Konstantin Trutovsky painted the piece ‘A Sad Story’ in the 1880s. He portrayed a barefoot girl in a bright outfit and an elderly man with a cane, hung with knapsacks. Behind them, a sleeping woman perched near a shabby light wall. On the left, in the shade of a tree, another elderly beggar is resting on bundles with things. The priest is not immediately noticed by a glance — he is captured in the center of the passage, with his back to the people.
The churchman with his head held high retires into the depths of the yard. In his hands he holds a staff as a symbol of power and prosperity. The beggar man is the opposite to this image — the artist painted him crooked, carrying a heavy load with belongings. The staff in his hands is just a support that helps him walk. So the artist clearly showed the difference between the positions of the poor people and the clergy.
Konstantin Trutovsky lived from 1826 to 1893. He is known as a talented genre painter. In 1845 he became an unenrolled student at the Imperial Academy of Arts and took lessons from Professor Feodor Bruni. The young man was preparing to become a historical painter, but in the end he preferred genre scenes. In 1861, he was awarded the title of Academician for the painting ‘Round Dance in Kursk Province’ which is now in the State Tretyakov Gallery.
In 1849 he left for his parents’ estate in Little Russia (modern day Ukraine). The nature and folk customs of Ukraine made a strong impression on him. Konstantin Trutovsky left a great legacy of paintings, watercolors and pencil drawings. A significant part of them are devoted to these places. In addition to scenes of Ukrainian common life, he portrayed the customs of small landowners, showing generalized types of characters. His works are distinguished by subtle observation and wit.
Although the artist was not a member of the Association of Traveling Exhibitions, he kept in touch with it. In the work of the Peredvizhniks, an important place was occupied by genre painting, which reflected the troubles of the common people. Many of the Peredvizhniks created poignant social pictures, raising in them the topic of social inequality. The same topic was raised by Konstantin Trutovsky in his work ‘A Sad Story’.
