What's going on in Firs Zhuravlev's painting?
The situation is dire, but the painting’s a huge success. This work has been reproduced under various titles and the artist himself succumbed to the temptation of creating several copies.
The Unhappy Bride
Paintings dedicated to marriages of convenience have always generated heightened interest. This was the case with Pavel Fedotov's ‘The Major's Matchmaking’ and Vasily Pukirev's ‘Unequal Marriage’. Firs Zhuravlev's ‘Before the Wedding’ surpassed them both in drama and expression.
The plot seems familiar: Arranged marriages, like unequal marriages, were common at the time. For some, such unions promised business expansion, while others, on the contrary, sought to improve their financial situation in exchange for a title and the privileges of the upper class. However, in all this, the most important thing was forgotten – the "commodity" that was the bride.
The scene unfolds in the interior of a wealthy home. Icons on the walls indicate that the owners are pious and traditional. In the center of the room, a girl in a magnificent wedding dress has fallen to her knees. Bitterly sobbing, she covers her face with her hands. There is not an ounce of comedy or affectation in this scene: it’s obvious that the girl is being married against her will. Having lost all hope of persuading her father to break off the engagement, she bids farewell to her familiar life, preparing for a wedding with a man she does not love.
The bride's parents and relatives observe this scene. Her father is clearly enraged by his daughter's hysterics. In one hand, he holds an icon of the Virgin Mary with the Christ Child – apparently, he was just about to bless her. With the other, he tightly clutches a handkerchief, wondering whether to offer it to his daughter. The mother, holding a festive loaf of bread, also stands frozen in indecision. Another married couple, probably the older sister with her husband and child, witness the bride's grief. And the matchmaker in a blue dress, who had arranged both marriages.
None of the assembled guests make any attempt to calm the bride; everyone waits for the hysteria to subside, so they can go to church, where the groom is already waiting.
A True Drama
For this work, Zhuravlev was awarded the title of ‘Academician of the Imperial Academy of Arts’ in 1874. This depiction of the bride's genuine grief became incredibly popular with the public. It began to be reproduced and copied under different titles: ‘Before the Ceremony’ and ‘Marriage by Order’. The artist himself produced several original replicas.
One of them was acquired by collector Pavel Tretyakov. The artist left the subject matter unchanged, but made the painting more intimate. There is no one else in it, except the father and the mother peeking into the study. Everything around suggests that the drama is unfolding in a wealthy merchant's house. The father, in a long frock coat, seems confused and does not know how to cope with the flood of tears. After all, nothing can be changed anyway.
The renowned critic Vladimir Stasov believed that the very first version of the painting was also the most successful. In this version, the plot has lost its expressiveness. "The wonderful pose and movement of the bride are still the same as before… but the father is completely expressionless: there is no trace of the despotism or tyranny that are needed in this scene. He’s just an impersonal, spineless shopkeeper wearing a medal. Now, he looks more like a master standing at his counter and listening to the requests of his clerk."
