Fedotova fresh gentleman historical period of painting. Fedotov’s painting “Fresh gentleman”: description

Pavel Andreevich Fedotov (1815-1852) Fresh gentleman (or “The morning of the official who received the first cross”, or “The consequences of the feast”). 1846 Oil on canvas. 48.2 × 42.5 cm Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow

In the picture "Fresh Cavalier"- a squandered nobleman who received a third-class order. But what an abyss of importance! In the morning, with his hair curled into a newspaper, having not really slept after a drinking session, he puts the order on a greasy robe and, boasting to the maid, puffs up like a turkey! The maid is not inclined to admire him. She mockingly hands over to the “nobility” the boots he had thrown behind the door, and under the table, yesterday’s drinking companion of the owner awakens in agony.

Fedotov sent the painting “Fresh Cavalier” to his idol Karl Pavlovich Bryullov for judgment. A few days later he was invited to see him.

Sick, pale, gloomy, Bryullov sat in Voltaire’s chair.

- Why haven’t you been seen for a long time? –– was his first question.

- I didn’t dare to bother...

“On the contrary, your picture gave me great pleasure, and therefore relief.” And congratulations, you have overtaken me! Why have you never shown anything?

– I haven’t studied much yet, I haven’t copied anyone yet...

- This is something that was not copied, and happiness is yours! You have discovered a new direction in painting – social satire; Russian art did not know such works before you.

Addressing completely new topics, a critical attitude to reality, a new creative method—Fedotov raised genre painting to the level of social significance! The Council of the Academy of Arts unanimously recognized Fedotov as an academician.

Nina Pavlovna Boyko. Stories of famous paintings: essays on Russian painting. Perm, 2012

*****

The morning after the feast on the occasion of the received order. The new gentleman couldn’t bear it: the light put his new one on his robe and proudly reminds the cook of his importance, but she mockingly shows him the only boots, but they are worn out and full of holes, which she was taking to clean.

Pavel Andreevich Fedotov (1815-1852) Fresh gentleman, 1846 Fragment

Scraps and fragments of yesterday's feast are lying on the floor, and under the table in the background you can see an awakening man, probably left on the battlefield, also a gentleman, but one of those who pester visitors with passports. The waist of a cook does not give the owner the right to have guests of the best taste.

Pavel Andreevich Fedotov was an incredibly talented person. He had good hearing, sang, played music, and composed music. While studying at the Moscow Cadet School, he achieved such success that he was among the four best students. However, the passion for painting conquered everything. Already while serving in the Finnish Regiment, Pavel enrolled in classes at the Imperial Academy of Arts under the guidance of professor of battle painting Alexander Sauerweid.

He turned out to be too old to study, as another academy teacher, Karl Bryullov, did not fail to tell him. In those days, art began to be taught early, usually between the ages of nine and eleven. And Fedotov crossed this line a long time ago... But he worked diligently and a lot. Soon he began to produce good watercolors. The first work exhibited to the audience was the watercolor “Meeting of the Grand Duke.”

Its theme was suggested by the meeting the young artist saw between the guards and Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich in the Krasnoselsky camp, who joyfully greeted the distinguished person. These emotions struck the future painter and he managed to create a masterpiece. His Highness liked the picture, Fedotov was even awarded a diamond ring. This award, according to the artist, “finally sealed artistic pride in his soul.”

However, Pavel Andreevich’s teachers were not satisfied with the works of the aspiring artist. They wanted to get from him the polished and polished image of the soldiers, which the authorities demanded from the servicemen at the May parades.

One artist guessed another

Fedotov did not like all this, for which he listened to constant comments. Only at home did he vent his soul, depicting the most ordinary scenes, illuminated with good-natured humor. As a result, what Bryullov and Sauerweid did not understand, Ivan Andreevich Krylov understood. The fabulist accidentally saw the sketches of the young painter and wrote him a letter, urging him to leave horses and soldiers forever and get down to real business - the genre. One artist sensitively guessed the other.

Fedotov believed the fabulist and left the Academy. Now it is difficult to imagine how his fate would have turned out if he had not listened to Ivan Andreevich. And the artist would not have left the same mark in Russian painting as Nikolai Gogol and Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin did in literature. He was one of the first painters of the mid-19th century to decisively take the path of critical realism and began to openly expose the vices of Russian reality.

High score

In 1846, the artist painted the first painting in the new genre, which he decided to present to the professors. This painting was called “Fresh Cavalier”. It is also known as “The Morning of the Official Who Received the First Cross” and “The Consequences of the Feast.” The work on it was hard. “This is my first chick, which I “nursed” with various amendments for about nine months,” Fedotov wrote in his diary.

He showed the finished painting along with his second work, “The Picky Bride,” at the Academy. And a miracle happened - Karl Bryullov, who had not previously been particularly friendly to Pavel Andreevich, gave his paintings the highest rating. The Academy Council nominated him to the title of academician and awarded him a monetary allowance. This allowed Fedotov to continue the painting he had begun, “The Major’s Matchmaking.” In 1848, she, along with “The Fresh Cavalier” and “The Picky Bride,” appears at an academic exhibition.

The next exhibition, along with fame, brought the attention of censors. It was forbidden to remove lithographs from the “Fresh Cavalier” due to the disrespectful depiction of the order, and it was impossible to remove the order from the picture without destroying its plot. In a letter to the censor Mikhail Musin-Pushkin, Fedotov wrote: “... where there is constant poverty and deprivation, there the expression of the joy of a reward will lead to the childishness of rushing around with it day and night. ... they wear stars on their dressing gowns, and this is only a sign that they are valued.”

However, the request to allow distribution of the painting “in its present form” was refused.

"Fresh Cavalier"

This is what Fedotov wrote in his diary when he returned from the Censorship Committee about the painting: “The morning after the feast on the occasion of the received order. The new gentleman could not bear it, as soon as it was light he put his new one on his robe and proudly reminded the cook of his importance. But she mockingly shows him the only boots, but they are worn out and full of holes, which she carried to be cleaned. Scraps and fragments of yesterday's feast are lying on the floor, and under the table in the background you can see an awakening gentleman, probably also remaining on the battlefield, but one of those who pester those passing by with a passport. The waist of a cook does not give the owner the right to have guests of the best taste. “Where there is a bad connection, there is a great holiday - dirt.”

Pavel Fedotov gave a certain amount of his sympathy to the cook in his work. She is a pretty, neat young woman with a round, common-spirited face. A scarf tied on the head says that she is not married. Married women in those days wore a warrior on their head. Judging by the belly, she is expecting a child. One can only guess who his father is.

Pavel Fedotov painted “Fresh Cavalier” in oils for the first time. Perhaps that is why work on it took quite a long time, although the idea was formed a long time ago. The new technique contributed to the emergence of a new impression - complete realism, materiality of the depicted world. The artist worked on the painting as if he were painting a miniature, paying attention to the smallest details, leaving not a single fragment of space unfilled. By the way, critics subsequently reproached him for this.

Poor official

Critics called the gentleman as many times as he could: “an unbridled boor,” “a soulless careerist official.” After many years, the critic Vladimir Stasov completely burst into an angry tirade: “... before you is an experienced, stiff nature, a corrupt bribe-taker, a soulless slave of his boss, no longer thinking about anything except that he will give him money and a cross in his buttonhole. He is ferocious and merciless, he will drown whoever and whatever he wants, and not a single wrinkle on his rhinocers skin face will falter. Anger, arrogance, callousness, idolization of the order as the highest and categorical argument, a completely vulgarized life.”

However, Fedotov did not agree with him. He called his hero a “poor official” and even a “toiler” “with little support”, experiencing “constant poverty and deprivation.” It’s hard to argue with the latter - the interior of his home, which is at once a bedroom, an office and a dining room, is quite poor. This little man has found someone even smaller to rise above...

He is, of course, not Akaki Akakievich from Gogol’s “The Overcoat.” He has a small reward, which entitles him to a number of privileges, in particular, to receive nobility. Thus, receiving this lowest order in the Russian award system was very attractive to all officials and members of their families.

The gentleman missed his chance

Thanks to Nikolai Gogol and Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin, the official became a central figure in Russian literature of the 1830-1850s. It was made hardly the only theme for vaudevilles, comedies, stories, satirical scenes and other things. They may have made fun of the official, but they felt compassion and sympathy for him. After all, he was tormented by the powers that be and he had no right to vote at all.

Thanks to Pavel Fedotov, it became possible to see the image of this minor performer on canvas. By the way, today the topic raised in the mid-19th century sounds no less relevant. But among the writers there is no Gogol who is able to describe the suffering of a modern official, for example, from the council, and there is no Fedotov, who, with his inherent share of irony, would draw a local-level official with a letter of gratitude in his hands from another official of a higher rank. Management receives cash bonuses and serious awards...

The painting was painted in 1846. And in 1845, the awarding of the Order of Stanislav was suspended. So it is quite likely that the cook’s laughter, which is clearly heard from the canvas, just indicates that the broken girl knows the whole truth. They are no longer awarded and the “fresh gentleman” missed his only chance to change his life.

The genres of his paintings are varied

Pavel Fedotov influenced the development of fine art and went down in history as a talented artist who took important steps in the development of Russian painting.

The genres of his paintings are quite diverse, ranging from portraits, genre scenes and ending with battle paintings. Particular attention is paid to those written in his characteristic style of satire or critical realism. In them he puts human weaknesses and human essence on display. These paintings are witty, and during the master’s lifetime they were a real revelation. Genre scenes where vulgarity, stupidity and generally various aspects of human weaknesses are ridiculed were an innovation in Russian art of the 19th century.

However, the artist’s integrity, along with the satirical orientation of his work, caused increased attention from censorship. As a result, patrons who had previously favored him began to turn away from Fedotov. And then health problems began: his vision deteriorated, headaches became more frequent, he suffered from rushes of blood to his head... As a result, his character changed for the worse.

Fedotov died forgotten by everyone except his friends

Fedotov's life ended tragically. In the spring of 1852, Pavel Andreevich showed signs of acute mental disorder. And soon the academy was notified by the police that “there is a madman in the unit who says that he is the artist Fedotov.”

Friends and the authorities of the Academy placed Fedotov in one of the private St. Petersburg hospitals for the mentally ill. The Emperor granted 500 rubles for his maintenance in this establishment. The disease progressed rapidly. In the fall of 1852, acquaintances arranged for Pavel Andreevich to be transferred to the All Who Sorrow Hospital on the Peterhof Highway. Here Fedotov died on November 14 of the same year, forgotten by everyone except a few close friends.

He was buried at the Smolensk Orthodox Cemetery in the uniform of a captain of the Life Guards of the Finnish Regiment. The censorship committee prohibited the publication of the news of Pavel Andreevich's death in the press.

A genre scene from the life of a poor official holding a small position is reflected in Fedotov’s very small painting “Fresh Cavalier,” which was painted, one might say, in a cartoon style in 1847.

And so, the day before this official was presented with his first award - an order - and now in his dreams he is already ascending the career ladder to the very top, imagining himself either as a mayor or as a governor...

Probably in his dreams, the newly minted cavalier, tossing and turning in pastels for a long time at night, was unable to fall asleep, all the time remembering his “triumph” at the moment of presenting this expensive award, becoming the envy of his entourage as a cavalier of the order. As soon as the morning dawned, the official had already jumped out of bed, throwing on a huge silk robe and pinning an order on it. He proudly and arrogantly assumed the pose of a Roman senator and examined himself in the fly-covered mirror.

Fedotov portrays his hero in a somewhat caricatured manner, and therefore, looking at the picture, we cannot help but smile slightly. The petty official, having received the award, was already dreaming that now he would have a different life, and not the one that had hitherto been in this sparsely furnished, cluttered room.

The comic nature of the image arises from the sharp contrast between dreams and reality. A servant in a robe worn to holes stands barefoot and wears curlers on his head, but with an order. He brags about it to the maid, who brought him polished but old boots. It’s time for him to get ready for work, but he really wants to prolong the pleasure of contemplating himself and fruitless fantasies. The maid looks at him condescendingly and mockingly, without even trying to hide it.

The room is in terrible disarray, all things are scattered. On the table, covered with a light tablecloth with a bright red pattern, you can see sliced ​​sausage, lying not on a plate, but on a newspaper. Nearby are paper curlers and curling irons, which indicates that the hero is trying to look according to the fashion of his time.

The bones of the herring that the man probably ate for dinner fell under the table. There are also shards of broken dishes lying around here. The uniform was thrown onto the chairs in the evening. In one of them, a thin, disheveled ginger cat is tearing apart the threadbare upholstery.

From the painting “Fresh Cavalier” one can judge the life of small employees in the first half of the 19th century. It is full of irony. This is the artist's first completed oil painting. According to Fedotov, he depicted in his painting a poor official who receives little support and constantly experiences “scarcity and deprivation.” This is clearly visible in the picture: mismatched furniture, plank floors, a worn robe and scuffed boots. He rents a cheap room, and the maid is most likely the master's.

The artist depicts the maid with obvious sympathy. She is not bad-looking, she is still quite young and neat. She has a pleasant, round, folksy face. And all this emphasizes the contrast between the characters in the picture.

The official is ambitious and arrogant. He assumed the pose of a noble Roman, forgetting that he was wearing a robe and not a toga. Even his gesture, with which he points to his order, is copied from some magazine. His left hand rests on his side, also showing his supposed "superiority".

Imitating Greco-Roman heroes, the official stands leaning on one leg and proudly throws his head back. It seems that even his papillots sticking out on his head resemble the victorious laurel wreath of the commander. He really feels majestic, despite all the wretchedness of his surroundings.

Today this miniature painting by Pavel Fedotov “Fresh Cavalier” is on display at the State Tretyakov Gallery. Its size is 48.2 by 42.5 cm. Oil on canvas

E. Kuznetsov

(Morning of the official who received the first cross)

Pavel Fedotov. Fresh gentleman

Pavel Fedotov spied his hero in a shameful moment and did everything to make the shame visible: a small man found someone even smaller over whom he could rise, a slave found a slave, the trampled on wanted to trample.

Well, Fedotov himself was a small man, he himself patiently rose and slowly rose, and every milestone of the path he had passed was firmly imprinted in his heart: now he was accepted into the cadet corps, here was his “first role” at the graduation ceremony (a child’s joy, but he loved it so strongly I remember that I told about her in my autobiography, albeit slightly ironically), here is the first rank, here is the next, here is a diamond ring from Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich...

In the film “Fresh Cavalier,” he disowned not only his hero, but also a little from himself - with ridicule, disgusted alienation. He has never been and never will be as mercilessly sarcastic as he is here.

The disorder reigning in the room is fantastic - the most unbridled revelry could not have produced it: everything is scattered, broken, turned over. Not only is the smoking pipe broken, but the strings of the guitar are broken, and the chair is mutilated,

and herring tails are lying on the floor next to the bottles, with shards from a crushed plate,

Fedotov gave a certain amount of his sympathy to the cook. A good-looking, neat woman, with a pleasantly rounded, common-spirited face, her whole appearance demonstrating the opposite of the disheveled owner and his behavior, looks at him from the position of an outside and untainted observer.

The owner has decisively lost what allows him to be treated with any kindness.

“Debauchery in Russia is not deep at all, it is more wild, greasy, noisy and rude, disheveled and shameless than deep...” - it seems that these words of Herzen were written directly about him. He filled with arrogance and anger, bristled. The ambition of the boor, who wants to put the cook in her place, rushes out of him, disfiguring, really, the very good features of his face.

Fedotov, on the other hand, is completely alien to the spirit of denunciation - he, not so much accidentally, but most likely unconsciously, touched a secret, sore spot, and touched it so unexpectedly that he was not even correctly understood.

Who really is the unbridled boor he depicts? This is not at all the soulless careerist official whom the audience wanted to see, including such a sophisticated viewer as V. Stasov, who wrote after a considerable time, that is, having become completely established in his initial perception:
“...before you is an experienced, stiff nature, a corrupt bribe-taker, a soulless slave of his boss, no longer thinking about anything except that he will give him money and a cross in his buttonhole. He is ferocious and merciless, he will drown whoever and whatever he wants, and not a single wrinkle on his face made of rhinoceros (that is, rhinoceros - E.K.) skin will tremble. Anger, arrogance, callousness, idolization of the order as the highest and categorical argument, a completely vulgarized life.”

It is written, as always by Stasov, powerfully, but about a completely different person. Fedotov's hero is a small fry. The artist himself persistently emphasized this, calling him a “poor official” and even a “toiler” “with little support”, experiencing “constant poverty and deprivation.” This is too clearly evident from the picture itself - from the assorted furniture, mostly “white wood”, from the plank floor, torn robe and mercilessly worn boots.

It is clear that he has only one room - a bedroom, an office, and a dining room; it is clear that the cook is not his own, but the owner’s.

Well, he is not one of the latter, not Bashmachkin or Poprishchin, not some rag - so he grabbed an order and went broke on a feast, but still he is poor and pitiful.

This is a small man, whose entire ambition is only enough to show off in front of the cook.

Stasov’s mistake in assessing Fedotov’s unfortunate hero was not his personal one and was instructive in its own way. The poverty and insignificance of the official were, of course, seen, but they were not perceived, they were passed over: it did not fit into the usual stereotype.

With the light hand of Gogol, the official became the central figure of Russian literature of the 1830-1850s, almost the only theme for vaudevilles, comedies, stories, satirical scenes, etc. The official had compassion. Yes, sometimes they made fun of him, but the note of sympathy for the little man, tormented by the powers that be, remained unchanged.

The pitiful official stands in the pose of an ancient hero, with the gesture of an orator raising his right hand to his chest (to the place where the ill-fated order hangs), and with his left, resting on his side, deftly picking up the folds of a spacious robe, as if it were not a robe, but a toga.

There is something classical, Greco-Roman in his very pose with his body resting on one leg, in the position of his head slowly turned towards us in profile and proudly thrown back, in his bare feet protruding from under his robe, and even tufts of curl-papers stick out from his hair is like a laurel wreath.

One must think that this is exactly how the official felt victorious, majestic and proud to the point of arrogance.

But the ancient hero, rising among broken chairs, empty bottles and shards, could only be funny, and humiliatingly funny - all the wretchedness of his ambitions came out.

Of course, the painter’s brush often turns out to be wiser than his thought, or at least ahead of it, but did Fedotov’s parody of an academic painting really arise spontaneously? After all, he had shown a tendency to make fun of the venerable arsenal of classical art before. The comic effect that arose naturally in some of his sepia, Fedotov used this time quite deliberately, for the purpose of ironic ridicule. By debunking his hero, Fedotov simultaneously debunked academic art with its ossified antics and tricks. In his first picture, Russian painting, laughing, parted with academicism.

Based on materials from the book by E. Kuznetsov

Pavel Andreevich Fedotov (June 22, 1815, Moscow - November 14, 1852, St. Petersburg) - Russian painter and graphic artist, academician of painting, one of the largest representatives of Russian romanticism, the founder of critical realism in Russian painting.

Of Pavel Fedotov’s paintings, I like “Fresh Cavalier” the most. This painting has other names: “The Morning of the Official Who Received the First Cross” and “The Consequences of the Feast.”
Every time I look at this picture, it’s as if I’m seeing it for the first time. She, like a book, always opens up to me in a new way. But one thing remains the same – impression. I am surprised, amazed, and admire the artist who was able to create such an epoch-making work on a small piece of canvas!

Fedotov P.A. Fresh gentleman. 1846. Oil, canvas. 48.2×42.5
State Tretyakov Gallery.

I try to imagine how he used a small brush to paint the surroundings of the picture, details, faces... how he was able to convey his own feelings to the image! It happens that it is difficult to express your thoughts in words, but here everything is said only in colors!

I stand in front of the painting, look at it, notice how people approach it. Some silently consider and move on, this is at best. At worst, when advanced art lovers stop, they often go in pairs and exchange not their impressions of the painting, but their knowledge gleaned from various critical sources, most often from notes on the painting of Vladimir Vasilyevich Stasov.

The famous art critic of the 2nd half of the 19th century, Vladimir Stasov, in his work “25 Years of Russian Art” (1882) spoke about “Fresh Cavalier”:
“Look this official in the face: before us is a skilled, stiff nature, a corrupt bribe-taker, a soulless slave of his boss, thinking of nothing more than giving him money and a cross in his buttonhole. He is fierce and merciless, he will drown anyone and whatever you want - and not a single wrinkle on his face made of rhinoceros skin will waver. Anger, arrogance, a completely vulgar life - all this is present on this face, in this pose and figure of an inveterate official in a dressing gown and barefoot, in curlers and with an order on his chest. ".

I really respect and appreciate Vladimir Vasilyevich, I agree with his opinions about many paintings by Russian artists, but I do not agree with the interpretation of “Fresh Cavalier”. Moreover, I protest against it. Where did Stasov look in the picture as evidence of those negative qualities that he attributed to the Fresh Cavalier?

Is Fresh Cavalier a “corrupt bribe-taker”? If I were a bribe-taker, I would not live in poverty. Is he a “soulless slave of his boss”? No, this is just Stasov’s unproven assumption. Where did the critic see “anger, swagger and vulgarity”? This is not the case, otherwise the Fresh gentleman would not have arranged a party for his comrades. Is the fresh gentleman fierce and merciless? It is unlikely that a ferocious and ruthless person would shelter a retired soldier, a dog, a cat and a bird. And then, where did Stasov get the idea that the Fresh Cavalier has “rhinoceros (rhinoceros) skin”! Pure fiction.

The art critic Stasov did not think that people always listen to the opinions of authority figures, trust their opinion, knowledge, and from their words begin to judge what they see (and even what they do not see).

Fedotov’s “Fresh Cavalier” is a prime example of this. Since school, we have become accustomed to hearing that in his paintings Fedotov exposes and castigates the vices of society in which officials, military men, merchants, and aristocrats live... This is how our teachers were taught, and this is how our teachers taught us. We have begun to perceive people like the Fresh Cavalier as careerists and opportunists; we deny them purely human feelings, because we are pre-prepared for denial and condemnation. The official, which means he is a soulless bureaucrat, has an order, which means he has curried favor and servilely, curls his curls, which means he is a frivolous rake, his room is not tidy, which means he is a carouser and a drunkard, has holes in his boots, which means he is a quitter.

Armed with stereotypes, we start from them when assessing the picture. In this case, it is appropriate to recall another quote from Stasov: “It is possible to regret them, but it is difficult to exact punishment from them. It is not their fault that they were given such an upbringing and were taught from an early age to such a way of thinking that extinguished in them all lordship and initiative of thought.” ".

What do we see when we first look at the painting “Fresh Cavalier”? We see in the center of the image a man akimbo with an order on his robe; we note the expression on his face; we pay attention to the holey boot that the girl pokes in his face; we see her mocking face; We see a mess in our home, we look at a cat that is tearing at an already tattered chair... These bright details form in us a feeling of condemnation, for which we are already prepared.

You cannot pass by the paintings and you cannot examine them briefly. Any painting by any artist requires respect through careful examination. And, what is important, you need to trust your own feelings and impressions, and not judge from your shoulder, keeping someone else’s opinion in your head.

The paintings of Pavel Andreevich Fedotov especially require such careful examination. They need to be looked at long and carefully, because Fedotov can talk about every little thing and explain the plot. This was also noted by Karl Bryullov, who spoke very highly of Fedotov’s work. It was Bryullov who gave Fedotov’s paintings, presented at the exam at the Academy of Arts, a positive assessment. Bryullov has never spoken so flatteringly about any Russian artist. None of the professors dared to object to the great Karl, and the Council of the Academy of Arts unanimously recognized Fedotov as an academician in “painting domestic scenes.”

With the light hand of Stasov, the painting “Fresh Cavalier” began to be considered a classic of critical realism. Each of the subsequent critics added to Stasov’s response several words of his own confirming this idea. In the monograph about the artist it is written: “Fedotov tears off the mask not only from the official, but also from the era. Look with what superiority, with what irony and sober understanding of reality the cook looks at his master. Russian painting has never known such an art of denunciation.”

I don’t think that the artist painted his picture from a position of stern civil denunciation. He did not denounce his hero, but sympathized with him, understanding his behavior. In a letter to the censor M.N. Fedotov wrote to Musin-Pushkin: “...where there is constant poverty and deprivation, there the expression of joy from the reward will reach the point of childishness to rush around with it day and night. [Where] stars are worn on dressing gowns, and this is only a sign that they are valued.” .

I believe that the person in the center of the picture is a happy person! And he does not hide his happiness. Fifteen years of service have finally been crowned with a reward, and although the Order of Stanislaus, 3rd degree, is the lowest order in the hierarchy of imperial orders, it evokes a genuine feeling of joy in the newly minted gentleman. For him, the order is an indicator of his importance: he was noticed, singled out, awarded, which means that he did not get lost among millions of similar officials, but in plain sight!

The fresh gentleman is an employee of the St. Petersburg government, or rather, an official of the police department. This can be judged by the uniform with lapels hanging on the back of the chair, and the cap with a red band and piping. And also - according to the newspaper lying on the table. This is the “Vedomosti of the St. Petersburg City Administration and the Metropolitan Police” - a subscription daily newspaper of the St. Petersburg city government.

The mess in the room is the consequences of the party that the Fresh gentleman threw at his home. Drinks, food, fun, a guitar with broken strings - the party was a great success, this can be clearly seen in the picture. Of course, Fedotov did not do without a grin - he depicts under the table a retired soldier with St. George's crosses, still not awakened from yesterday's washing of the order.

The St. George Cross is higher in statute than the Order of Stanislav, but by placing the St. George Knight under the table, Fedotov emphasizes the importance of the order for the Fresh Knight, who considers his order more important. And he can be understood.

The Order of St. George was given for military exploits, but the Fresh Knight has the right to believe that he was also awarded for exploits, only for labor. We can imagine what kind of work this minor official had to do if he was singled out from the general bureaucratic mass and presented for a reward!

There are no small details in Fedotov’s film; everything works to reveal the image. Even a book thrown on the floor can add an expressive touch to the portrait of the main character. The book is opened so that the audience can see its author and title: “F. Bulgarin “Ivan Vyzhigin”.

We know Bulgarin as the object of ridicule and epigrams by A.S. Pushkin. But Bulgarin is also a writer. He became famous for his book about Ivan Vyzhigin. The hero of the novel, Ivan Vyzhigin, is something like Ostap Bender, a rogue, a scoundrel, a servant of the authorities and a pleaser of the people in power. By adapting to their superiors, such people snatch a piece of happiness for themselves. Bulgarin's novel was very popular in its time; all segments of the population, from small employees to high-ranking nobles, read it.

By placing an open book in the picture, Fedotov makes it clear about the ways to receive the order, that is, Bulgarin’s novel was a kind of guide to action for the future order bearer, which, as we see, was successful.

The Fresh Cavalier has a goal in life: to become noticeable. To do this, he uses different methods, even his appearance: early in the morning he is shaved, curled and well-groomed (curls in his hair, curling irons, a magnifying mirror for plucking nose hairs). He is not yet dressed, but is already active, full of enthusiasm from the award he has received and desires approval and praise from those present. To do this, he stands in the pose of an ancient hero even in front of the maid, sticks out his lip for importance and points his finger at the order on his robe - look, that’s what I am! And although the maid does not share his triumph and shows him a prosaic boot with a worn out sole, this does not shame the gentleman, because happiness does not lie in the boot, but in the appreciation of his service zeal. Finally he achieved success!

Besides, no one will see the worn sole of the boot, but the order is there, in plain sight. For added pleasure, even the suspenders were ordered to match the order ribbon, and the “15 years of impeccable service” badge on the service uniform was polished to a shine! In addition, being awarded the Order of Stanislav of any degree provided the right of hereditary nobility - isn’t this joy!

How old is the fresh gentleman? He looks about 30 years old, which is how Fedotov himself was when he painted the picture. The age of a mature person does not prevent the Fresh Cavalier from rejoicing like a child and being sincerely proud of the award. The order for him is not only an assessment of his work, but self-respect and an incentive for further career advancement (the motto of the order is “rewarding, encouraging”).

After all, in the same way Pavel Andreevich Fedotov was proud of receiving his first rank in the service, a diamond ring from the hand of Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich for the watercolor “Meeting of the Grand Duke.” There is nothing reprehensible or incriminating in this. These are the natural joys of any person.

In addition, according to the statute, holders of the Order of St. Stanislaus of the 3rd degree were entitled to a pension of 86 rubles, and the acquisition of the title of nobility provided a number of advantages, such as exemption from personal taxes, conscription duties, obtaining the right to preferential bank loans and etc. Many order bearers received an annual monetary reward, so-called cavalier pensions, as well as one-time benefits.

How can one not rejoice at the “Rinoceros” Fresh Cavalier if the order improves his financial situation and makes his existence easier!

At the autumn academic exhibition of 1849, Fedotov presented three paintings: “The Major’s Matchmaking,” “The Picky Bride,” and “The Fresh Cavalier.” The exhibition featured 400 paintings, but only Fedotov’s paintings attracted a crowd. Opinions, as always, were divided, some admired, others were indignant.

In articles about the art exhibition, the young but already famous poet Apollo Maykov spoke of Fedotov as the best Russian genre painter:
“In terms of the richness of thought, the drama of the situation, the thoughtfulness of the details, the fidelity and liveliness of the types. In terms of the extraordinary clarity of presentation and true humor, the first place should belong to Mr. Fedotov... To tell in more detail the content of these three paintings would mean writing three stories, and with a pen Gogol!"

The 24-year-old critic Stasov also saw Fedotov’s paintings. What did he think about the painting “The Fresh Cavalier” in 1849? Did he echo Maikov, saying that Fedotov’s paintings are “purely Gogolian creations in talent, humor and strength”? Or did he say, “how surprised he would have been, I think, if someone had told him then that it was with him that real Russian art would begin”?

Three decades later, having reached the peak of his critical activity, Stasov became sharper in his opinion of the painting “Fresh Cavalier” (see Stasov’s quote above).

According to the mature Stasov, “Fresh Cavalier” is no longer a scene from the everyday life of a petty official, but a menacing denunciation of the existing system, which poor Pavel Andreevich did not even think about.

The heyday of Stasov's critical activity dates back to 1870 - 1880. At this time he enjoyed the greatest public recognition and influence. His judgments about artists and musicians still serve as a priority point in creative disputes and discussions. And no one allows a shadow of doubt in his statements, although they are just a private opinion. Stasov’s boldly expressed, and even printed and repeated many times, personal opinion became the opinion of many who did not know how to think for themselves.

Supporters of high art spoke negatively about Fedotov’s paintings and called him “the main representative of a dangerous trend in art.” (“Is a dangerous rebel worse than Pugachev?”) Of course, neither the Academy of Arts nor the Russian Department of the Hermitage bought Fedotov’s paintings after the exhibition.
At the moment, the painting “Fresh Cavalier” is in the collection of the State Tretyakov Gallery.

In conclusion, I will quote from the same Stasov: Fedotov “died, having produced barely a small grain of the wealth with which his nature was gifted. But this grain was pure gold and later bore great fruit.”