Mermaid

In the extensive list of works of I. N. Archaeology occupies a special place his picture under the name "Mermaid". Popular rumor dubbed the canvas is mystical, because it is linked to the mysterious events, and some with a sad ending. But about all under the order.

Being a fan of the literary talent N.In.Gogol, Kramskoy wanted to create a painting based on his works. The artist was, without exaggeration, fascinated by the descriptions of Ukrainian nights and those mythical beings, which appeared in the moonlight, while ordinary people were asleep. In addition, the painter yearned to capture on canvas an amazing combination of night darkness and the streaming moonlight, illuminating individual objects. The picture Kramskogo "Mermaid" shows that this artist did a great job.

Mermaid sitting under the moonlight

Story for the picture Kramskogo "Mermaid" was a passage from Gogol's "May night", where the author describes a dream Lev. The artist does not aim to accurately convey all the details of the dream, he only wanted to share with the viewer the wonderful vision that had visited him while working on sketches for a future masterpiece.

The picture Kramskogo "Mermaid" is filled with light sadness. In the foreground we see a group of young girls, dressed in white. They gathered on the banks of the old pond to sit under the moonlight, sing their favorite songs and tell each other intimate secrets. Delicate figures of the drowned stood in picturesque poses, their faces sad and strict. Someone, tilting the face up, looks into the disk of the full moon, while others bowed their heads, as if lamenting his bitter fate. They seemed to Shine under the light of the full moon, which illuminates only small areas are thickets of sedge, a low hill and the old HOMESTEAD on it.

The contemporaries of Kramskoi his "Mermaid" made an indelible impression: the picture was an extraordinary success among audience and critics unanimously praised the master for the accurate transmission of the moonlight, and the novelty of the plot. However, the artist was dissatisfied with himself and from time to time tried to Refine the picture even after it was in the collection of Tretyakov.

The very same painting, it seemed, lived his life. On the 1st exhibition organized by the Association of the Wanderers, he was placed next to the painting "Rooks have arrived" Savrasova brush. In the morning it was discovered that the landscape Savrasov night inexplicably fell off the wall; the staff of the exhibition jokingly said that the case of the mermaids, which had no appeal to the neighborhood birds.

However, after a picture Kramskogo "Mermaid" bought Pavel Tretyakov, it became not to jokes: servants asserted that in those rooms where hung the canvas, the air was cool and filled with moisture, and at night there was heard the quiet singing. The owner said after long contemplation of the picture he feels fatigue. There were also rumours that the picture of the crazy young ladies, so much so that one of them drowned herself in the river. All mystics stopped once on the advice of the old nurse canvas hung in a corner, away from the light, so he did not disturb drowned on canvas. Today the painting is part of exhibition of the Tretyakov gallery in Moscow.