemsky is no longer young and sick, and the viewer also sees this. His high, intelligent forehead, bags under his eyes, a sickly face, but lively eyes, as if peering inquisitively at those who look at him... The viewer feels the insight of this man, as well as his disdain for his appearance and to the impression that he will make on others: Pisemsky is depicted sitting, leaning on a gnarled stick. His beard is unkempt, and there is a stubborn tuft above his forehead; a bow under the collar is out of fashion, as is a baggy jacket... Sick, foreboding imminent death, Pisemsky is depicted here sitting on a chair and leaning with both hands on a stick. Those who knew Pisemsky personally noted the truthfulness artistic characteristics writer, an accurate representation of the appearance of this person and his inner world.
Repin also knew the dramatic circumstances of Pisemsky’s life: one of his sons committed suicide, and the second was terminally ill. Traces of this tragedy are also present in the portrait... By the way, it must be said that this portrait was commissioned by Tretyakov, who wanted to collect portraits of all outstanding contemporaries.
Ilya Repin. Portrait of I.S. Turgenev. 1874

Turgenev was not satisfied with this portrait, and Repin himself did not like the portrait, which the artist openly told Tretyakov about, took upon himself this “sin” and was consoled by the hope that someday he would correct this “almost involuntary” mistake. Repin spoke about the reasons for this “involuntary” mistake, for which Turgenev himself was primarily to blame, shortly before his death.
“The first session was so successful,” said Repin, “that I.S. triumphed over my success.” But before the second session, Repin received a “long” and “restless” note from Turgenev, in which he sharply changed his initial opinion about the portrait he had begun (this was “a completely unsuccessful start”) and asked the artist to start again on a different canvas. This instant change of opinion is explained, as Repin argued, by the fact that Pauline Viardot, the famous French singer, a friend of Turgenev, whose taste and judgments were the highest authority for Ivan Sergeevich, rejected the begun portrait and recommended painting a new one, in a different direction. No matter how much the artist tried to convince Turgenev that nothing would come of this, it did not help. “And, oh my stupidity, I rashly turned my successfully captured bright underpainting (which should not have been touched) head down and started from another turn... Alas, the portrait came out dry and boring.”
And yet Repin had a friendly meeting with Turgenev in Abramtsevo and even began to paint a new portrait of him. The culprit of this was P. M. Tretyakov, who, taking advantage of Turgenev’s arrival in Moscow, asked Repin to “push” towards the writer in order to paint his portrait again.
Repin agreed to paint a new portrait of Turgenev; he painted it in early 1879.
Artist Ilya Efimovich Repin, Portrait of Ivan Turgenev. 1879

Only 5 years later Repin was able to paint a new portrait, in which you can see a humane, majestic and wise writer. The picture reeks of psychologism - the whole composition is so thought out that the face and hands seem not drawn, but sculpted from living plastic. The image of the second portrait is monumental due to the lowered horizon, the black jacket, painted with broad strokes and emphasizing the smooth silhouette of the figure. Only the hands and head are light on the canvas - this is how Repin balances the composition. Since 1882, Turgenev began to be overcome by illnesses: gout, angina pectoris, neuralgia. As a result of a painful illness (sarcoma), he died on August 22 (September 3), 1883 in Bougival (a suburb of Paris). Death was preceded by more than a year and a half of painful illness (spinal cord cancer).

Regarding the portrait of Tyutchev, this is not the desire of the artist himself to paint a portrait, but again an order from Tretyakov. But Repin did not even have time to start work. The writer died. But the most tragic story is with the portrait of Fyodor Vasilyevich Chizhov.
Ilya Efimovich Repin. Death of Fyodor Vasilyevich Chizhov.
Fyodor Vasilievich Chizhov (1811-1877) - Russian industrialist, public figure, scientist. Supporter of the Slavophiles, publisher and editor of socio-political magazines and newspapers, organizer of railway construction, philanthropist.

Repin met him in France at Polenov's. IT Chizhov more than once asked both artists to paint his portrait. And both refused under the pretext of lack of time.
But in November 1877, having learned that Chizhov was in Moscow, Repin decided to fulfill his promise. The artist hurries to Chizhov, taking with him a pencil and pencils. But the unexpected happens. He finds Chizhov sitting in a chair at the table... he has just died suddenly...
And so it appeared dead man drawing Chizhov, which Repin subsequently presented to Savva Mamontov.
What is this? Rock, chance, fatality?

Fyodor Vasilyevich Chizhov died on November 26, 1877 in Moscow. God gave him an easy end - he died in the arms of his friends and students from an aortic aneurysm. Chizhov bequeathed to spend only 150 rubles on his own funeral, giving almost all of his capital to the Kostroma province.
He was buried in the St. Daniel Monastery in Moscow, near the grave of N.V. Gogol. In 1931, in connection with the opening of a juvenile colony in the monastery, Gogol’s ashes were transferred to Novodevichy Cemetery, and Chizhov’s grave was lost.

Of course, in all cases there were objective reasons for death, but here are coincidences... Even the hefty men who posed for Repin for the canvas “Barge Haulers on the Volga” are said to have prematurely given their souls to God.
"Barge Haulers on the Volga", 1870-1873

However, the most unpleasant story happened with the painting “Ivan the Terrible and his son Ivan November 16, 1581,” which in our time is better known as “Ivan the Terrible Kills His Son.” Even balanced people felt uneasy when looking at the canvas: the murder scene was painted too realistically, there was too much blood on the canvas that seemed real.

The painting exhibited in the Tretyakov Gallery made a strange impression on visitors. Some cried in front of the picture, others fell into a stupor, and others suffered hysterical fits. And the young icon painter Abram Balashov cut the canvas with a knife on January 16, 1913. He was sent to a mental hospital, where he died. The canvas was restored. After the attack on the painting, another tragedy occurred. The chief curator of the Tretyakov Gallery, artist Khruslov, committed suicide.
Having said in the gallery that he would be gone for half an hour, he left for Sokolniki and threw himself under a train. But what does Repin have to do with it? Khruslov, a man dedicated to his work, according to his colleagues, considered himself guilty for the act of vandalism that had occurred.
“Ivan the Terrible kills his son,” 1883-1885

It is known that Repin thought for a long time before taking on the film about Ivan the Terrible. And for good reason. The artist Myasoedov, from whom the image of the Tsar was painted, soon in anger almost killed his young son, who was also called Ivan, like the murdered Tsarevich. The image of the latter was based on the writer Vsevolod Garshin, who subsequently went crazy and committed suicide by throwing himself into a flight of stairs... Coincidences... but some very creepy ones!

A murder that never happened

The story that Ivan the Terrible is a son-killer is just a myth.

It is believed that Ivan the Terrible killed his son in a fit of anger with a blow to the temple from his staff. Different researchers give different reasons: from a domestic quarrel to political friction. Meanwhile, none of the sources directly states that the prince and heir to the throne was killed by his own father!

The “Piskarevsky Chronicler” says: “At 12 o’clock in the night of the summer of November 7090 on the 17th day... the death of Tsarevich John Ioannovich.” The Novgorod Fourth Chronicle reports: “In the same year (7090) Tsarevich John Ioannovich reposed at Matins in Sloboda.” The cause of death has not been announced.
In the 60s of the last century, the graves of Ivan the Terrible and his son were opened. There were no damages characteristic of brain injury on the prince’s skull. Therefore, there was no filicide?! But where did the legend about him come from?
Antonio Possevino - Vatican representative in Russia during the times of Ivan the Terrible and the Great Troubles

Its author is the Jesuit monk Anthony Possevino (Antonio Possevino), sent to Moscow as an ambassador from the Pope with a proposal Orthodox Church come under the authority of the Vatican. The idea did not meet with support from the Russian Tsar. Possevin, meanwhile, allegedly became an eyewitness to a family scandal. The Emperor was angry with his pregnant daughter-in-law, the wife of his son Ivan, for her “indecent appearance” - either she forgot to put on a belt, or she put on only one shirt, when she was supposed to wear four. In the heat of the moment, the father-in-law began to beat the unfortunate woman with a staff. The prince stood up for his wife: before this, his father had already sent his first two wives to the monastery, who could not conceive from him. John the Younger was not unreasonably afraid that he would lose the third one - her father would simply kill her. He rushed at the priest, and in a fit of violence he struck with his staff and pierced his son’s temple. However, besides Possevin, not a single source confirms this version, although later other historians - Staden and Karamzin - readily picked it up.

• Modern researchers suggest that the Jesuit came up with the legend in revenge for the fact that he had to return to papal court"slurping unsalted."

During exhumation, remains of poisons were found in the bone tissues of the prince. This may indicate that John the Younger died from poisoning (which was not uncommon for those times), and not from being hit by a hard object!

Nevertheless, in Repin’s painting we see precisely the version of filicide. It is performed with such extraordinary verisimilitude that you can’t help but believe that this is exactly what happened in reality. Hence, of course, the “killer” energy.

And again Repin distinguished himself Self-portrait of Repin

Once Repin was commissioned to create a huge monumental painting, “The Ceremonial Meeting of the State Council.” The painting was completed by the end of 1903.
And in 1905, the first Russian revolution broke out, during which the heads of the officials depicted on the canvas fell. Some lost their posts and titles, others even paid with their lives: Minister V.K. Plehve and Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, former governor-general of Moscow, were killed by terrorists.
In 1909, the artist commissioned the Saratov City Duma to paint a portrait of Prime Minister Stolypin. He had barely finished his work when Stolypin was shot dead in Kyiv.

Who knows - maybe if Ilya Repin had not been so talented, the tragedies might not have happened. Back in the 15th century, the scientist, philosopher, alchemist and magician Cornelius Agrippa of Nettesheim wrote: “Beware of the painter’s brush - his portrait may turn out to be more alive than the original.” P. A. Stolypin. Portrait by I. Repin (1910)

It is known that due to constant overwork, the famous painter’s right hand began to hurt, and then completely stopped working. For a while, Repin stopped creating and fell into depression. According to the mystical version, the artist’s hand stopped working after he painted the painting “Ivan the Terrible and His Son Ivan” in 1885. Mystics connect these two facts from the artist’s biography with the fact that the painting he painted was cursed. Like, Repin reflected non-existent historical event, and because of this he was cursed. However, later Ilya Efimovich learned to paint with his left hand.

Another mystical incident that affected the artist’s health happened to him in hometown Chuguev. There he painted the painting “The Man with the Evil Eye.” The sitter for the portrait was Repin's distant relative, Ivan Radov, a goldsmith. This man was known in the city as a sorcerer. After Ilya Efimovich painted Radov’s portrait, he, not an old and quite healthy man, fell ill. “I caught a damned fever in the village,” Repin complained to his friends, “Perhaps my illness is connected with this sorcerer. I myself experienced the strength of this man, and twice.”

Scientists, studying the phantom images of paintings, came to the conclusion that, for example, “The Ninth Wave” by Aivazovsky, “Water Lilies” by the impressionist Claude Monet, “Venus with a Mirror” by Velazquez and a number of other famous paintings have the same negative aura.

Among the paintings with which are associated mystical legends, I would like to mention the paintings of the artist Ivan Kramskoy. His works were highly appreciated by his contemporaries and aroused many rumors about his mystical influence on the viewer.
Portrait of Ivan Kramskoy by Ilya Repin

Mystical painting “Stranger” by Ivan Kramskoy

Painting amazingly experienced two periods of mass interest in itself, and in completely different eras. For the first time, after being written in 1883, it was considered the embodiment of aristocracy and was very popular among the sophisticated St. Petersburg public.
Unexpectedly, another surge of interest in the “Unknown” occurred in the second half of the 20th century. Apartments were decorated with reproductions of Kramskoy’s work cut out from magazines, and copies of “The Unknown” were one of the most popular orders from artists of all levels. True, for some reason the painting was already known under the name “Stranger,” perhaps under the influence work of the same name Blok. Even “Stranger” candies were created with Kramskoy’s painting on the box. Thus, the erroneous title of the work finally “came to life.”
Many years of research into “who is depicted in Kramskoy’s painting” have not yielded results. According to one version, the prototype of the “symbol of aristocracy” was a peasant woman named Matryona, who married the nobleman Bestuzhev.

“The Stranger” by Ivan Kramskoy is one of the most mysterious masterpieces Russian painting.

At first glance, there is nothing mystical in the portrait: the beauty is riding along Nevsky Prospect in an open carriage.

Many considered Kramskoy’s heroine an aristocrat, but a fashionable velvet coat trimmed with fur and blue satin ribbons and a stylish beret hat, coupled with penciled eyebrows, lipstick and blush on her cheeks, mark her out as a lady of the then demi-monde. Not a prostitute, but clearly the kept woman of some noble or rich man.

However, when the artist was asked whether this woman existed in reality, he just grinned and shrugged. In any case, no one has ever seen the original.
Meanwhile, Pavel Tretyakov refused to purchase a portrait for his gallery - perhaps he was afraid of the belief that portraits of beauties “suck the strength” out of living people. Ivan Nikolaevich Kramskoy

The “Stranger” began traveling to private meetings. And very soon I found notoriety. Its first owner's wife left him, the second's house burned down, and the third went bankrupt. All these misfortunes were attributed to the fatal picture.

The “damned” picture went abroad. They say that there she caused all kinds of trouble to her owners. In 1925, “The Stranger” returned to Russia and nevertheless took its place in the Tretyakov Gallery. Since then, no further incidents have occurred.

Maybe the whole point is that the portrait should have taken its rightful place from the very beginning?


"Stranger" or "Unknown", (1883)

The picture caused a heated discussion - who is this mysterious person looking down on the public? Aristocrat or lady of the demimonde?

“Her outfit is a “Francis” hat, trimmed with elegant light feathers, “Swedish” gloves made from the finest leather, a “Skobelev” coat, decorated with sable fur and blue satin ribbons, a muff, a gold bracelet - all these are fashionable details women's suit 1880s, claiming to be expensive elegance. However, this did not mean belonging to high society; rather, on the contrary, the code of unwritten rules excluded strict adherence to fashion in the highest circles of Russian society.”

It is believed that Kramskoy was inspired to paint the picture by the story of the peasant woman Matryona Savishna, with whom the nobleman Bestuzhev fell in love. The young master came to the village to visit his aunt and was fascinated by the young maid Matryona, who was taken from the village. Bestuzhev decided to marry Matryona despite the condemnation of society. His relatives in St. Petersburg taught a simple girl etiquette and dancing. The former lady once met Matryona in St. Petersburg, but the maid, who became a noble lady, proudly rode past her mistress.

The artist heard this story from Matryona while visiting the Bestuzhivys. “Oh, what a meeting I just had!” - Matryona boasted, talking about how she drove past the lady.
Ivan Kramskoy. Self-portrait, 1874

The artist decided to depict in the picture the episode when the former maid meets her mistress and gives her an arrogant look.

They said that love for a “stranger” did not bring happiness to Bestuzhev, he often had to fight a duel with obsessive admirers of his wife, and many unfortunate people committed suicide because of the proud beauty. She had an amazing magical influence on men.

Concerned relatives of Bestuzhev achieved that the marriage was annulled. "The Stranger" is back in native village, where she soon died.

The fatal fame of the painted “stranger” created the reputation of a cursed painting.

They said that the buyers of the painting were haunted by misfortunes - ruin, sudden death loved ones, madness. The unfortunate owners claimed that the painting was sucking all the vitality out of them. Even the philanthropist Tretyakov refused to buy the painting, fearing a curse. The painting entered the collection of the Tretyakov Gallery in 1925.

According to one of Kramskoy’s legends, the kept woman of industrialist Savva Morozov posed for “The Stranger,” who died under the wheels of a carriage, and now her ghost wanders the streets of Moscow.

It was claimed that a curse fell on Kramskoy's family; his sons died within a year of writing fatal picture. If you look at the dates of death of Kramskoy’s children, this legend is easy to refute. The youngest son Mark died in 1876 long before The Stranger was written. The eldest sons: Nikolai (1863-1938) and Anatoly (1865-1941) survived their father.

"Inconsolable Grief" (1884)

In memory of the deceased youngest son Kramskoy created the painting “Inconsolable Grief,” which depicts a grieving woman in mourning at the coffin.

“The woman in the black dress irrefutably simply, naturally stopped at the box of flowers, one step from the viewer, in the only fatal step that separates grief from the one who sympathizes with grief - amazingly visibly and completely lay down in the picture in front of the woman, this glance only outlined emptiness. The woman’s gaze (the eyes are not tragically dark, but everyday red) imperiously attracts the viewer’s gaze, but does not respond to it. In the depths of the room, on the left, behind the curtain (not behind the curtain-decoration, but the curtain - an ordinary and inconspicuous piece of furniture) is slightly open door, and there is also emptiness, an unusually expressive, narrow, high emptiness, permeated with a dull red flame wax candles(all that's left of light effect)" - wrote critic Vladimir Porudominsky.

Sketch of a painting

Kramskoy donated the painting to the Tretyakov Gallery. "Take this from me tragic picture as a gift, if it is not superfluous in Russian painting and finds a place in your gallery"- wrote the artist. The noble Tretyakov accepted the painting and persistently handed the fee to Kramskoy.

“I was in no hurry to purchase this painting in St. Petersburg, probably knowing that due to its content it would not find buyers, but I then decided to purchase it.”- wrote Tretyakov.

“It is absolutely fair that my painting “Inconsolable Grief” will not find a buyer, I know this just as well, perhaps even better, but a Russian artist is still on the path to his goal, as long as he believes that serving art is his task, until he has mastered everything, he is not yet spoiled and therefore is still able to write a thing without counting on sales. Whether I'm right or wrong, I'm in in this case I just wanted to serve art. If no one needs the painting now, it is not superfluous in the school of Russian painting in general. This is not self-delusion, because I sincerely sympathized with my mother’s grief, I searched for a long time for a pure form and finally settled on this form because for more than 2 years this form did not arouse criticism in me ... "- the artist reasoned.


Sketch of a painting
“This is not a picture, but reality”- Repin admired the depicted depth of feelings.

The legend of a ghostly woman in black who lost her child quickly spread through folklore.
She is mentioned in the poem "Moscow-Petushki" and pursues the frightened hero in a train carriage “a woman, all in black from head to toe, stood at the window and, indifferently looking at the darkness outside the window, pressed a lace handkerchief to her lips.”

Let's move on to another picture.


"Moonlit Night" (1880)
Moonlight attracted the artist, who sought to “catch the moon.” Interestingly, two ladies posed for the picture. The artist’s first model was Anna Popova (Mendeleev’s wife), and then Elena Matveeva (Tretyakov’s wife) posed for the painting.

The play of moonlight in the picture simply captivates the viewer. The woman silently looks at the surface of the water, she is sad, and strives for solitude, because even the breeze does not dare to disturb the moonlit park. The artist was able to very faithfully and accurately convey all the naturalness of the surrounding nature, using the glare of the moon, illuminating both the sandy path and the reeds dormant in the water. Subsequently, the artist uses these developments to paint a picture, which for a long time bore the mark of a mystic.

In conclusion, I would like to add that Ivan Kramskoy created portraits of the royal family. Members of the royal family highly valued Kramskoy's talent. He was commissioned to paint portraits of royalty and was trusted to give painting lessons to the emperor's daughters.


Portrait of Emperor Alexander III


Portrait of Empress Maria Feodorovna, wife of Alexander III

Portrait of Empress Maria Alexandrovna, mother of Alexander III

The painting "Mermaids" was painted based on Nikolai Gogol's story "May Night or the Drowned Woman." The painting depicts drowned girls who, according to Slavic belief, became mermaids after their death.

Ivan Kramskoy, "Mermaids" (1871)

While working on the canvas, the artist set himself the task of conveying unique beauty moonlight. “I’m still trying to catch the moon now... The moon is a difficult thing...”- wrote Kramskoy.

Superstitious contemporaries feared that Gogol's plot would drive the artist crazy. In his painting in moonlight The world of ghosts comes to life. Guests of another world - mermaids appear before the viewer by the pond. Kramskoy managed to create a fantastic picture.

“I’m glad that I didn’t completely break my neck with such a plot, and if I didn’t catch the moon, then something fantastic still came out...”- noted the artist.

“The extreme verisimilitude of a fantastic dream,” critics wrote enthusiastically.

The public, tired of fashionable satirical realism, accepted Kramskoy’s work with interest.
“We are so tired of all these gray peasants, clumsy village women, worn-out officials... that the appearance of a work like “ May night“must make the most pleasant, refreshing impression on the public”

Soon the mysterious lunar painting their own legends appeared. They said that at the exhibition next to the “Mermaids” there was hanging a painting by Savrasov “Rooks”, which suddenly fell from the wall at night.

At night, in the hall of the Tretyakov gallery, which bought the painting, one could hear sad deathly singing, and one could feel a sudden coolness, like from a night pond. They said that young ladies who looked at the painting for a long time went crazy and threw themselves into the river.

The old maid advised the master to hang the picture in the far corner so that the light would not fall on it during the day. The old woman claimed that then the mermaids would stop frightening the living. Surprisingly, as soon as the picture was removed into the darkness, the afterlife singing stopped.

Well, a few more facts about rumors affecting paintings by Russian artists. Let's start with "Troika" by Vasily Perov.


Perov could not find a model for the central boy for a long time, until he met a woman who was traveling through Moscow on a pilgrimage with her 12-year-old son Vasya. The artist managed to persuade the woman to let Vasily pose for the picture. A few years later, Perov met with this woman again. It turned out that a year after painting Vasenka died, and his mother specially came to the artist to buy the painting with her last money. But the canvas had already been purchased and exhibited at the Tretyakov Gallery. When the woman saw Troika, she fell to her knees and began to pray. Touched, the artist painted a portrait of her son for the woman.

The demon is defeated. Mikhail Vrubel


Vrubel's son, Savva, died suddenly shortly after the artist completed the portrait of the boy. The death of his son was a blow for Vrubel, so he concentrated on his last painting, “The Defeated Demon.” The desire to finish the painting grew into obsession. Vrubel continued to finish the painting even when it was sent to the exhibition. Not paying attention to the visitors, the artist came to the gallery, took out his brushes and continued to work. Concerned relatives contacted the doctor, but it was too late - tabes spinal cord brought Vrubel to the grave, despite treatment.

On the death of Alexander III. Ivan Aivazovsky When the artist learned about the death of Emperor Alexander III, he was shocked and painted the picture without any order. According to Aivazovsky, the painting was supposed to symbolize the triumph of life over death. But, having finished the painting, Aivazovsky hid it and did not show it to anyone. The painting was first put on public display only 100 years later. The painting is broken into fragments; the canvas depicts a cross, the Peter and Paul Fortress and the figure of a woman in black. The strange effect is that, from a certain angle, the female figure turns into a laughing man. Some see this silhouette as Nicholas II, while others see Pakhom Andreyushkin, one of those terrorists who failed in the assassination attempt on the emperor in 1887.

The history of art is full mystical secrets associated with certain paintings.
Many artists dragged behind them a trail of dubious fame that the sitters they painted in their paintings subsequently died. For example, many of Serov’s models died soon after posing sessions. The most mysterious was the death of the model depicted in famous painting"Girl with Peaches"
In just a month, she burned out from sudden onset consumption. only love Konstantina Somova, who posed for him for the painting “Lady in Blue.”
And although most artists tend to see in these examples only a series of fatal coincidences, many do not risk calling close people as sitters. Thus, just one sculpture by the famous Belarusian master Vladimir Zhbanov had real prototype- film producer Vladimir Golynsky. Trying to convey as accurately as possible portrait likeness, the sculptor removed the plaster mask from Golynsky’s face. And when the figure of the famous “Cigarette Lighter” was ready, its prototype was no longer alive...

An interesting story is connected with the painting “Maslenitsa”, which for a long time adorned the hall of the Ukraine Hotel. It hung and hung, no one really looked at it, until it suddenly became clear that the author of this work was a mentally ill person named Kuplin, who in his own way copied the painting by the artist Antonov. Actually, there is nothing particularly terrible or outstanding in the picture of a mentally ill person, but for six months it excited the vastness of the Runet. Antonov's painting:

1. There is no sign, and the professor deliberately “misdirected” the students so that they would not skip lectures.
2. The professor is a psycho himself (even facts were cited that he was actually treated abroad).
3. Kuplin associated himself with the snowman who looms in the background of the picture, and this is the main solution to the mystery.
4. There was no professor, and the whole story was a brilliant flash mob.
By the way, many original guesses for this sign were also given, but none of them was recognized as correct. The story gradually faded away, although even now you can sometimes come across echoes of it on the RuNet. As for the picture, for some it really makes an eerie impression and causes unpleasant sensations.

Here's another very interesting story.

Icon for psychics

The management of the Hermitage listened to the opinion of its employees and decided to remove the ancient icon depicting Christ from the exhibition. This step was dictated by the fact that the energy field of the icon was killing museum staff. According to the Hermitage workers, a long stay in close proximity The image of Christ has already caused the death of several employees.
Assumptions regarding the negative impact of the icon on the human body were made even during Soviet power, however, at that time it was simply impossible to declare this officially.
Nevertheless, the caretakers of the hall in which the masterpiece was exhibited ancient artist, for no apparent reason, died one after another. But as soon as their chairs were moved to other places, all the troubles stopped.

A specialist invited to study the impact of the icon on people conducted an examination and found that although, most likely, the icon is not directly responsible for the poor health of employees, it nevertheless spreads energy around itself, causing the human brain to vibrate at a high frequency, which, according to According to the expert, not every person can bear it.
In this regard, it was suggested that the icon was painted by a powerful psychic and was originally intended for a select few with high extrasensory perception. Therefore, it is quite dangerous for ordinary people to constantly see it. Taking into account the specialist’s conclusion, the museum’s management decided to put the icon in storage and no longer put it on display.

Fine art has always been considered closely related to the mystical sphere. After all, any image is an energetic imprint of the original, especially when it comes to portraits. It is believed that they are able to influence not only those from whom they are written, but also other people. You don’t have to look far for examples: let’s turn to Russian painting of the 19th – early 20th centuries.

The mysticism of the portrait of Maria Lopukhina

The delightful beauties who gaze at us from the paintings of great painters will forever remain just like that: young, charming and plump. vital energy. However true destiny beautiful models are not always as enviable as it might seem at first glance. This is very easy to see from the example of the famous portrait of Maria Lopukhina, painted by Vladimir Borovikovsky.

Maria Lopukhina, descended from the Tolstoy count family, immediately after her own wedding (she was 18 years old) posed for Vladimir Borovikovsky. The portrait was commissioned by her husband. At the time of writing, Maria looked simply gorgeous. Her face radiated so much charm, spirituality and dreaminess... There could be no doubt that a long and long life awaited the charming model. happy life. It is an incomprehensible fact, but Maria died of consumption when she was only 23 years old.

Much later, the poet Polonsky would write “Borovikovsky saved her beauty...”. However, immediately after the death of the young beauty, not everyone would have shared this opinion. After all, at that time there was talk in Moscow that it was the ill-fated portrait that was to blame for the death of Maria Lopukhina.

They began to shy away from this picture, as if from a ghost. They believed that if the young lady looked at her, she would soon die. According to some sources mysterious portrait killed about ten girls of marriageable age. They said that Mary's father, a famous mystic, after his daughter died, lured her spirit into this painting.

However, almost a hundred years later, Pavel Tretyakov was not afraid and acquired this visual image for his own gallery. After this, the picture “calmed down.” But what was it - empty gossip, a strange coincidence of circumstances or mysterious phenomenon Is there something more hidden? Unfortunately, we most likely will never know the answer to this question.

Ilya Repin - a thunderstorm for sitters?

It is unlikely that anyone will argue that Ilya Efimovich Repin is one of the greatest Russian painters. But there is one strange and tragic circumstance: many who had the honor of being his sitters soon died. Among them are Mussorgsky, Pisemsky, Pirogov, and the Italian actor Mercy d’Argenteau. As soon as the artist took up the portrait of Fyodor Tyutchev, he also died. Of course, in all cases there were objective reasons for death, but here are coincidences... Even the hefty men who posed for Repin for the canvas “Barge Haulers on the Volga” are said to have prematurely given their souls to God.

However, the most creepy story happened with the painting “Ivan the Terrible and his son Ivan November 16, 1581,” which in our time is better known as “Ivan the Terrible Kills His Son.” Even balanced people felt uneasy when looking at the canvas: the murder scene was painted too realistically, there was too much blood on the canvas that seemed real.

The painting exhibited in the Tretyakov Gallery made a strange impression on visitors. Some cried in front of the picture, others fell into a stupor, and others suffered hysterical fits. And the young icon painter Abram Balashov cut the canvas with a knife on January 16, 1913. He was sent to a mental hospital, where he died. The canvas was restored.

It is known that Repin thought for a long time before taking on the film about Ivan the Terrible. And for good reason. The artist Myasoedov, from whom the image of the Tsar was painted, soon in anger almost killed his young son, who was also called Ivan, like the murdered Tsarevich. The image of the latter was based on the writer Vsevolod Garshin, who subsequently went crazy and committed suicide by throwing himself down a flight of stairs...

A murder that never happened

The story that Ivan the Terrible is a son-killer is just a myth.

It is believed that Ivan the Terrible killed his son in a fit of anger with a blow to the temple from his staff. Different researchers give different reasons: from a domestic quarrel to political friction. Meanwhile, none of the sources directly states that the prince and heir to the throne was killed by his own father!

The “Piskarevsky Chronicler” says: “At 12 o’clock in the night of the summer of November 7090 on the 17th day... the death of Tsarevich John Ioannovich.” The Novgorod Fourth Chronicle reports: “In the same year (7090) Tsarevich John Ioannovich reposed at Matins in Sloboda.” The cause of death has not been announced.
In the 60s of the last century, the graves of Ivan the Terrible and his son were opened. There were no damages characteristic of brain injury on the prince’s skull. Therefore, there was no filicide?! But where did the legend about him come from?

Its author is the Jesuit monk Anthony Possevino (Antonio Possevino), sent to Moscow as an ambassador from the Pope with a proposal for the Orthodox Church to come under the authority of the Vatican. The idea did not meet with support from the Russian Tsar. Possevin, meanwhile, allegedly became an eyewitness to a family scandal. The Emperor was angry with his pregnant daughter-in-law, the wife of his son Ivan, for her “indecent appearance” - either she forgot to put on a belt, or she put on only one shirt, when she was supposed to wear four. In the heat of the moment, the father-in-law began to beat the unfortunate woman with a staff. The prince stood up for his wife: before this, his father had already sent his first two wives to the monastery, who could not conceive from him. John the Younger was not unreasonably afraid that he would lose the third one - her father would simply kill her. He rushed at the priest, and in a fit of violence he struck with his staff and pierced his son’s temple. However, except for Possevin, not a single source confirms this version, although later other historians, Staden and Karamzin, readily picked it up.

• Modern researchers suggest that the Jesuit came up with the legend in retaliation for the fact that he had to return to the papal court “without a slurp.”

During exhumation, remains of poisons were found in the bone tissues of the prince. This may indicate that John the Younger died from poisoning (which was not uncommon for those times), and not from being hit by a hard object!

Nevertheless, in Repin’s painting we see precisely the version of filicide. It is performed with such extraordinary verisimilitude that you can’t help but believe that this is exactly what happened in reality. Hence, of course, the “killer” energy.

And again Repin distinguished himself

Once Repin was commissioned to create a huge monumental painting, “The Ceremonial Meeting of the State Council.” The painting was completed by the end of 1903. And in 1905, the first Russian revolution broke out, during which the heads of the officials depicted on the canvas fell. Some lost their posts and titles, others even paid with their lives: Minister V.K. Plehve and Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, former governor-general of Moscow, were killed by terrorists.

In 1909, the artist painted a portrait commissioned by the Saratov City Duma. He had barely finished the work when Stolypin was shot dead in Kyiv.

Who knows - maybe if Ilya Repin had not been so talented, the tragedies might not have happened. Back in the 15th century, the scientist, philosopher, alchemist and magician Cornelius Agrippa of Nettesheim wrote: “Beware of the painter’s brush - his portrait may turn out to be more alive than the original.”

Mystical painting “Stranger” by Ivan Kramskoy

The picture miraculously survived two periods of mass interest in itself, and in completely different eras. For the first time - after being written in 1883, it was considered the embodiment of aristocracy and was very popular among the sophisticated St. Petersburg public.

Unexpectedly, another surge of interest in the “Unknown” occurred in the second half of the 20th century. Apartments were decorated with reproductions of Kramskoy’s work cut out from magazines, and copies of “The Unknown” were one of the most popular orders from artists of all levels. True, for some reason the painting was already known under the name “Stranger,” perhaps under the influence of Blok’s work of the same name. Even “Stranger” candies were created with Kramskoy’s painting on the box. Thus, the erroneous title of the work finally “came to life.”

Many years of research into “who is depicted in Kramskoy’s painting” have not yielded results. According to one version, the prototype of the “symbol of aristocracy” was a peasant woman named Matryona, who married the nobleman Bestuzhev.

“The Stranger” by Ivan Kramskoy is one of the most mysterious masterpieces of Russian painting.

At first glance, there is nothing mystical in the portrait: the beauty is riding along Nevsky Prospect in an open carriage.

Many considered Kramskoy’s heroine an aristocrat, but a fashionable velvet coat trimmed with fur and blue satin ribbons and a stylish beret hat, coupled with penciled eyebrows, lipstick and blush on her cheeks, mark her out as a lady of the then demi-monde. Not a prostitute, but clearly the kept woman of some noble or rich man.

However, when the artist was asked whether this woman existed in reality, he just grinned and shrugged. In any case, no one has ever seen the original.
Meanwhile, Pavel Tretyakov refused to purchase a portrait for his gallery - perhaps he was afraid of the belief that portraits of beauties “suck the strength” out of living people.

The “Stranger” began traveling to private meetings. And very soon she gained notoriety. Its first owner's wife left him, the second's house burned down, and the third went bankrupt. All these misfortunes were attributed to the fatal picture.

Kramskoy himself did not escape the curse. Less than a year after the creation of “Unknown,” his two sons died one after another.

The “damned” picture went abroad. They say that there she caused all kinds of trouble to her owners. In 1925, “The Stranger” returned to Russia and nevertheless took its place in the Tretyakov Gallery. Since then, no further incidents have occurred.

Maybe the whole point is that the portrait should have taken its rightful place from the very beginning?