Visitors of the Boris Kustodiev House Museum are often surprised by the artist’s painting “Poetry”. The canvas depicts a man and a young lovely lady walking in the garden.

These are the Poet and his Muse. Both are young, beautiful, dressed in rich medieval clothes. Engaged in a conversation, they walk along the pond; behind them is a park — trees, flowers with luxurious blooms and white statues. The viewer’s gaze is directed into the distance, where high hills are visible among the plains, framed by groups of trees. Even the viewer, who knows nothing about the history of the creation of the canvas, will note the obvious influence of Italian art and the costumes, reminiscent of the ones featured in paintings by Venetian Renaissance painters. It is no wonder as the artist visited Italy, studied and was well-acquainted with the works of Italian masters.

The painting was created for Otto Jacob Wiblinger. He was a trustee of the company “Kattus” and due to his line of work — he dealt in caviar — lived in Astrakhan. A successful businessman, he built a house and amassed a collection of weapons, carpets, old books and paintings, including ones made by Astrakhan artists. Wiblinger commissioned Kustodiev as well, writing him in March 1907 as follows,

It was agreed that the painting was to be created in three months and a reward in the amount of 400 rubles was promised, of which half was paid before the work commenced. Wiblinger discussed every detail in his letters: the size of the work, the plan of the rooms, the lighting, and asked to send him “a small sketch in exact dimensions with proper paints on canvas.” Wiblinger’s excessive pedantry in describing the future painting seemed offensive to Boris Mikhailovich Kustodiev. Not wanting to be dictated how and what he should paint, the artist refused to proceed with the work. It took the remarkable tact of Nikolay Protasov, an old friend of the artist, who was an intermediary in the deal, to resolve the conflict and achieve the desired result — the completed painting.

After a lengthy exchange of letters, lasting more than a year, the artist yielded to the wishes of the customer and, impressed by his journey, created the work in the “Italian style”.