borisov-musatov requiem 1905 Viktor Borisov-Musatov (1870-1905)

Description of Victor Borisov Musatov’s painting Requiem

Another painting by Borisov-Musatov, Requiem, continues the ideas begun in The Emerald Necklace. Huge, elaborated to the finest detail easel watercolor, it was dedicated to the tragic death of the artist’s close friend, N.Y. Stanyukovich.

The artist was incredibly grieved for the beautiful and close to him person. The grief caused by such an unexpected death was expressed in the portrayal of "Requiem". The entire painting is in keeping with the classical style and forms. The carefully drawn details, however, did not help the artist bring the characters of the painting to life. The women are all depicted flatly, as if they were shadows of terrible sorrow and despair.

The building and park depicted behind, just as in "The Necklace," acts more as a backdrop than a three-dimensional space. Despite the theme of sadness and grief, as well as the pessimistic mood, the author prefers light colors and shades. They move smoothly from the walls of the building, to the costumes and outfits of the women, the light tiles, as well as the appearance of the ancient statue.

In his work, the artist Borisov-Musatov was able to replace the living characters with symbols, and thus unusually close to symbolism, in the image of mysticism. The author painted his picture in the small town of Tarus, located on the shore of the river Oka. There the artist spent from March to November 1905. He was not interested in the public and all the events that took place there, if they touched his creative interests.

However, being in the silence of the ordinary village, where rumors of protests, peasant strikes and unrest hardly reached him, he looked forward to new newspapers, as well as the arrival of the "Russian Republic".

All of these events resonated with the artist’s work. It was in this year that he begins to work on landscapes that represent in his understanding the appearance of the new Russia of the Republic.