The tretyakov gallery

I. Describe the reproduction of Surikov's "Boyarina Morozova" using this text as a guide.

The "Boyarina Morozova" is one of the greatest paintings in the world of pictorial art - a work of epic grandeur.

The subject of the painting is based on a historical fact which actually occurred during the reign of Tsar Aleksei Mikhailovitch, the father of Peter I.

The action takes place in a quiet, narrow Moscow street in the 17th century. The short winter day is declining; it is nearly twilight. The quiet snow-covered street presents an unusual aspect: it is filled with throngs of people who are surging into the street.

The Muscovites are there to accompany and pay homage to the first Boyarina of Moscow, who is being taken to interrogation and torture for her unbending adherence to the old believers, the so-called dissenters (Raskolniki).

The Boyarina forms the centre of the composition, and immediately attracts attention by her pale inspired face, set off by her dark garment and marked by an inner storm of emotions. Her hand is raised in an eloquent gesture with two fingers making the sign of the cross, the symbol of the dissenters, forbidden by the church. She is superb in her indomitable inflexibility and readiness to die for what she considers a righteous cause.

Each character in the picture is strikingly individualised, revealing strength and might of the popular masses. Each of the characters accompanying the Boyarina is portrayed with unforgettable expressiveness. Each figure in the picture is an actual portrait. The exalted expression on the face of the beggarly, feeble-minded devotee, with his two fingers raised, repeating the sign made by the Boyarina, as a token of his devotion and adherence. The pilgrim who is absorbed in deep thought. The Boyarina's sister, princess Urusova, who is walking by the sledge, ready to share the fate of the Boyarina. The kneeling old beggar-woman who worships the heroic martyr. The young woman with the inspired sorrowful face whose beauty is enhanced by the deep blue of her coat and the yellow of her shawl and particularly by the position of her bent figure, which expresses the reverence she feels for the Boyarina. The young girl with the frightened expression in her eyes. And the young nun, whose pale, sorrowful face stands out as a sharp contrast to her black garb. All the parts are brought together with great mastery revealing Surikov's fine sense of composition. From the point of view of its composition the picture is easily divided into two parts, with the sledge bearing the Boyarina in the centre.

Extraordinary convincing is the rendering of the rhythm with which the movement of the sledge is animated, as it moves slowly amidst the dispersing crowd. The impression produced by the diagonal lines of the composition is heightened by the movement of the boy running after the sledge, and particularly by the tracks just made by the sledge runners in the snow.

Surikov understands the law of contrast and association of colours. Remarkably picturesque is the harmonious colouring of the whole canvas with the dominating bluish tints in it and the expressiveness achieved by the association of black and white, the repetition of the red and yellow spots. The blues and the reds and the yellows merge into one another and create a harmonious whole.

The landscape repeats the blue, red and yellow colour scheme of the shawl worn by princess Urusova with its white background. The design on the shawl is again repeated in the architecture of the ancient buildings and even in the shaft-bow of the harness. The artistic skill and love with which the painter renders this national originality and beauty show his keen appreciation of his people.