The plot, characters, problems of one of N. Gogol's stories, The Journey of a Portrait. Gogol is always interesting to read. You start reading even well-known, worn-out things and get carried away. And especially the stories are little-known. It would seem that he is a serious classical writer, philosopher, but you take his book and are transported into an interesting world, sometimes mystical, and sometimes even the most mundane. In the story “Portrait” there is both. The author puts his hero in an unprecedented situation: a poor, talented artist suddenly gets everything he dreams of: money, fame, through a mysterious portrait, which he himself buys with his last money from a merchant. He is strangely attracted to the eyes of the person depicted in the portrait. It’s as if a living gaze surprises everyone with its strength and terrible verisimilitude. That same night, Chartkov sees a strange half-dream, half-reality. He dreams that the old man depicted in the portrait “moved and suddenly leaned against the frame with both hands. Finally he raised himself up on his hands and, sticking out both legs, jumped out of the frames...” In a dream, Chartkov sees 1000 chervonets in the old man’s possession, but in reality the money actually turns out to be in the frame of the portrait. The quarterly carelessly touches the frame, and the dreamed package falls in front of Chartkov. The first thoughts, “prompted by reason,” were noble: “Now I am provided for at least three years, I can lock myself in a room and work. Now I have paints; for lunch, for tea, for maintenance, for an apartment; Now no one will bother or bother me; I’ll buy myself an excellent manken, order a plaster torso, shape the legs, pose a Venus, buy engravings from the first paintings. And if I work for three years for myself, slowly, not for sale, I’ll kill them all, and I can be a glorious artist.” But the long-poverty artist dreamed of something else: “a different voice was heard from within, more audible and louder. And when he looked at the gold again, his twenty-two years and ardent youth began to speak within him.” Chartkov didn’t even notice how he bought clothes for himself, “took two rides around the city in a carriage for no reason,” visited a restaurant, a hairdresser, and moved to new apartment. A dizzying career fell upon him. It was published in the newspaper, and the first customers appeared. A noble lady brought her daughter to paint a portrait of her. Gogol does not do without comical moments in any of his works. Here is a very apt joke about the lady’s enthusiasm for painting:

“...However, Monsieur Zero... oh, how he writes! What an extraordinary brush! I find that he has even more expression in his faces than Titian. You don't know Monsieur Nohl? Who is this Zero? - asked the artist. Monsieur Zero. Oh, what talent!”

One joke conveys both the level and interests of secular society. The artist, with great interest and not yet lost talent, began to paint a portrait. He conveyed to the canvas all the shades of the young face, and did not miss some yellowness and a barely noticeable blue shadow under the eyes. But my mother didn't like it. She objected that it might just be today, but usually the face strikes with a special freshness. Having corrected the shortcomings, the artist noticed with disappointment that the individuality of nature had also disappeared. Still wanting to express what he noticed in the girl, Chartkov transfers all this to his old sketch of Psyche. The ladies are delighted with the “surprise” that the artist came up with the idea of ​​depicting her “in the form of Psyche.” Having failed to convince the ladies, Chartkov gives away the portrait of the psyche. Society admired the new talent, and Chartkov received orders. But this was far from what gives a painter the opportunity to develop.

Here Gogol also gives free rein to humor: “The ladies demanded that predominantly only the soul and character be depicted in portraits, sometimes not sticking to the rest at all, rounding off all the corners, lightening all the flaws and even, if possible, avoiding them altogether... Men were also nothing at all. I'd rather give it. One demanded to portray himself in a strong, energetic turn of the head; another with inspired eyes raised upward; the guards lieutenant absolutely demanded that Mars be visible in his eyes; The civil dignitary strove to have more directness and nobility in his face and to have his hand rest on a book on which it would be written in clear words: “I always stood for the truth.” And so, over time, Chartkov becomes a fashionable, but, alas, empty painter. The reason for this, of course, was the portrait, with its devilish charms. But through a fantastic plot, the author shows what fame and wealth can do to a person. You don't have to buy a magical portrait to become a slave. It’s not for nothing that the professor, his mentor, warns at the very beginning: “You have talent; It will be a sin if you destroy him. Be careful that you don’t become a fashionable painter.”

Creative aspiration and awe gradually disappear. Busy with balls and visits, the artist barely sketches out the main features, leaving the finishing touches to his students. Already, the talent that made its way in him at the beginning faded away without a trace due to the embellishment of officials, ladies, their daughters and girlfriends. The passion for gold was perched on the pedestal that painting used to occupy. Gold became everything for Chartkov. It would have filled his life completely, if not for one event. The Academy of Arts invited the famous Chartkov to evaluate a painting by a Russian artist brought from Italy. The picture he saw struck the celebrity so much that he could not even express his prepared disdainful judgment.

The painting was so beautiful that it stirred up his stale past. Tears choked him and without saying a word he ran out of the hall. The sudden insight of his ruined life blinded him. Realizing that he can never return his lost talent and lost youth, Chartkov becomes a terrible monster. With sinister greed, he begins to buy up all worthy works of art and destroy them. It has become main passion and his only occupation. As a result, crazy and sick, he dies in a terrible fever, where everywhere he sees a portrait of an old man. Scary eyes from the portrait look at him from everywhere.

But another hero, who is mentioned only in the second part of the story, acts differently. Like Chartkov, while still a young artist, he meets very unusual person, a moneylender who asks to paint his portrait. There are very mysterious rumors about this moneylender. Anyone who messed with him was sure to get into trouble. But as an artist, he still undertakes to paint a portrait. The resemblance to the original is striking, the eyes seem to look out of a portrait. But, having painted the moneylender, the artist realizes that he will no longer be able to paint pure images. The artist realizes that he painted the devil. After this, he forever goes to the monastery to cleanse himself. As a gray-haired old man, he achieves enlightenment and, taking up a brush, is already able to paint saints. Giving instructions to his son, he himself says like a saint: “The hint of the divine, the heavenly is contained for man in art, and therefore alone it is already above everything... Sacrifice everything to him and love him with all your passion, not a passion breathing earthly lust, but quiet heavenly passion: without it, a person has no power to rise from the earth and cannot give wonderful sounds of peace. For to calm and reconcile everyone, a high creation of art descends into the world.” But nevertheless, the story does not end optimistically. Gogol allows the portrait to continue its fateful journey, warning that no one is safe from evil.

N.V. Gogol saw St. Petersburg not only as a flourishing capital, whose life is full of magnificent balls, not only a city where best achievements art of Russia and Europe. The writer saw in him a concentrate of depravity, poverty and cowardice. The collection “Petersburg Tales” was dedicated to identifying the problems of society in northern Palmyra, and at the same time throughout Russia, and searching for ways of salvation. This cycle includes “Portrait,” which will be discussed in our article.

The writer came up with the idea for the story “Portrait” in 1832. The first edition was published in the collection "Arabesques" in 1835. Later, after writing “Dead Souls” and traveling abroad, in 1841 Gogol exposed the book significant changes. In the third issue of Sovremennik a new version saw the light. In it, the epithets, dialogues, and rhythm of presentation were changed, and the surname of the leading character became “Chartkov” instead of “Chertkov,” which was associated with the devil. This is the story of "Portrait".

The motif of the image, which has ominous power, was inspired by Gogol’s then fashionable novel by Maturin “Melmoth the Wanderer”. In addition, the image of a greedy moneylender also makes these works similar. In the image of the greedy businessman, whose portrait turns the life of the main character upside down, one can hear echoes of the myth of Agasphere - the “Eternal Jew” who cannot find peace.

Meaning of the name

The ideological concept of the work lies in its title – “Portrait”. It is no coincidence that Gogol names his brainchild this way. It is the portrait that is cornerstone of the entire essay, allows you to expand the genre range from a story to a detective story, and also completely changes the life of the main character. It is also filled with special ideological content: it is the symbol of greed and depravity. This work raises the question of art and its authenticity.

In addition, this title of the story makes the reader think about the problems that the writer reveals. What else could the title be? Suppose, "The Death of the Artist" or "Greed", none of this would carry such symbolic meaning, and the ominous image would remain only a work of art. The title “Portrait” focuses the reader on this particular creation, forces him to always keep in mind, and subsequently, see in it more than the captured face.

Genre and direction

The direction of fantastic realism set by Gogol showed up relatively little in this work. There are no ghosts, animated noses or other humanized objects, but there is a certain mystical power a moneylender whose money brings people only grief; The painting, completed at the end of his life, continues the terrible mission of the man depicted in it. But Gogol gives a simple explanation for all the terrifying phenomena that happened to Chartkov after acquiring the canvas: it was a dream. Therefore, the role of fiction in “Portrait” is not great.

The story in the second part receives elements detective story. The author gives an explanation of where the money could have come from, the discovery of which at the beginning of the work seemed magical. In addition, the fate of the portrait itself has the features of a detective: it mysteriously disappears from the wall during the auction.

The portrayal of the characters of Chartkov's capricious clients, his naive craving for tasteless pomp - all these are comic techniques embodied in the book. Therefore, the genre of the story is correlated with satire.

Composition

The story “Portrait” consists of two parts, but each of them has its own compositional features. The first section has a classic structure:

1. exposition (life of a poor artist)
2. tie-in (purchase of a portrait)
3. climax (Chartkov's mental disorder)
4. denouement (death of the painter)

The second part can be perceived as an epilogue or some kind of author’s commentary on the above. The peculiarity of the composition of “Portrait” is that Gogol uses the technique of a story within a story. The son of the artist who painted the ominous portrait appears at the auction and claims ownership of the work. He talks about the difficult fate of his father, the life of a greedy money lender and the mystical properties of the portrait. His speech is framed by the auctioneers' bargaining and the disappearance of the very subject of the dispute.

About what?

The action takes place in St. Petersburg. The young artist Chartkov is in extreme need, but with his last pennies he buys a portrait of an old man in a shop on Shchukin’s yard, whose eyes “stroking as if they were alive.” Since then, unprecedented changes began to occur in his life. One night the young man dreamed that the old man came to life and stuck out a bag of gold. In the morning, gold chervonets were discovered in the frame of the painting. The hero moved with the best apartment, acquired all the things necessary for painting in the hope of devoting himself entirely to art and developing his talent. But everything turned out completely differently. Chartkov has become fashionable popular artist, and his main activity was painting commissioned portraits. One day he saw the work of his comrade, which awakened his young man former interest in real creativity, but it was already too late: the hand does not obey, the brush performs only memorized strokes. Then he goes berserk: he buys the best canvases and brutally destroys them. Soon Chartkov dies. This is the essence of the work: material wealth destroys a person’s creative nature.

During the auction, when his property is being sold, one gentleman claims rights to the portrait of an old man, which was bought by Chartkov at Shchukin’s yard. He tells the background and description of the portrait, and also admits that he himself is the son of the artist, the author of this work. But during the auction, the painting mysteriously disappears.

The main characters and their characteristics

We can say that each part of the story has its own main character: in the first it is Chartkov, and in the second the image of a moneylender is vividly presented.

• Character young artist changes dramatically throughout the work. At the beginning of “Portrait,” Chartkov is a romantic image of an artist: he dreams of developing his talent, learning from the best masters, if only he had the money for it. And then the money appears. The first impulse was quite noble: the young man purchased everything necessary for painting, but the desire to become fashionable and famous more the easy way, rather than through many hours of labor, took over. At the end of the first part, the artist is overwhelmed by greed, envy and frustration, which forces him to buy best paintings and destroy them, he becomes a “fierce avenger.” Of course, Chartkov is a small man, unexpected wealth turned his head and eventually drove him crazy.
• But it can be assumed that the effect of the golden chervonets on the main character is not due to his low social status, but with the mystical effect of the money of the moneylender himself. The son of the author of the portrait of this Persian tells many stories about this. The moneylender himself, wanting to preserve part of his power, asks the artist to paint a portrait of him. The narrator's father took on this job, but could not cope with it. In this painter, Gogol portrayed the true creator in the Christian understanding: to undergo purification, pacify his spirit and only then begin to work. He is contrasted with Chartkov, the artist from the first part of the story.

Themes

This relatively short story touches on many topics relating to quite diverse areas of human life.

• Theme of creativity. Gogol introduces us to two artists. What should a true creator be like? One strives to study the works of masters, but is not averse to gaining fame in an easier way. Another painter first of all works on himself, on his desires and passions. For him, art is part of his philosophy, his religion. This is his life, it cannot contradict it. He feels a responsibility to creativity and believes that a person must prove his right to engage in it.
• Good and evil. This theme is expressed through both art and wealth. On the one hand, feathered means are needed so that the creator can freely go about his business and develop his talent. But using the example of Chartkov we see that initially good intentions investing in your improvement can result in death, first of all, death human soul. Is it only the mystical sweetness of the moneylender's heritage that is to blame? Gogol shows that a person can overcome anything, if only he is strong. Main character but he demonstrated weakness of spirit, and that is why he disappeared.
• Wealth- the main theme in the story “Portrait”. Here it is presented as a way to find happiness. It would seem that just a little money and everything will be fine: it will be happy marriage with the first beauty, the creditors will leave the family alone, everything necessary for creativity will be acquired. But everything turns out differently. In addition to satisfying needs, money has a downside: it creates greed, envy and cowardice.

Issues

• The problem of art. In the story, Gogol offers the artist two paths: to paint portraits for money or to engage in self-improvement without any special claims to wealth. The artist faces a difficult choice: to develop, he needs funds for paints, brushes, etc., but many hours of work and infamy will not bring any money. There is a way to get rich quick, but painting portraits does not mean increasing your skill level. When deciding what to do, you need to remember one thing: if the one who follows the path of the master monk makes a mistake, he can still be saved, but he who follows the easy road will no longer get rid of the “hardened forms.”
• Vanity. Gogol shows in the story how Chartkov, who suddenly became rich, gradually comes to vanity. At first he pretends that he does not recognize his teacher, then he agrees to endure the whims of clients for the sake of money and fame. The omen of trouble is the censure of the classics, and the result of this path was madness.
• Poverty. This problem faces most of the characters in "Portrait". Poverty does not allow Chartkov to freely engage in creativity, due to not the most high position one of the heroes of the second part cannot marry his beloved. But poverty here is not only a material problem, but also a spiritual one. Gold drives the heroes crazy, makes them greedy and envious. According to the author, a cowardly person with a lot of money is not able to cope: it completely destroys him.

The meaning of the story

Always remember about your soul, and not chase wealth - this is the main idea of ​​​​the story “Portrait”. All the possibilities for achieving a goal, finding happiness in a person already exist - Gogol talks about this. Later, Chekhov would turn to this idea in his drama “Three Sisters,” where the girls will believe that the path to joy is Moscow. And Nikolai Vasilyevich shows that it is possible to reach the goal, in this case - to comprehend art, without any special efforts. material costs. The main thing is not in them, but in the inner strength of a person.

The narrator in the second part talks about the fatal effect of the moneylender's money, but is it fair to attribute all the troubles to mysticism? A person who puts money first is vulnerable to envy and depravity. That is why I woke up in a happy wife wild jealousy, and in Chartkov - despair and vindictiveness. This is where it lies philosophical meaning story "Portrait".

Personality, strong in spirit, not subject to such low qualities, she is able to cope with them and get rid of them. This illustrates life path artist, author of the portrait of a moneylender.

What does it teach?

The story “Portrait” warns about the danger of exalting money. The conclusion is simple: wealth cannot be set as the goal of life: this leads to the death of the soul. It is important to note that for the image little man characterized not only by material poverty, but also by spiritual poverty. This can explain the troubles of Chartkov and the moneylender’s borrowers. But Gogol does not give a single positive example where money would be beneficial. Author's position is clearly expressed: the writer sees the only correct path in spiritual improvement, in renunciation of secular temptations. The main character understands this too late: he did not heed the warnings of his teacher, for which he was severely punished.

In this story, Gogol is closest to Hoffman in style and method of correlating the fantastic and the real. Here, every unusual thing can be explained rationally, and characters as close as possible to the society of St. Petersburg. Such persuasiveness alarmed the reader of the story and made the “Portrait” actual work both for Gogol’s contemporaries and for his heirs.

Criticism

Literary criticism of the author's contemporaries was varied. Belinsky disapproved of this story, especially the second part, he considered it an addition in which the author himself was not visible. Shevyrev also adhered to a similar position, accusing Gogol of a weak manifestation of the fantastic in “Portrait.” But Nikolai Vasilyevich’s contribution to the development of Russian classical prose it is difficult to overestimate, and “Portrait” also makes its contribution here. Chernyshevsky speaks about this in his articles.

When considering critics' assessments, it is important to keep in mind that the final edition of "Portrait" took place during the late, critical period of Gogol's work. At this time, the writer is looking for a way to save Russia, mired in bribery, greed and philistinism. In letters to friends, he admits that he sees an opportunity to correct the situation in teaching, and not in introducing any newfangled ideas. From these positions one should consider the validity of the criticism of Belinsky and Shevyrev.

Interesting? Save it on your wall!

Avramenko Valentina

The theme of creativity in the story by N.V. is considered. Gogol's "Portrait" and the artist's responsibility for his talent given to him by God.

Download:

Preview:

Who has the talent

He must have the purest soul of all.

N.V. Gogol

Gogol is always interesting to read. Even a long time ago famous works you start re-reading and get carried away, plunging into a world where reality and fantasy are intertwined, where rich, bright colors thicken and set off the gloomy background of the story. It would seem serious classic writer, a philosopher, but you take his book and become, willingly or unwillingly, a participant in events, sometimes unreal, and sometimes even the most mundane. In the story “Portrait” there are both.

I am convinced that the story “Portrait” cannot leave anyone indifferent, because the idea of ​​this story was, is and will always be interesting.

It is surprising that one of the most significant critics of his time, V. G. Belinsky, disapproved of the story “Portrait”:

“This is an unsuccessful attempt by Mr. Gogol in a fantastic way. Here his talent declines, but even in his decline he remains a talent.”

Probably the success of Pushkin's " Queen of Spades" prompted Gogol to tell his story about a man who was destroyed by a thirst for gold. The author called his story “Portrait”. Is it because the portrait of the moneylender played a fatal role in the fate of his heroic artists, whose fates are compared in two parts of the story? Or because Gogol wanted to give a portrait modern society and a talented person who perishes or is saved in spite of hostile circumstances and the humiliating properties of nature? Or is this a portrait of art and the soul of the writer himself, trying to get away from the temptation of success and prosperity and cleanse the soul with high service to art?

Probably in this strange story N.V. Gogol’s social, moral, and aesthetic meaning is a reflection on what man, society, and art are. Modernity and eternity are intertwined here so inextricably that the life of the Russian capital in the 30s of the 19th century goes back to biblical thoughts about good and evil, about their endless struggle in the human soul.

We meet the artist Chartkov at that moment in his life when, with youthful ardor, he loves the heights of the genius of Raphael, Michelangelo, Correggio and despises handicraft fakes that replace art for the average person. Seeing a strange portrait of an old man with piercing eyes in the shop, Chartkov is ready to give his last two kopecks for it. Poverty did not take away from him, but perhaps gave him the ability to see the beauty of life and work with enthusiasm on his sketches. He reaches out to the light and does not want to turn art into an anatomical theater, to expose a “disgusting person” with a knife-brush. He rejects artists whose “nature itself... seems low and dirty,” so that “there is nothing illuminating in it.” Chartkov, according to his teacher in painting, is talented, but impatient and prone to worldly pleasures and vanity. But as soon as the money, miraculously falling from the portrait frame, gives Chartkov the opportunity to lead such a tempting social life and enjoy well-being; wealth and fame, not art, become his idols. Chartkov owes his success to the fact that, while drawing a portrait of a society young lady, which turned out bad for him, he was able to rely on a disinterested work of talent - a drawing of Psyche, where the dream of an ideal being was felt, physically felt. But the ideal was not alive and, only by connecting with impressions real life, became attractive, and real life acquired the significance of an ideal. However, Chartkov lied, giving the colorless girl the appearance of Psyche. Having flattered for the sake of success, he betrayed the purity of art. And Chartkov’s talent began to leave him and betrayed him. “Whoever has talent within himself must be purer in soul than anyone else,” says the father to his son in the second part of the story. Isn’t it true that this is an almost verbatim repetition of Mozart’s words in Pushkin’s tragedy: “Genius and villainy are two incompatible things.” But for Pushkin, goodness is in the nature of genius. Gogol writes a story that the artist, like all people, is subject to the temptation of evil, but destroys himself and his talent more terribly and quickly than ordinary people. Talent not realized in true art, talent, separated from goodness, becomes destructive for the individual.

Chartkov, who has given up truth to beauty for the sake of success, ceases to feel life in its multicolor, variability, and trembling. His portraits console, entertain, “enchant” customers, but they do not live, they do not reveal, but hide the personality and nature. And despite the fame of a fashionable painter, Chartkov feels that he has nothing to do with real art, capable of elevating, purifying, encouraging the search for something new... A wonderful picture of an artist who, for several years, starving, experiencing hardship, avoided all pleasures, studied in Italy, shocked Chartkov. But the shock he experienced does not awaken him to a new life, because for this it is necessary to abandon the pursuit of wealth and fame, to kill the evil in himself. Chartkov chooses a different path, worthy of “nothingness from art”: he begins to expel the divine from the world, buy and cut magnificent canvases, and kill goodness. And this path leads him to madness and death.

What was the reason for these terrible transformations: a person’s weakness in the face of temptations or the mystical witchcraft of the portrait of a moneylender who gathered the evil of the world in his scorching gaze?

N.V. Gogol answered this question ambiguously. A real explanation of Chartkov’s fate is just as possible as a mystical one. A dream that leads a hero to gold can be both the fulfillment of his subconscious desires and aggression evil spirits, which is mentioned every time the portrait of a moneylender comes up. The words “devil”, “devil”, “darkness”, “demon” turn out to be the speech frame of the portrait in the story.

The artist who touched evil, who painted the eyes of the moneylender, which “looked demonically crushing,” can no longer paint good, his brush is driven by an “unclean feeling,” and in the picture intended for the temple, “there is no holiness in the faces.”

All people associated with a moneylender in real life die, having betrayed the best qualities of their nature. The artist who reproduced evil expanded its influence. The portrait of a moneylender robs people of the joy of life and awakens “such melancholy... just as if I wanted to stab someone to death.” In my opinion, the portrait of a moneylender with his devilish gaze is a symbol of not only demonic behavior, but also an insane, burning thirst for enrichment. The portrait brought misfortune to people, that is, the thirst for money kills everything sacred in a person. This is exactly what Gogol wanted to tell his readers. And it’s not enough to get rid of this portrait - you need to change your consciousness, cleanse your soul and thoughts. An example of this is an artist who went to a monastery. He realized the destructive power of the portrait and the villainy that moves the artist’s hand, and changed his worldview.

No wonder Gogol shows us three stories different artists. There is a lesson to be learned from every story. They are known to have been endowed with talent from God. But then God is powerless: everyone uses his talent as he wants and as he can. Everyone decides for himself what his talent will serve: good or evil. But, as I have already noted, villainy and genius are incompatible things. What follows from this? And the fact is that if an artist serves evil, then his genius, his talented beginning will certainly perish. Yes, this will help him achieve some goals, but at the same time it will take away what is most sacred from him. Chartkov chose evil. But, realizing this, he did not try to change, like the artist who created the moneylender, but continued his “diabolical” work - this time he began to destroy the works of those who did not betray their talent for the sake of the “golden god”.

So how can you avoid wasting your gift? Let us remember the parable of talent. One owner gave two slaves a coin each and asked them to save it until he returned. One, after some time, gave him the coin, saying that he had kept it by burying it in the ground. And another brought 10 times more, saying that he put the coin into circulation and made a fortune. This is how, according to Gogol, human talent - “if you bury it in the ground” - nothing will come of it, but you will use it wisely and reap the benefits. But, I think, you need to make every effort, because talent without work and perseverance is nothing. Only by having a high goal in front of you, knowing your purpose, following selfless calls, and not serving evil, can you hope for the “correct” realization of your talent.

Nevertheless, the story “Portrait” does not bring reassurance, showing how all people, regardless of their character traits and the height of their convictions, are susceptible to evil. Gogol, having remade the ending of the story, takes away the hope of eradicating evil. In the first edition, the image of the moneylender mysteriously evaporates from the canvas, leaving the canvas blank. In the final text of the story, the portrait of the moneylender disappears: evil has again begun to roam the world...

So, N.V. Gogol asserts with his story that art brings not only good, but also evil. But at the same time, he says that art should convey, just like talent, exclusively goodness. Only in this case is it true, the talent is genuine and, therefore, the soul is pure.

Preview:

To use presentation previews, create an account for yourself ( account) Google and log in: https://accounts.google.com

Slide captions:

N. In Gogol (1809 - 1852) He has not yet been crucified, But the hour will come - he will be on the cross; He was sent by the god of Wrath and Sorrow to remind the Slaves of the earth about Christ. N. Nekrasov

“Do not collect treasures on earth...” N. V. Gogol’s story “Portrait”

A. I. Ivanov “The Appearance of Christ to the People”

Save the purity of your soul. He who has talent within himself must have the purest soul of all.

The theme of creativity in N. V. Gogol’s story “Portrait” 1. The problem of confrontation between craft and art. 2. An artist who managed to preserve and exalt his talent. 4. Creativity is primarily a spiritual matter; it cannot be polluted by vanity. 3. An artist engaged in religious painting serves God.

Composition

Gogol is always interesting to read. You start reading even well-known works and get carried away. And especially the stories are little-known. It would seem that he is a serious classical writer, philosopher, but you take his book and are transported to most interesting world, sometimes mystical, and sometimes the most mundane. In the story "Portrait" there is both. The author puts his hero in an unprecedented situation: a poor, talented artist suddenly gets everything he dreams of through a mysterious portrait, which he himself buys with his last money from a merchant. He is strangely attracted to the eyes of the person depicted in the portrait. It’s as if a living gaze surprises everyone with its strength and terrible verisimilitude. That same night Chartkov sees. strange half-dream-half-reality. He dreams that the old man depicted in the portrait “moved and suddenly leaned against the frame with both hands. Finally he rose up on his hands and, sticking out both legs, jumped out of the frame...” In a dream, Chartkov sees 1000 chervonets from the old man, but in reality the money actually ends up in the portrait frame. Quarterly inadvertently
touches the frame, and a heavy package falls in front of Chartkov. The first thoughts prompted by reason were noble: “Now I am provided for at least three years, I can lock myself in a room and work. Now I have enough for paints; for lunch, for tea, for maintenance, for an apartment; and now no one will bother me; I’ll buy myself an excellent mannequin, order a plaster torso, shape the legs, pose a Venus, buy engravings from the first paintings. And if I work for three years for myself, without rushing, not for sale, I’ll kill them all and I can. be a great artist." But the long-poverty artist dreamed of something else. “Another voice was heard from inside, more audible and louder. And when he looked at the gold again, twenty-two years and ardent youth began to speak within him.” Chartkov didn’t even notice how he bought clothes for himself, “took two rides around the city in a carriage for no reason,” visited a restaurant, a hairdresser, and moved to a new apartment. A dizzying career fell upon him. They published about him in the newspaper, and the first
customers. -A noble lady brought her daughter to paint a portrait of her. Gogol does not do without comical moments in any of his works. Here is a very apt joke about the lady’s enthusiasm for painting:
"- However, Monsieur Nohl... ah, how he writes! What an extraordinary brush! I find that he has even more expression in his faces than Titian. Don’t you know Monsieur Nohl?
“Who is this Zero?” asked the artist.
- Monsieur Zero. Oh, what talent!"
One joke conveys the level and interests secular society. The artist, with great interest and not yet lost talent, began to paint a portrait. He conveyed to the canvas all the shades of the young face, and did not miss some yellowness and a barely noticeable blue shadow under the eyes. But my mother didn't like it. She objected that it could only be today, but usually the face strikes with special freshness. Having corrected the shortcomings, the artist noticed with disappointment that the individuality of nature had also disappeared. Still wanting to express what he noticed in the girl, Chartkov transfers all this to his old sketch of Psyche. The ladies are delighted with the “surprise” that the artist came up with the idea of ​​depicting her “in the form of Psyche.” Having failed to convince the ladies, Chartkov gives away the portrait of Psyche. Society admired the new talent, and Chartkov received orders. But this was far from what gives a painter the opportunity to develop. Here Gogol also gives free rein to humor: “The ladies demanded that mainly only the soul and character be depicted in portraits, so that sometimes the rest
not to adhere, to round all the corners, to alleviate all the flaws and even, if possible, to avoid them altogether... The men were also no better than the ladies. One demanded to portray himself in a strong, energetic turn of the head; the other with inspired eyes raised upward; the guards lieutenant absolutely demanded that Mars be visible in his eyes; The civil dignitary strove to have more directness and nobility in his face and to have his hand rest on a book on which it would be written in clear words: “I always stood for the truth.” And over time, Chartkov becomes a fashionable, but, alas, empty painter. The reason for this, of course, was the purchased portrait with its devilish charms. But through a fantastic plot, the author shows what fame and wealth can do to a person. You don't have to buy a magical portrait to become a slave. It is not for nothing that at the very beginning of the story Chartkov is warned by the professor, his mentor: “You have talent; it will be a sin if you ruin it. Be careful that you don’t turn out to be a fashionable painter.” Gradually
But creative aspiration and awe disappear. Busy with balls and visits, the artist barely sketches out the main features, leaving the finishing touches to his students. Already, the talent that made its way in him at the beginning faded away without a trace due to the embellishment of officials, ladies, their daughters and girlfriends. The passion for gold was perched on the pedestal that painting used to occupy. Gold became everything for Chartkov. It would have filled his life completely, if not for one event. The Academy of Arts invited the famous Chartkov to evaluate a painting by a Russian artist brought from Italy. The picture he saw struck the celebrity so much that he could not even express his prepared disdainful judgment. The painting was so beautiful that it stirred up his stale past. Tears choked him, and without saying a word, he ran out of the hall. The sudden insight of his ruined life blinded him. Realizing that the lost talent and lost youth can never be returned, Chartkov becomes a terrible monster. With sinister greed, he begins to buy up all worthy products.
of art and destroy them. This becomes his main passion and his only occupation. As a result, the insane and sick artist dies in a terrible fever, where he sees a portrait of an old man everywhere. Scary eyes from the portrait look at him from everywhere...
But another hero, who is mentioned only in the second part of the story, acts differently. This young artist meets a very unusual man, a moneylender, who asks him to paint his portrait. There are very mysterious rumors about the moneylender. Everyone who contacted him was sure to get into trouble. But the artist still undertakes to paint a portrait. The resemblance to the original is striking, the eyes seem to be looking out from the portrait. And now, having painted the moneylender, the artist realizes that he will no longer be able to paint pure images. He realizes that he has portrayed the devil. After this, he forever goes to the monastery to purify himself. As a gray-haired old man, he achieves enlightenment and, taking up his brush, is already able to paint saints, he himself says like a saint: “A hint about the divine, the heavenly. is concluded for man in art, and for that alone it is already above all... Sacrifice everything to him and love him with all your passion, not a passion breathing with earthly lust, but a quiet heavenly passion: without it, man has no power to rise from the earth
and cannot give wonderful sounds of calm. For to calm and reconcile everyone, a lofty creation of art descends into the world." But nevertheless, the story does not end optimistically. Gogol allows the portrait to continue its fateful journey, warning that no one is immune from 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 reader is presented with a young, giving big hopes artist Chartkov. 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 talented artist into an envious and greedy person 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. The teacher instructs the young artist not to waste his talent on painting 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. By devil 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 high 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.