Study of the story by N.V. Gogol's "Portrait" in the light of the new program. “Portrait”, analysis of Gogol’s story, essay
An edited version of the story “Portrait” has survived to this day. The reader has a question about who is the main character of the work. Maybe this is the city of St. Petersburg, where all the events take place, or a prudent moneylender. At first glance, it may seem that the hero of the story is an artist.
At the center of events is the artist Andrei Petrovich Chartkov. The author gave the hero such a surname for a reason. This is a kind of hint of connection with otherworldly forces. Gogol sympathizes with the artist and does not give readers any reason to doubt his talent.
The image of the Moneylender depicts great Evil. Chartkov himself attracts him into his life. Having spent his last money and exposing himself to hunger, the artist buys a work of art. He didn’t think about anything bad, he lived correctly. Of course, the artist did not know that all the owners of the portrait became his victims. All night Chartkov suffered from nightmares; a moneylender came out of the picture and counted money. In the morning he discovered a large amount.
Not everyone is able to withstand such a temptation. Two people were arguing inside it. On the one hand, he was an artist and just wanted to work carefree, but on the other hand, he woke up as a young guy who loves to party. This carefree life attracted him. Soon the desire to carefreely waste my existence won out. The tragedy of this situation lies in the death of the artist. In his loss of desire to create. For someone like him it was like death. He lost himself, his life lost its meaning.
There is a confrontation material goods and revelry of unconditional talent. The author very realistically conveys a person’s doubts and his mental anguish. The story has not lost its relevance today. Not every person can pass the test of money. You need to have a strong character and willpower to resist temptation. The artist not only gave up his talent for money, but also went to the service of dark forces.
Having moved to luxury house, Chartkov is trying to draw. Although he doesn’t care much about creativity. He deals more with forgery. Creates original fakes, a semblance of creativity. In the image of the first model, Gogol personifies the death of naturalness. Lisa in Russian classics symbolizes the heroine of Karamzin’s story.
Over time, the artist despises the great master Michelangelo. Thus, the author displays the contempt of fallen man, who has lost his soul to the personification of an angel. Chartkov could no longer draw; he lost even his basic skills as an artist. He still wants to create a picture and begins to draw Fallen Angel. In fact, the artist paints his soul.
Introduction
Talent is the most precious gift of God - do not destroy it... The true purpose of talent is to serve good. N.V. Gogol
The art of painting and the fate of the artist attracted the attention of N.V. Gogol throughout his work, they become the subject of reflection in his works. Interest in the designated topic was caused, on the one hand, by the writer’s passion for drawing, and on the other hand, by his personal acquaintance and friendship with modern Russian painters.
Gogol’s view of painting and the fate of the artist is presented in the writer’s letters, in articles of the 1830s - 1840s: “Sculpture, Painting and Music” (1831), “The Last Day of Pompeii” (1834) and “The Historical Painter Ivanov” (1846), and also in the stories “Nevsky Prospekt” (1835), “Portrait” (1835) and “Portrait” (1842 - second edition of the story), in which the artist becomes the main character. The complex of plot motifs of these stories includes the history of a masterpiece, the hero’s meeting with a mysterious painting, the portrait coming to life, finding inspiration, collusion with evil spirits etc. Among them, the motif of the artist’s temptation, which became key to Gogol’s story “Portrait,” stands out. Temptation in this story appears as a special state creative personality, which is under the influence external forces changes its aesthetic guidelines. The test to which the artist's talent is subjected arises from the fascination with external comfort, fame, and wealth.
The object of this study is the story of N.V. Gogol's "Portrait", the subject is the motive of temptation in the story "Portrait".
The purpose of the work is to analyze the plot and composition of the story “Portrait”. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to complete the following tasks:
Studying the history of writing the story “Portrait”,
Studying the works of literary scholars on these issues,
Study of the plot and compositional features of the work,
Analysis of the works that served as the source of the story.
The story “Portrait” in the research of Russian literary scholars
The history of the creation of the story “Portrait” by N.V. Gogol
Tale by N.V. Gogol's "Portrait" was first published in the collection "Arabesques" in 1835. After the success of “Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka” N.V. Gogol collected articles on art (“Painting, sculpture and music”, “A few words about Pushkin”, “On the architecture of the present time”), lectures and articles on history and reflections on historical figures and published them along with the story “Portrait”, writing in the preface: “I confess that I might not have allowed some plays into this collection at all if I had published it a year earlier, when I was more strict with my old works. But, instead of harshly judging the past, it is much better to be unforgiving in your present activities. To destroy what we have previously written seems as unfair as to forget days gone by of his youth. Moreover, if an essay contains two or three truths that have not yet been said, then the author no longer has the right to hide it from the reader, and for two or three correct thoughts one can forgive the imperfection of the whole.”
Probably, already in the preface, Gogol’s mentoring tone, his desire to teach and careful attention to his own personality are captured. However, success Queen of Spades» A.S. Pushkin may have prompted Gogol to tell the story of a man who was destroyed by a thirst for gold. After all, “Portrait” was written precisely in 1834, when Pushkin’s stories were widely discussed. Gogol considers life contemporary artist against the backdrop of history and art. This feature of the story “Portrait” is very important in order to understand how the writer separates vanity and eternity, how he searches for true meaning human life and defines the true meaning and purpose of art.
After the release of “Arabesques,” one of the most significant critics of that time, the 30-40s of the 19th century, V.G. Belinsky disapproved of the story “Portrait”: “There is a portrait unsuccessful attempt Mr. Gogol in a fantastic way. Here his talent declines, but even in his decline he remains a talent. The first part of this story is impossible to read without fascination; in fact, there is something terrible, fatal, fantastic in this mysterious portrait, there is some kind of invincible charm that makes you forcibly look at it, although it is scary for you. Add to this many humorous paintings and essays in the taste of Mr. Gogol; remember the quarterly overseer talking about painting; then this mother, who brought her daughter to Chertkov to have her portrait taken, and who scolds balls and admires nature - and you will not deny the dignity of this story. But the second part of it is absolutely worthless; Mr. Gogol is not visible in it at all. This is an obvious addition in which the mind worked, and imagination did not take any part.” [V.G. Belinsky. A look at Russian literature. M., Sovremennik, 1988].
After the scandal associated with the premiere of The Government Inspector, Gogol leaves Russia for Italy. He lives in Rome, surrounded by great works of art from different times and contemporary Russian artists who, having graduated from the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts with a medal, lived and worked here. Among Russian artists, Gogol was especially attracted to Alexander Ivanov, who painted the painting “The Appearance of Christ to the People.”
Criticism V.G. Belinsky and the painstaking work of A. Ivanov prompted Gogol to reconsider his attitude to the story “Portrait” and remake it. By 1841, work on correcting the story was completed. The surname of the main character has changed: previously his name was Chertkov, which too openly emphasized the connection with evil spirits. Gogol excluded from the story scenes of mystical, inexplicable appearances of the portrait and its customers. The style of the story was clarified, the characteristics were expanded and described in more detail minor characters: Nikita, professor, owner of the house, police officer, ladies who ordered portraits. In the first edition, the image of the moneylender at the end of the story disappeared from the canvas. In the second edition, the portrait disappears, which again went to wander around the world.
Gogol wrote the story "Portrait" in 1835; in 1842 he partially reworked it. Such a work - revised, but preserving the same plot and stylistic basis - in the science of literature is usually called an edition. When opening modern reprints of Gogol’s prose, you and I usually read the second edition of “Portrait,” that is, the 1842 version; We will analyze it.
So, who should be considered the hero of this story? The artist Chartkov? Demonic loan shark? Or perhaps the hero here is the fantastic city of St. Petersburg itself, in which the action takes place? Let's try to figure it out.
Judging by the external outline of events, by the plot of the work, then at the center of the story, undoubtedly, is the artist Andrei Petrovich Chartkov, his fate, his downfall. The very name of the hero hints in advance that he is under the power of evil spells fraught with devilry. And this is not at all contradicted by the fact that at the beginning of the story Chartkov is depicted with undisguised authorial sympathy, his gift is undoubted, his sincerity is obvious.
Moreover, remember exactly how Evil, which the Usurer personifies, first invades Chartkov’s life? The artist uses his last two kopecks to buy an old portrait “in large, once magnificent frames” in an art shop on Shchukin Yard; the portrait depicts “an old man with a bronze-colored face, cheekbones, stunted,” but endowed with “non-northern strength.” So, the artist gives the money needed for food for a work of art. He does nothing wrong; he is faithful to art; his previous life is blameless and deeply moral. But from the second part of the story we learn that all the owners of the ill-fated painting became its victims. This means that having bought it, the artist is doomed to share their fate. Chartkov’s only “fault” lies only in the fact that he was unable to resist the devilish obsession, which approached him at a dangerous distance and sucked him into himself like a quagmire. Waking up in the morning after a repeated nightmare (an old moneylender emerges from the frame of a portrait, counting his chervonets), Chartkov discovers a bundle with 1000 chervonets. His soul seems to be split into two: a true artist, dreaming of three years of calm and selfless work, and a twenty-year-old youth, who loves to party and is prone to fashionable flamboyance of colors, are arguing in him. Worldly passion wins; the artist in him begins to die.
In Gogol’s picture of the world, this is what usually happens: a heavenly calling seems to attract demonic forces; the power of gold, opposing the power of creativity, encroaches on human soul, and in order to resist this power, you need to have a special strength and a special, ascetic personality. Otherwise, evil will win; an artist who succumbs to everyday temptation will not only ruin his talent, but will also turn into a servant dark forces. This means he is an enemy of art.
Chartkov's transition to a new quality is depicted as a betrayal, a betrayal, a religious fall. Having moved to luxury apartments on Nevsky Prospekt, he painted the first “fashionable” portrait in his life. After several sessions, moving further and further away from fidelity to the original, he transfers the embellished features of young Lise, who has already experienced a passion for balls, onto his old sketch. This sketch depicted the mythological heroine Psyche; translated into Russian, Psyche means Soul. Thus, it turns out that the artist remakes and sells his Soul for the sake of success and money; he seems to be placing it under a false image. Moreover, the name of his first model, Lise, reminds the reader of Karamzin’s “Poor Liza.” And, as you well know, Karamzin’s Liza served in Russian literature as a symbol of perishing naturalness.
Gradually, Chartkov becomes one of the “moving stone coffins with a dead man instead of a heart.” He condemns Michelangelo, and here Gogol again uses the same technique significant name. After all, Chartkov denies the work of the artist, in whose name the image of a shining angel is “encrypted”. And the reader gradually becomes imbued with the idea that Chartkov himself has turned into a fallen angel. No wonder, after meeting with a former classmate at the Academy, who chose the opposite path in life and art, he spent long years in Italy, at home European painting, and created a great final picture, Chartkov is desperately trying to create a portrait of the Fallen Angel. That is, a portrait of his soul, the fallen Psyche. But he even lost technique - having become an enemy of harmony, he simply forgot how to draw...
But his own face becomes a portrait, artistically his fall, evidence of the loss of his soul. “Blasphemy against the world” sounds in the features of his face; from a creator endowed with a heavenly gift, he turns into a satanic destroyer of masterpieces: Chartkov spends all the gold received, as if in exchange for sold talent, on buying up the greatest creations of European genius - and destroys them, just as he destroyed and disfigured himself...
Does this mean that evil is omnipotent? That it is impossible to resist it, since the world is structured in such a way that the purest and brightest, that is, art, attracts, attracts to itself the darkest, the most evil? No, that doesn't mean it. Although the world, as Gogol portrays it, is indeed distorted and unfairly arranged; having bought scary picture, Chartkov must inevitably lose his way. Evil is irremovable. However, it is not omnipotent. It is impossible to avoid temptation, but the finale, the denouement of the drama may be completely different; here Gogol's heroes are free in their choice. The story about the fate of Chartkov is shaded by the history of the artist who created during the time of Catherine Great portrait Moneylender; it is told in the second part by the son of the portrait painter. He lived in the same place where Chartkov later lived - on the outskirts of St. Petersburg; both knew what envy was (Chartkov - towards a fellow student at the Academy, the portrait painter - towards his own student, who received an order to paint a rich church); both stumbled and became dependent on the devil's spell. But the portrait painter finds the only possible way out of this situation, the only reliable shelter from evil - a monastery. Here he creates the painting “The Nativity of Jesus”. The personal fate of the portrait painter, his soul, is saved. Despite the fact that evil as such cannot be defeated: at the end of the story, everyone notices that the mysterious Portrait has disappeared and, therefore, the temptation embodied in it will continue its terrible march through the world.
Thus, judging by the external outline of events, the main character of the story turns out to be Chartkov. But if we talk about the role that the characters play in constructing the story as a whole, then the center of the author’s attention is undoubtedly the Moneylender. The fabulously rich lender lived in the era of Catherine the Great, that is, long before Chartkov was born; his animated image, the devilish Portrait, retains its monstrous power even after the death of the painter.
Who is he, this Moneylender? No one knows where the “Asian” with the incomprehensibly terrible complexion came from; It is not known exactly whether he was Indian, Greek or Persian. The money he lent, seemingly on favorable terms, had the ability to rise to exorbitant interest rates; in addition, the Moneylender offered clients certain secret conditions that made the hair of the debtors “stand on end.” Anyone who borrowed from him, even for good purposes, ended badly.
An attentive reader of Gogol knows: the theme of the Antichrist constantly sounds in his works. Sometimes seriously and mystically, as in early stories, especially in “Terrible Revenge,” sometimes mockingly, as in “ Dead souls" Gogol's ideas about the Antichrist are akin to some popular beliefs: this enemy of Christ cannot come into the world until the end of time, when the laws of nature created by God are finally weakened. But for the time being, the Antichrist can be embodied, as it were, partially, in individual people, testing his strength and preparing for the last battle for earthly history. The Moneylender is such a “trial” incarnation of the Antichrist. It is not for nothing that in the first edition of the story “Portrait” the Moneylender bore the name Petromikhali: Peter the Great called himself Peter Mikhailov, whom folk beliefs identified with the Antichrist... He is not yet omnipotent, and therefore seeks to extend his earthly days and continue his dirty work after death - with the help of great art.
Three themes are inextricably linked with the image of the Moneylender, which particularly worried Gogol while working on the cycle “ Petersburg stories": the incomprehensible, secret power of gold over human soul; art, which is intended to be a “hint of the divine,” but can also become an instrument of evil; the desire of devilish forces to subjugate art at the price of gold. But all these topics are condensed into one key image, emerging both from the pages of “Portrait” and from the pages of other St. Petersburg stories. This is an image of the dual, majestic and dangerous, rich and poor, deceptive and beautiful city of St. Petersburg. And from the point of view of the concept of the “Petersburg stories”, from the point of view of the cycle as an artistic whole, the main character of “Portrait” should be considered Petersburg itself.
Only here, in this fantastic city, on the gloomy outskirts of Kolomna, can the fabulous luxury of the Moneylender bloom in false color; only here can an instantaneous transition be made from the conscientious poverty of creativity into the dead luxury of the salon, a transfer from Vasilyevsky Island on Nevsky Prospekt; only here at night demonic portraits come to life, real chervonets fall out of the frame, and dangerous portraits suddenly disappear from auction... St. Petersburg in Gogol’s image is similar to the negative of another great and at the same time bright city, Rome; it is from there, from the Italian South to the cold and gloomy North, that Chartkov’s former classmate returns with his final picture; It was precisely before his son’s departure to Italy that the gray-haired, “almost divine old man,” the author of the ill-fated Portrait, bequeathed to find the painting and “destroy” it. And with it comes evil.
Nikolai Vasilyevich loved to fantasize in his stories, to create a mystical plot, as can be seen from his famous stories“Viy”, “Evenings on a farm near Dikanka”. But if here the reader has to plunge into a fictional world of folklore character, then Gogol’s “Portrait” shows that the author wanted to transfer fantasy to social phenomena. In this, Nikolai Vasilyevich resembles many foreign writers whose “supernatural” takes over the world. In our case, money is evil.
Internal confrontation between wealth and talent
At the beginning of the story, the young, promising artist Chartkov appears before the reader. He is poor, so he envies the fate of painters, who need to paint a few paintings in order to bask in luxury. The young man grumbles about his fate, because he has to live in obscurity and poverty. And here Gogol creates an atypical and completely fantastic situation. Analysis of the work “Portrait” shows the gradual transformation of Chartkov from a talented artist into an envious and greedy man who ruined his talent.
In a shop in Shchukin's yard, the artist finds a mysterious portrait, which as a result becomes a source of his enrichment. The picture contains a piece of the devilish soul of the moneylender Petromichali. At first, Chartkov uses the money he receives to buy engravings and mannequins in order to seriously engage in art, but then he succumbs to temptation, acquiring things that are completely useless and unnecessary to him. It comes to the point that the young man buys talented paintings destroys other painters and their houses.
An analysis of Gogol’s work “Portrait” shows that the desire to have everything at once can kill talent. Chartkov drew beautifully, but even his teacher noticed that he was impatient and was eyeing fashion trends. Teacher instructs young artist so that he does not waste his talent on drawing portraits for money. But Chartkov wants instant fame and money. An analysis of Gogol’s work “Portrait” shows that you have to pay for everything, the painter received wealth, but his brush became colorless, he lost his gift.
Atonement for sins and service to art
N.V. Gogol wrote “Portrait” to completely contrast different tempers people and their views on art. The author of the devilish portrait was the narrator's father. This man, as soon as he realized what power the painting had and what sin he had committed, immediately went to the monastery to atone for his sins. The writer does not see anything wrong with the fact that evil is depicted with the help of art, but a person must repent of this and not ruin his talent.
An analysis of Gogol’s work “Portrait” shows that the icon painter, who spent many years in prayer, was able to paint a picture of the birth of Jesus in such a way that all its characters seem alive. Even the abbot was amazed at the holiness of the figures, saying that the painter’s brush was guided by a higher power. Nikolai Vasilyevich showed his attitude to art using the example of two people. Chartkov went from talent to death, and the icon painter - from committing a sin to good.
/ / / Two artists in Gogol’s story “Portrait”
The main problem that Gogol raises in the story “” is the problem of choosing imaginary or true art. The writer tried to find a solution to this problem in the images of two artists described on the pages of the work.
At the beginning of the story, Gogol introduces us to the young artist Chartkov, who is hanging around an art shop. A very old portrait catches his attention. To Chartkov, this work seems unfinished, but the look of the old man depicted in the picture seems to have bewitched the artist and he buys the portrait for his last money.
It is worth noting that Chartkov was really talented artist. He put a piece of his soul into his work. The young artist tried to depict every detail as realistically as possible. He admired the works of great masters. Despite his talent, Chartkov was very poor and lived in poverty. He did not understand how other artists, painting mediocre paintings, earned big money.
Buying a portrait of an old man changed the life of the young artist. At night he had a dream in which he saw the old man from the portrait come to life. He sat down on Chartkov’s bed and began counting some packages. On one of them the artist noticed the inscription “1000 chervonny”. This moment shows Chartkov's tendency to be tempted by wealth and fame. In the morning he actually found a bundle of money. The artist spends part of the money on canvases and paints, but, unable to resist the temptation, rents a luxurious apartment on Nevsky Prospekt and orders a laudatory article in the newspaper. After that, there was no end to customers. Chartkov still tries to paint portraits as accurately and naturally as possible, but the client does not like the work. Then he decides to write the way the customers want. With this, Chartkov gives his talent and loses his purpose.
Once upon a time a poor artist becomes fashionable artist. His opinion begins to be taken into account, he is invited to evaluate the work of other masters. Chartkov is also changing internally. Now he is not afraid to criticize others; he considers artists who paint pictures for months to be mediocre.
One day he is invited to evaluate a painting by a young artist. Chartkov, looking at the work, understands how magnificent it is. Now he realizes that he sold his talent. Chartkov begins to buy works of great artists and destroy them. Ultimately, he goes crazy and dies.
Next we find ourselves at an auction where a portrait of an old man is exhibited. When the auction was in full swing, one artist claimed the rights to this painting. He told those present a story about the man depicted in the portrait. This man was very rich; anyone could borrow money from him. But everyone who touched the old man’s money ended their lives tragically. One day this old man asked the narrator's father to draw his portrait. The work was very tiring for the master. Ultimately, he left her. And the artist’s life was filled with anger and envy. Then he decided to go to a monastery, where he painted the icon of the Birth of Jesus Christ. This icon allowed the artist’s soul to be healed. And he bequeathed to his son to find and destroy the portrait of the old man.
In the images of two artists, Gogol showed us how the thirst for money and fame can be destructive and that art must be true.
