Exhibition "Night Attack" by Trofim Bigo from the collection of the State Hermitage

On June 18, at 12:00, the Kaluga Museum of Fine Arts (104 Lenina St., Exhibition Hall) will host the grand opening of the Night Attack exhibition by Trofim Bigo from the State Hermitage collection.

The exposition of the exhibition acquaints residents of Kaluga and guests of the city with the work of a rare French artist of the 17th century Trofim Bigot (1579 - 1650). Art historians began to study the work of this master, a follower of the famous Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, in the 1950s. Since then, for more than half a century, researchers have continued to make various attempts to solve the riddles associated with the artist’s personality and heritage. Works by Trofim Bigo are very rare in museum collections and private collections. Thanks to the recently carried out attribution, it was possible to identify the author of the painting "The Night Attack", which entered the Hermitage in 1937 as the work of an unknown artist of the 17th century, named Trofim Bigo. The painting "Night Attack" - the only work by Bigo in our country - is presented to the attention of the audience for the first time.

Trofim Bigot was born in Arles in 1579. He studied painting in his hometown, around 1600 he went to Italy to continue his studies. In 1605, Bigo was already listed as a member of the Academy of St. Luke in Rome under various names with Italianizing transcription - Trufemondi, Trofamonte, Teofillo Bigotti. It was in Rome that Bigo began to paint under the strong influence of the Utrecht caravaggist Gerard van Honthorst, nicknamed Gerardo de Notti ("Gerardo of Night Scenes") for his depiction of night scenes depicting half-figures lit by the flame of a candle or lantern. The painting "Night Attack" from the Hermitage collection is one of them.

The central part of the composition of the Hermitage painting depicts a young man who falls victim to two men who suddenly attacked him with a knife. With contrasting light concentrated on the face of the main character, the artist achieves an expressive coloristic effect. Such "playful" scenes are very characteristic of the work of Trofim Bigot. It is assumed that Bigot got his nickname "Trufemondi" (from Italian Trufa - a joke) just for the image of such "comic" scenes in quotation marks. The Night Attack painting from the Hermitage collection belongs to the earliest period of Bigot’s stay in Rome and is a typical example of the so-called “Caravaggist Nocturnes”.

The exhibition "Night Attack" by Trofim Bigot from the State Hermitage Collection "is organized within the framework of the 2015 Cooperation Agreement between the Kaluga Region and the State Hermitage. The holding of the annual Hermitage exhibitions is always accompanied by a special program “Hermitage Days in Kaluga” and an extensive educational program, including scientific and educational events, thematic excursions and creative activities.

The exhibition will run until September 26, 2021.