Three princesses. Russian folk tales

In 1880-1881, Savva Mamontov ordered three paintings from Viktor Vasnetsov for the office of the board of the Donetsk Railway.
Vasnetsov wrote “The Three Princesses of the Underground Kingdom”, “The Flying Carpet” and “The Battle of the Scythians with the Slavs”. The film is based on a fairy tale. The painting “Three Princesses of the Underground Kingdom” personifies the wealth of the subsoil of Donbass, for which the plot of the fairy tale is slightly changed - it depicts the princess of coal.

Victor Vasnetsov.
Three princesses of the underworld.
1879. First option. Canvas, oil. 152.7 x 165.2.
Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia.

Board members did not accept Vasnetsov’s work on a fairy-tale theme as inappropriate for office space. In 1884, Vasnetsov painted another version of the painting, slightly changing the composition and coloring. The painting is acquired by Kyiv collector and philanthropist I.N. Tereshchenko.
In the new version, the position of the hands of the princess of coal has changed; now they lie along the body, which gives the figure calmness and majesty.
In the film "Three Princesses of the Underground Kingdom" one of the characters - the third, youngest princess - will receive further development in female images. The hidden spiritual sadness of this humbly proud girl will be found both in his portraits and in fictional images.

Underground kingdoms
Russian folktale

In that ancient time, when the world was filled with goblins, witches and mermaids, when the rivers flowed milky, the banks were jelly, and fried partridges flew through the fields, at that time there lived a king named Pea with the queen Anastasia the Beautiful; they had three prince sons.

And suddenly a great misfortune struck - the queen was dragged away by an unclean spirit. The eldest son says to the king: “Father, bless me, I’ll go find my mother!” He went and disappeared; For three years there was no news or rumor about him. The second son began to ask: “Father, bless me on my journey, maybe I’ll be lucky enough to find both my brother and my mother!” The king blessed; he went and also disappeared without a trace - as if he had sunk into the water.

The youngest son, Ivan Tsarevich, comes to the king: “Dear father, bless me on my way, maybe I’ll find both my brothers and my mother!” - “Go, son!”

Ivan Tsarevich set off in a foreign direction; I drove and drove and came to the blue sea, stopped on the shore and thought: “Where should I go now?” Suddenly thirty-three spoonbills flew to the sea, hit the ground and became red maidens - all are good, and one is better than all of them; undressed and jumped into the water. Whether they bathed a lot or a little - Ivan Tsarevich crept up, took the sash from the girl who was more beautiful than everyone else and hid it in his bosom.

The girls swam, went ashore, began to dress - one sash was missing. “Oh, Ivan Tsarevich,” says the beauty, “give me the sash!” - “Tell me first, where is my mother?” - “Your mother lives with my father - with Voron Voronovich. Go up the sea, you will come across a silver bird - a golden crest: wherever it flies, there you go too!”

Ivan Tsarevich gave her the sash and walked up the sea; here I met my brothers, greeted them and took them with me.

They were walking along the shore together, they saw a silver bird - a golden crest - and ran after it. The bird flew and flew and threw itself under an iron slab into an underground pit. “Well, brothers,” says Ivan Tsarevich, “bless me instead of my father, instead of my mother: I will descend into this pit and find out what the land of the other faith is like, is our mother there!” His brothers blessed him, he tied himself with a rope, and climbed into that deep hole, and went down neither more nor less - exactly three years; went down and went along the road.

He walked and walked, walked and walked, and saw the copper kingdom: thirty-three spoonbill girls were sitting in the courtyard, embroidering towels with cunning patterns - cities and suburbs. “Hello, Ivan Tsarevich!” says the princess of the copper kingdom. “Where are you going, where are you going?” - “I’m going to look for my mother!” - “Your mother is with my father, with Voron Voronovich; he is cunning and wise, he flew over the mountains, over the valleys, through dens, through the clouds! He, good fellow, will kill you! Here is a little ball for you, go to my middle sister - what is she will tell you. And when you go back, don’t forget me!”

Ivan Tsarevich rolled the ball and followed him. He comes to the silver kingdom, and thirty-three spoonbill maidens are sitting here. Says the princess of the silver kingdom: “Before now, the Russian spirit was unseen and unheard of, but now the Russian spirit is manifesting itself with your own eyes! What, Ivan Tsarevich, are you trying to get away with business or are you torturing things?” - “Oh, red maiden, I’m going to look for my mother!” - “Your mother is with my father, with Voron Voronovich; he is both cunning and wise, he flew through the mountains, through the valleys, through dens, through the clouds! you go to my younger sister - what will she tell you: should you go forward, or should you go back?

Ivan Tsarevich comes to the golden kingdom, and thirty-three spoonbill maidens are sitting here, embroidering towels. Above all, above all, the princess of the golden kingdom is such a beauty that it cannot be said in a fairy tale or written with a pen. She says: “Hello, Ivan Tsarevich! Where are you going, where are you going?” - “I’m going to look for mother!” - “Your mother is with my father, with Voron Voronovich; he is both cunning and wiser, he flew through the mountains, through the valleys, through dens, through the clouds. Eh, prince, he will kill you! You are wearing a ball, go to the pearl kingdom : your mother lives there. Seeing you, she will rejoice and immediately order: “Nurses, give my son some green wine!” But don’t take it, ask her to give you the three-year-old wine that’s in the cupboard, and a burnt rind for a snack Don't forget: my father has two vats of water in the yard - one is strong water and the other is weak; move them from place to place and drink strong water; and when you fight with Voron Voronovich and defeat him, ask him only for a staff -feather."

The prince and the princess talked for a long time and fell in love with each other so much that they didn’t want to part, but there was nothing to do - Ivan Tsarevich said goodbye and set off on his way.

He walked and walked and came to the pearl kingdom. His mother saw him, was delighted and shouted: “Nurses! Give me some green wine for my son!” - “I don’t drink simple wine, give me a three-year-old wine, and a burnt crust for a snack!” The prince drank three-year-old wine, ate the burnt rind, went out into the wide courtyard, moved the vats from place to place and began to drink strong water.

Suddenly Voron Voronovich flies in; he was as bright as a clear day, but when he saw Ivan Tsarevich, he became gloomier than the dark night; he sank down to the vat and began to draw powerless water.

Meanwhile, Ivan Tsarevich fell on his wings; Raven Voronovich soared high, high, carried him through the valleys, and over the mountains, and through dens, and through the clouds, and began to ask: “What do you need, Ivan Tsarevich? Do you want me to give you the treasury?” - “I don’t need anything, just give me a feather staff!” - “No, Ivan Tsarevich! It hurts to sit in a wide sleigh!”

And again the Raven carried him over the mountains and through the valleys, over dens and clouds. But Ivan Tsarevich holds on tightly; leaned on him with all his weight and almost broke off his wings. Voron Voronovich cried out: “Don’t break my wings, take the feather staff!” He gave the prince a feather staff, became a simple raven himself and flew to the steep mountains.

And Ivan Tsarevich came to the pearl kingdom, took his mother and went back; looks - the pearl kingdom curled up into a ball and rolled after him.

He came to the golden kingdom, then to the silver one, and then to the copper one, took with him three beautiful princesses, and those kingdoms curled up and rolled after them. He approached the rope and blew a golden trumpet: “Dear brothers! If you’re alive, don’t give me up!”

The brothers heard a trumpet, grabbed the rope and pulled out a soul - a red maiden, a princess of the copper kingdom; They saw her and began to quarrel among themselves: one did not want to give her up to the other. “Why are you fighting, good fellows! There is an even better red maiden than me!” - says the princess of the copper kingdom.

The princes lowered the rope and pulled out the princess of the silver kingdom. They started arguing and fighting again; one says: “Let me have it!” And the other: “I don’t want to! Let it be mine!” “Don’t quarrel, good fellows, there is a girl even more beautiful than me,” says the princess of the silver kingdom.

The princes stopped fighting, lowered the rope and pulled out the princess of the golden kingdom. They started to quarrel again, but the beautiful princess immediately stopped them: “Your mother is waiting there!”

They pulled out their mother and lowered the rope behind Ivan Tsarevich; They raised it halfway and cut the rope. Ivan Tsarevich flew into the abyss and was seriously hurt - he lay unconscious for six months; Having woken up, he looked around, remembered everything that had happened to him, took a feather staff out of his pocket and hit it on the ground. At that very moment twelve young men appeared: “What, Ivan Tsarevich, do you order?” - “Bring me out into the open world!” The fellows grabbed him by the arms and carried him out into the open world.

Ivan Tsarevich began to investigate about his brothers and learned that they had been married a long time ago: the princess from the copper kingdom married her middle brother, the princess from the silver kingdom married her elder brother, and his intended bride was not marrying anyone. And the old father himself decided to marry her: he gathered a council, accused his wife of holding council with evil spirits, and ordered her head to be cut off; after the execution, he asks the princess from the golden kingdom: “Will you marry me?” - “Then I’ll marry you when you make me shoes without measurements!”

The king ordered the cry to be called, to ask each and every one: will anyone sew shoes for the princess without measurements? At that time, Tsarevich Ivan came to his state, hired himself as a worker from an old man and sent him to the Tsar: “Go, grandfather, take on this matter. I’ll sew your shoes, just don’t tell on me!” The old man went to the king: “I am ready to take on this work!”

The king gave him enough goods for a pair of shoes and asked: “Will you please, old man?” - “Don’t be afraid, sir, I have a son, Chebotar!”

Returning home, the old man gave the goods to Tsarevich Ivan, who cut the goods into pieces, threw them out the window, then opened the golden kingdom and took out the finished shoes: “Here, grandfather, take them, take them to the king!”

The king was delighted and pestered the bride: “Are we going to the crown soon?” She replies: “Then I’ll marry you when you make me a dress without measurements!”

The king is busy again, gathering all the artisans to his place, giving them a lot of money, just so that they can sew a dress without measurements. Ivan Tsarevich says to the old man: “Grandfather, go to the Tsar, take the cloth, I’ll sew you a dress, just don’t tell on me!”

The old man trudged to the palace, took satin and velvet, returned home and gave it to the prince. Ivan Tsarevich immediately grabbed the scissors, cut all the satin and velvet into shreds and threw it out the window; He opened the golden kingdom, took from there the best dress and gave it to the old man: “Bring it to the palace!”

Tsar Radekhonek: “Well, my beloved bride, isn’t it time for us to go to the crown?” The princess answers: “Then I’ll marry you when you take the old man’s son and tell him to boil him in milk!” The king did not hesitate, gave the order - and on the same day they collected a bucket of milk from all the households, filled a large vat and boiled it over high heat.

They brought Ivan Tsarevich; He began to say goodbye to everyone and bow to the ground; They threw him into the vat: he dived once, dived again, jumped out and became so handsome that he could neither be told in a fairy tale nor written down with a pen. The princess says: “Look, king! Who should I marry: you, the old one, or him, the good fellow?” The king thought: “If I bathe in milk, I will become just as handsome!” He threw himself into the vat and boiled in milk.

And Ivan Tsarevich went with the princess to get married; got married, he sent his brothers out of the kingdom and began to live and live well and make good things with the princess.

Vasnetsov V.M. Three princesses of the underground kingdom.
1884. Second option. Canvas, oil. 173 x 295. Museum of Russian Art, Kyiv, Ukraine.

Days of free visits to the museum

Every Wednesday you can visit for free the permanent exhibition “Art of the 20th Century” in the New Tretyakov Gallery, as well as temporary exhibitions “The Gift of Oleg Yakhont” and “Konstantin Istomin. Color in the Window”, taking place in the Engineering Building.

The right to free access to exhibitions in the Main Building on Lavrushinsky Lane, the Engineering Building, the New Tretyakov Gallery, the V.M. House-Museum. Vasnetsov, museum-apartment of A.M. Vasnetsova is provided on the following days for certain categories of citizens first come first serve basis:

First and second Sunday of every month:

for students of higher educational institutions of the Russian Federation, regardless of the form of study (including foreign citizens-students of Russian universities, graduate students, adjuncts, residents, assistant trainees) upon presentation of a student card (does not apply to persons presenting student cards “student-trainee” );

for students of secondary and secondary specialized educational institutions (from 18 years old) (citizens of Russia and CIS countries). Students holding ISIC cards on the first and second Sunday of each month have the right to free admission to the “Art of the 20th Century” exhibition at the New Tretyakov Gallery.

every Saturday - for members of large families (citizens of Russia and CIS countries).

Please note that conditions for free admission to temporary exhibitions may vary. Check the exhibition pages for more information.

Attention! At the Gallery's box office, entrance tickets are provided at a nominal value of “free” (upon presentation of the appropriate documents - for the above-mentioned visitors). In this case, all services of the Gallery, including excursion services, are paid in accordance with the established procedure.

Visiting the museum on holidays

On National Unity Day - November 4 - the Tretyakov Gallery is open from 10:00 to 18:00 (entrance until 17:00). Paid entrance.

• Tretyakov Gallery in Lavrushinsky Lane, Engineering Building and New Tretyakov Gallery - from 10:00 to 18:00 (box office and entrance until 17:00)
• Museum-apartment of A.M. Vasnetsov and the House-Museum of V.M. Vasnetsova - closed

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Free visit right The main and temporary exhibitions of the Gallery, except in cases provided for by a separate order of the Gallery’s management, are provided to the following categories of citizens upon presentation of documents confirming the right of free admission:

• persons under 18 years of age;
• students of faculties specializing in the field of fine arts at secondary specialized and higher educational institutions in Russia, regardless of the form of study (as well as foreign students studying at Russian universities). The clause does not apply to persons presenting student cards of “trainee students” (if there is no information about the faculty on the student card, a certificate from the educational institution must be presented with the obligatory indication of the faculty);
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• disabled people of groups I and II, participants in the liquidation of the consequences of the disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant (citizens of Russia and CIS countries);
• one accompanying disabled person of group I (citizens of Russia and CIS countries);
• one accompanying disabled child (citizens of Russia and CIS countries);
• artists, architects, designers - members of the relevant creative Unions of Russia and its constituent entities, art critics - members of the Association of Art Critics of Russia and its constituent entities, members and employees of the Russian Academy of Arts;
• members of the International Council of Museums (ICOM);
• employees of museums of the system of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation and the relevant Departments of Culture, employees of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation and ministries of culture of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation;
• volunteers of the “Sputnik” program - entrance to the exhibition “Art of the 20th Century” (Krymsky Val, 10) and “Masterpieces of Russian Art of the 11th - early 20th Century” (Lavrushinsky Lane, 10), as well as to the House-Museum of V.M. Vasnetsov and the Apartment Museum of A.M. Vasnetsova (citizens of Russia);
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• one accompanying a group of students or a group of conscripts (if they have an excursion package, subscription and during a training session) (Russian citizens).

Visitors to the above categories of citizens receive a “Free” entrance ticket.

Please note that the conditions for discounted admission to temporary exhibitions may vary. Check the exhibition pages for more information.

Victor Vasnetsov

Three princesses of the underworld

Background

The painting “Three Princesses of the Underground Kingdom” was commissioned from Viktor Vasnetsov in 1880 by industrialist and philanthropist Savva Mamontov.
Mamontov, one of the richest men in Moscow, was passionate about art. He was the owner of the Abramtsevo estate, one of the most important centers of Russian artistic life in the 1870s–1910s.

Viktor Vasnetsov, Mikhail Vrubel, Nicholas Roerich and other artists visited and worked there.

Savva Ivanovich Mamontov (1841–1918)

In 1882, Mamontov built the Donetsk Coal Railway. The philanthropist decided to decorate the office of the board of the new enterprise with paintings by the young talented artist Viktor Vasnetsov.

Mamontov’s son Vsevolod recalled these paintings: “The first painting was supposed to depict the distant past of the Donetsk region, the second - a fabulous way of transportation and the third - princesses of gold, precious stones and coal - a symbol of the wealth of the depths of the awakened region.”

Vasnetsov wrote three works for Mamontov: “Three Princesses of the Underground Kingdom”, “Flying Carpet” and “The Battle of the Scythians with the Slavs”. However, the Railway Board considered the subjects not serious enough for the business environment of a large company, and Vasnetsov’s paintings were not accepted.

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Victor Vasnetsov. Carpet plane. 1881. Nizhny Novgorod State Art Museum, Nizhny Novgorod.
Victor Vasnetsov. Battle of the Scythians with the Slavs. 1881. State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg

Plot

The plot of the picture goes back to the Russian folk tale “Three Kingdoms - Copper, Silver and Gold”, known to modern readers in several versions edited by Alexander Afanasyev. In the fairy tale, Tsarevich Ivan descends into the underworld to free his mother, Queen Anastasia the Beautiful, who was kidnapped by the villain Voron Voronovich.

On the way, the prince meets the captives (in some editions of the fairy tale - the daughters) of the Crow - the Copper, Silver and Golden princesses. The girls tell Ivan how to free his mother, and in gratitude the prince, returning from the underworld, takes them with him. Returning home, he marries the Golden Princess, and marries her younger sisters to his older brothers.

Fragment of the cover of the book “Russian Folk Tales” by Alexander Afanasyev

Author

Three paintings written for Mamontov largely determined the further work of Viktor Vasnetsov - from that moment on, he often turned to the plots of Russian folk tales and epics.

Thanks to the paintings “The Knight at the Crossroads”, “Alyonushka”, “Ivan the Tsarevich on the Gray Wolf”, the artist received recognition among collectors and patrons of the arts: Vasnetsov managed to embody the motifs of Russian folklore in images understandable to modern people.

It is no coincidence that it was he who was commissioned to design the extension of the main entrance hall to the Tretyakov Gallery building in Lavrushinsky Lane, which became the hallmark of the museum. The artist worked in the neo-Russian style, rethinking the motifs of traditional Russian architecture.

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Self-portrait. Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov (1848–1926). 1873. State Tretyakov Gallery
Project for the extension of the main entrance hall to the Tretyakov Gallery building, together with V.N. Bashkirov. 1899–1901. Moscow, Lavrushinsky lane

Golden Princess

According to the Russian folk tale “Three Kingdoms - Copper, Silver and Gold,” on the plot of which the artist based, Golden is the most beautiful of the princesses of the underworld. When Ivan defeats Voron Voronovich, he frees all his captives and marries the girl. Vasnetsov borrows only this character from the fairy tale; the other two images of princesses are not found in Russian folklore.

The Golden Princess is depicted dressed in a feryaz, a type of clothing common in pre-Petrine Russia with floor-length sleeves with slits for the arms. On her head she wears a koruna - a headdress that only unmarried girls could wear (the top of the head remained open, which was unacceptable for a married woman). Usually the koruna was an element of the wedding dress.

North Russian (Novgorod, Arkhangelsk provinces) koruna. XIX century. Collection of Natalia Shabelskaya

Princess of the Jewels

The artist wanted to embody the riches of the Donetsk region in the images of girls, so he creates a new image for Russian art - the Princess of Precious Stones. Like the Golden Princess, the girl is dressed in a fairyaz, under which is a long silk shirt. On her hands are bracelets - an element of the Russian national costume, and on her head is a low crown, which in central Russia was called “maiden beauty”.

The second half of the 19th century was the era of historicism, when Russian artists carefully studied folk life, traditional costumes, and folklore of their country. Although painters were not always able to achieve historical accuracy in details, they tried to convey the flavor of the era as accurately as possible in their works.

The morning of the Streltsy execution. Fragment. Vasily Surikov. 1881. Tretyakov Gallery. Moscow. The Streletsky wife is dressed in the traditional Russian feryaz, and the soldiers of Peter I are dressed in European costumes. Thus, Surikov contrasts Ancient Rus', which is receding into the past, with the Petrine era that replaced it.

Princess of Coal

Since the painting was intended for the office of the Railway Board, Vasnetsov considered it necessary to depict the princess of Hard Coal - “black gold” at that time ensured the movement of trains.

The older princesses are dressed in Russian folk costumes, but the younger one is wearing a more modern fitted dress with short sleeves (the ancient Russian beauty could not appear in public with her arms open and her head uncovered).

Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov is known for painting paintings based on various Russian legends, which are especially widespread among ordinary people. In 1880, at the request of a Russian entrepreneur, the artist created a canvas called “The Three Princesses of the Underground Kingdom,” which was based on the fairy tale “Underground Kingdoms.” This picture had two versions: in one thousand eight hundred and eighty-four, Vasnetsov slightly changed the position of the hands of one of the princesses to give her more calm and majesty.

In the center of the canvas three majestic figures of girls are depicted against a background of gray dull rocks and a soft blue sky, on which pale pink clouds float. The entire background only adds to the beauty of the main characters. Each heroine represents the riches of the bowels of the earth. The girl standing to the left of the others is dressed in a luxurious golden dress, embroidered with traditional Russian patterns, and on her head is a golden headdress, which includes several precious stones.

Despite all her majestic appearance, she behaves quite modestly, without showing her superiority. Her sister, who stands in the center, is not inferior to her in beauty and royalty. Her entire outfit consists of precious stones, even her crown is entirely made of them. But she is also an example of royal pride and modesty. The two sisters are majestic and know their position. But the third sister, who stands to the right of them, is not at all like her relatives. Instead of a bright, bejeweled dress, the girl wears a relatively modest black dress, and the girl’s head is not adorned with a crown or anything else. In addition, her hair flows freely over her shoulders and adds a kind of lightness and tenderness to her. The girl does not exude the same regal power as her sisters, but for some reason it is still impossible to take your eyes off her.

It is with her modesty, unobtrusiveness and calm confidence that she attracts attention and is significantly superior to the other two representatives. She contains the image of a real Russian girl who never shows off her advantage, but behaves with restraint and without arrogance. Also, in addition to the three princesses of the underworld, the canvas depicts two men who are on the right side. They knelt before the majestic images. However, the girls don't even notice these ordinary people. The heroines are simply frozen in their poses and do not pay the slightest attention to what is happening around them. Perhaps this happened because they found themselves on the ground, and not in their usual environment. But it is precisely this static quality that gives the princesses an increasingly majestic appearance that makes people admire them.

Thus, Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov in his painting “Three Princesses of the Underground Kingdom” depicted majestic girls, each of which represents a certain type of fossil that can be found in the bowels of the earth.

This work was carried out by Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov by order of S. Mamontov, at that time the chairman of the board of the Donetsk Railway being built. The idea was based on the fact that, through a fairy-tale theme, the canvas should reflect the ideas of the Russian people about the untold riches stored in the deep bowels of the earth in Donbass.

The original plot of the folk narrative was changed by Vasnetsov. The two main princesses remained in place - gold and precious stones. To please the industrialists, another character appeared on the canvas - the princess of coal.

The canvas depicts three girls, two of them representing gold and precious stones, dressed in richly decorated ancient Russian outfits of corresponding colors. The third is wearing a simple black dress, her arms are pale and open, her hair is simply loose and spread over her shoulders.

It is noticeable that the princess of coal does not have the same arrogance that the other heroines have, nevertheless, she is just as attractive as the rest. In the 1884 edition of this painting, Vasnetsov changed the position of the girl’s hands in a black dress, placing them along the body, and left the other girls’ hands modestly closed in front, which gave their poses greater majesty.

In the background of the picture, the sunset sky turns red, the girls are surrounded by piles of dark rocks. When writing the original version, the author used a yellow-orange palette along with black shades. The 1884 canvas is replete with more saturated colors, the palette shifts to red tones. Also in the lower right corner of the picture, the author painted two peasants in common shirts bowing to the princesses.

However, in the end, the board of the railway refused to buy the painting, so it was bought by the direct customer, S. Mamontov.

In addition to the description of the painting by V. M. Vasnetsov “Three Princesses of the Underground Kingdom”, our website contains many other descriptions of paintings by various artists, which can be used both in preparation for writing an essay on the painting, and simply for a more complete acquaintance with the work of famous masters of the past.