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Text 1. A bather or a nymph? Fon Neff’s painting

A picturesque painting by Timophey Andreevich fon Neff (1805–1876), which is located in one of private St. Petersburg collections is a version of the famous composition of this artist known as «A Bather» («A Nymph»). This is a symbolic and allegorical painting the comprehension of which, in spite of the apparent simplicity, demands extensive emotional efforts.

Timophey Andreevich Neff. «A Bather». Canvas, oil. 137,0 x 124,5. Rome 1859. St. Petersburg private collection.

Nymphs are deities, which personify natural phenomena and are considered to be the daughters of Zeus and Geya. Nymphs used to participate in the counsel of Gods, were their lovers and mothers of heroes. Cathedrals, devoted to nymphs, were situated near springs, in grottos. In art, they were depicted as charming semi-nude girls. Nymphs, endowed with beautiful voices and the gift of foresight, were considered to inspire poets to compose epic, heroic and love verses.

There is a wreath of callistegiya on the head of the bather. This Southern plant of creeper family is connected with the name of an Arcadian nymph Callisto. As a Zeus’ lover, she bore him a son Arcada who afterwards became the forefather of all citizens of mountain Arcadia. Pursued by jealous Gera, a wonderful nymph personified supernatural skills, everything that live and lifeless nature embrace, mountain Arcadia, a country, which, in ancient time, used to be associated with simple and careless life in the open air. In XVII century, a new artistic plot was introduced, «Et ego in Arcadia beata vixi…». At Romantism period, this theme was filled in with idyllic sadness for unattainable joy and easiness of being, which, alas, fell into oblivion.

All his life, Timophey Andreevich fon Neff experienced irresistible craving for the antiques, which used to be his «religion». His nymph is represented as a deity of nature, a muse, which grants the artist his artistic power. There is a guess whether the bather is an allegorical portrait of Grand Duchess Maria Nicolaevna, the president of Imperial Academy of Art and the chairman of Imperial Society for Artists Encouragement. The Russian Art of XX century evidences many portraits of noblemen presented as Olympic heroes. Peter I was depicted as Neptun, Catherine II as Minerva, Count Grigiriy Grigiryevich Orlov as Ares, Count Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov as Mars. In this case, physiognomic resemblance did not seem to have a prevailing importance. Such portraits were, mainly, the expression of divine essence of great persons. The assertion that the patroness of Arts, Grand Count Maria Nicolaevna (1819–1876), is implied in the image of the nymph-muse does not contradict with iconographic features of the master’s art.

It is impossible to distinguish the only plastic prototype of fon Neff’s composition. Here, the influence of ancient sculptors and Italian artists of Renaissance is evident. The master had all chances to know Andrey Mantenier’s engraving «The battle of sea deities» (ca. 1485–1488), which presents a nymph who is looking back at the viewer. In its turn, this figure was borrowed by Mantenier from the relief at a Romanian sarcophagus of II century A.D. We also recall Julio Bonacone’s work (ca. 1510 – ca. 1576) «The Kidnapping of Europe» and, of course, Markantonio Raimondy’s «Paris’ justice» (ca. 1483–1534) where one of the nymph is sitting near the stream.

We can only speculate about the former location of the painting, which was not known to wide public (1859, previously – the property of Tsar Court, now is located in Omsk). It hardly was exhibited in Ladies room or in a joint dark corridor of the Winter Palace, above Saltykov proezd. There was only European and Eastern erotic graphics. In the Farm pavilion, Children Village, and in Peterhof Residence (in 1920s it was trespassed to K.E. Voroshilov), there hung paintings of seemingly frivolous content, which could only be viewed by the selected members of the Tsar family. Judging by the ethics of Christian Church of Russia of XIX century, fon Neff’s «A Bather» with its classical plot but with new presentation of nude female body, was not only considered to be a work of high academic style but also something too frivolous. It is doubtlessly possible to ascertain that up to 1917 «A Bather» (1859) was only exposed to the selected ones. After the Revolution, it was confiscated from the former Tsar collection and added to the Antiques and, in 1925, it entered the Omsk collection through Leningrad department of the State museum fund. So, this painting is less known to the public then the one kept in the State Russian Museum.

The famous «Bather» (canvas, oil; 153 x 153 cm; a painting on rectangular canvas, inserted into a circle) painted by Timophey Andreevich fon Neff (The State Russian Museum) has the author’s signature and his indication of the place and the time of its production: «Roma 1858 / Neff». The following year the artist painted a little bigger author version of the composition: canvas, oil; diameter — 160 cm (circle), signed as: «Roma 1859 / Neff» (Omsk Regional Museum of Art). Both paintings used to be the property of tsars. But if the painting of 1858 was passed in 1859 to the Emperor Alexander III Russian museum by the Imperial Hermitage, the brilliant author version of the painting dated of 1859 was still the property of the Court. Rather similar author versions of «Bather» dated of 1858 and 1859, of course, were not exhibited in the Imperial Hermitage side by side.

H aving returned from Rome to St. Petersburg (1859), the artist brought both canvases with the encircled compositions with him. Moreover, it is possible to ascertain that, at least, one of the «Bathers» was bought by Alexander II in the same 1859, for already in 1860 it was copied in the Imperial Hermitage. This copy (canvas, oil) is painted and dated by the copyist: «Рокачевскiй. 1860. С Неффа» (the location is unknown; previously – Charkov, the Museum of Fine Arts at the Charkov University). Now it is impossible to determine which of the two originals Rokachevsky copied. Apparently, in the Imperial Hermitage, where the students of the Imperial Academy of Art were allowed to make unlimited number of copies, another version of «Bather» was made (St. Petersburg, private collection). This copy (canvas, oil; diameter – 142, circle) has the author’s signature: «Копiя с Т.А. фонъ Неффа» and the copyist monogram.

The presence of the old copies of «Bather» testifies high importance of these compositions for the history of Russian Art. The creation of author versions, which are not inferior to the first version in terms of the artistic value, was the characteristic feature of Timophey Andreevich fon Neff’s art. So, for instance, there is his own painting version (Chelyabinsk, The Regional Painting Gallery) of a part of the composition of his famous painting «Two girls in grotto» (1859, The State Russian Museum).

A painting from a private St. Petersburg collection («Roma fec./ Neff. 1859»), is doubtlessly, an authentic work of Timophey Andreevich fon Neff. It is slightly different in size but, mainly, it differs by the rectangular format of the picture from the encircled analogous painting opuses located in St. Petersburg and Omsk. The landscape of the painting is more spacious and also is more romantic. Signed and dated by the artist himself, the «Bather» of 1859 (private property), created in Rome with great inspiration, is irreproachable in terms of mastery. The only surprise is that in result of some games of fate the canvas had long been in shadow, apart from the eyes of the historians of arts. This fon Neff’s «Bather» is, of course, worth complementing the state museum collection and exhibiting to wide public.