What is going on in the historical painting by Pavel Chistyakov?
At the exhibition at the Academy of Arts, the teachers smiled approvingly: what scope, what power. That's how they spoke about the painting, which depicted a family scandal that led to a civil war.
Pavel Chistyakov attracted attention while still studying at the Academy of Arts. In 1860, his painting ‘Patriarch Hermogenes Refuses the Poles to Sign the Charter’, deliberately theatrical, received a small gold medal.
And, a year later, he presented his graduation work. Young artists had to paint a picture on a theme related to a dramatic moment in the history of Russia in the 15th century – ‘Grand Duchess Sophia Vitovtovna at the wedding of Grand Duke Vasily the Dark in 1433 tears off the belt of Prince Vasily Kosoy, which once belonged to Dmitry Donskoy’.
Daughter of Vitovt, wife of Vasily
Grand Duchess Sophia Vitovtovna was the wife of the Moscow Prince Vasily I, the son of Dmitry Donskoy. In 1425, she was widowed and became the guardian of her young son Vasily Vasilyevich. In fact, she herself ruled the Moscow principality and, at the same time, did everything to ensure that the throne remained with the heir. He was not the only contender for it: Prince Yuri Dmitrievich of Zvenigorod, her husband's brother, also dreamed of the princely crown. But, Sophia achieved that the boyars recognized her son as the heir.
It seemed that nothing more threatened him. And so it was, until the son grew up and was about to get married.
What a wedding without a scandal
The son of the Zvenigorod prince Yuri Dmitrievich came to the wedding wearing a gold belt, which was once stolen at the wedding of Dmitry Donskoy himself. Having learned about this, Sophia was furious. After all, this was not just a belt decorated with precious stones, but a symbol of the grand ducal power. The princess's anger was so great that she immediately tore the relic off the guest.
The family scandal stirred up old grievances: the young man left the feast and, soon, Yuri Dmitrievich declared war on his relatives, which dragged on for 20 years.
Pavel Chistyakov depicted the dramatic moment at the wedding.
The famous artist Viktor Vasnetsov believed that this painting marked the beginning of true Russian historical painting. For this work, Chistyakov received the Grand Gold Medal and the opportunity to intern abroad.
The Academy purchased the painting from him for an impressive 800 rubles. Since 1923, the canvas has been on display at the Russian Museum in St. Petersburg.
