УДК: 75(=161.1)

DOI: 10.35852/2588-0144-2025-1-104-140

EDN: SXOEYH

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Mikhail V. Stroganov

Dr. Sc. in Philology, Leading Research Associate
A.M. Gorky Institute of World Literature of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Moscow, Russia
E-mail: mvstroganov@gmail.com

I.E. Repin and N.N. Bunin. Two Artistic Scandals of 1903

Abstract

It is well known that the media constantly manipulate readers’ minds. Art scandals can be divided into two categories: those that are the result of the artist’s conscious provocation, and those that are imposed on the artist from the outside. This allows us to determine the level of responsibility of those involved in the scandal. Leo Tolstoy, on the one hand, was dealing with shoemaking theme and, on the other, developing his prophetic and preaching activities. Thus he created the themes of shoes and barefootness. I.E. Repin’s reflected it in the portrait of the writer in 1901, which became a pictorial standard. It aroused great interest among contemporaries, but it was removed from the exhibition. Two years later, it generated an artistic response in the form of N.N. Bunin’s parody painting Fishing. Bunin’s work was subjected to harassment before the exhibition itself and caused an act of vandalism by S.B. Lyuboshits. That was largely reflected in the newspapers that stirred up public passions. Bunin, mistakenly, did not recognize his work as a parody on Tolstoy and Repin. The newspapers, especially the Peterburgskaya Gazeta, were deliberately provoking a scandal. In this regard, it is worth noting that Bunin’s Fishing and Repin’s painting What a Space! were both criticized. The theme of barefootness emerged in the artistic discourse, but its negative reception was shaped by newspaper publications.

Keywords

L.N. Tolstoy, I. E. Repin, N.N. Bunin, S.B. Lyuboshits, “Peterburgskaya Gazeta”, pictorial standard, act of vandalism, parody.

For citation

Stroganov M. V. I. E. Repin and N. N. Bunin. Two Artistic Scandals of 1903. Theatre. Fine Arts. Cinema. Music. 2025, no. 1, pp. 104–140.

DOI: 10.35852/2588-0144-2025-1-104-140

EDN SXOEYH

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Received: 28.11.2024

Revised: 27.01.2025

Accepted: 11.02.2025