According to the degrees of Orthodox monasticism, a monk (or a rassophore novice) is a person who has passed the stage of obedience at the monastery. He worked ‘for the glory of God’, is allowed to wear a robe and a rosary, but has not yet been tonsured as a monk, has not passed the rite of ‘little schema’ but just getting ready for it.
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Konstantin Savitsky
Monk
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Konstantin Apollonovich Savitsky (1844–1905). Sketch to ‘Friar’. From the private collection of A.E.Sychev, Penza.
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The young monk in the finished painting by Konstantin Savitsky is more likely depressed than thoughtful, his frowning face, bent brows and a look from underneath reflect a difficult internal struggle with himself. The head is dropped on the right hand, and the left hand tightens the belt, as the warrior hold the hilt of the sword. He does not even sit, but almost lies at the table, his back resting on the cell wall, where icons hang in the dark and a candle burns.
The early spring is behind the window radiating light, a willow has already blossomed; nature is awakening and calling. The soul breaks out to where it blows with spring freshness, where life, the sun and many earthly joys. Will the monk finally devote himself to the service of God, bring holy vows, will he have enough strength for this?
The viewer witnesses a person’s heavy thoughts about his fate, path and place in life. The artist appears before us as a master of a complex psychological image.
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I.Vasiliev — prospective sitter for the painting “Monk”. Private collection of Alexander and Vasily Sychev, Penza
Presumably, Savitsky’s student posed for the picture - I. Vasiliev, captured in a photograph preserved in the private collection of Alexander and Vasily Sychev in Penza.
Konstantin Apollonovich Savitsky was not only an artist, but also the first director of the Seliverstov art school and the Penza art museum. Letters are preserved in the archives of Russian artists, where he turns to them with a request to send their works as a gift to the museum.
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Letter from K.A. Savitsky to his friend Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov on September 11, 1898, has the following lines: ‘The Russian department of the Museum of the Penza Art School is growing and growing. <…> Hear my request, enrich the school. You can give the museum some small picture that would clearly introduce you. Look, you will find.’ Konstantin Apollonovich himself presented the museum with the painting ‘The Monk’, which was considered one of his best works.
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Seliverstov art school. Late 19th- early 20th century
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Penza Regional Picture Gallery named after K.A. Savitsky
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Monk
Creation period
1897
Dimensions
89x68 cm
89×68 cm
89×68 cm
Technique
oil on canvas
Exhibition
5
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