Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol - famous writer, whose work is very controversial. Prone to mysticism, the author knows how to add a certain zest to his works, which is memorable and does not leave anyone indifferent. Whatever work he takes, you always feel the unsaid, unfinished, mysterious. You can always read between the lines something that conveys the depth of the maestro’s soul.

For example, a work that is thoroughly saturated with fatalism, fear of unknown and otherworldly forces is “Portrait” (Gogol). Its summary can only convey the main points of the plot. But only the full version can immerse you in the world of illusion, in the world of beautiful style and convey the mood that Nikolai Vasilyevich wanted to convey.

"Portrait" (Gogol). Summary

The work begins with a description of the difficult fate of a young and talented artist. He has no money at all to pay for housing, no money for food or even candles. So he sits idle all evening, envying those who have both orders and popularity. However, with his last money he buys a portrait of an Asian man with unusually lively eyes. And then because of him, Chartkov practically sees these eyes everywhere: he sees them in reality, he dreams of them every night, they look straight into his soul. But a thousand chervonets bill suddenly falls out of the picture. With this, the artist’s life seems to be getting better.

The story “Portrait” (Gogol), summary which can interest the reader and encourage reading full version, tells about the further fate of Chartkov. He is a sought-after artist, but over time he becomes greedy, and his talent degrades. Out of envy, the hero begins to buy the brilliant works of other painters, on which he spends all his fortune. However, the paintings are brutally destroyed in the end, and the character himself dies, deliriously remembering the same Asian eyes.

The work “Portrait” (Gogol), the summary of which is difficult to describe in a few sentences, continues with an explanation of this whole mysterious story. After Chartkov’s death, a portrait of a Chinese man with masterfully drawn eyes ends up at a St. Petersburg auction. There he is found by the man whose father painted the picture. It turns out that it depicts a moneylender who, however, these funds did not bring good luck to anyone - everyone who took from an Asian from Kolomna cash, died terrible death, went crazy.

Let's continue with the summary. Gogol called the portrait an image of the spirit of darkness, and the artist painted it from a moneylender. But in the process of working, the author is overcome by a painful feeling, and he does not want to continue writing. The Chinese man asks to finish the portrait in order to remain “alive” even after death, but he dies without seeing this work. The author wants to burn it, but gives it to a friend at his request. Then the portrait begins to negatively influence each of its owners. Therefore, the narrator searches for the painting to stop the flow of evil, but it mysteriously disappears.

"Portrait" (Gogol). Analysis of the story

This story is a deep philosophical work that touches on the theme of the influence of otherworldly forces on human destinies. Not only man has power over fate, but also other circumstances, other people and even mysticism. To believe this or not is for each reader to decide for himself. When reading the work, you just want to enjoy the interesting plot and the melodious language of its creator.

Gogol's story "Portrait" is a work he wrote under the impression of life in St. Petersburg. The gloomy northern city inspired the writer to create outstanding works, many of which continue to delight modern readers. IN mystical history about the devilish image of the old moneylender concluded deep meaning. Unfortunately, this article will present only a brief summary of it. “Portrait” (Gogol named this work in honor of an unusual object appearing in the story) amazes with its fascinating plot. Only the main points of its development will be conveyed below.

Purchasing a portrait

This exciting story begins with the purchase of an antique canvas. A brief summary cannot convey all its nuances. “Portrait” (Gogol N.V.) tells about young artist Chertkov, who, unexpectedly for himself, acquires a work by an unknown painter in the shop. It depicts an old man dressed in Asian attire, with a bronzed face from tanning and unusually lively eyes. The young man lives very poorly, always owes rent, but does not strive for easy money, but wants to reveal his talent through persistent and painstaking work. However, a strange portrait disturbs his soul all night young artist sees nightmares: he imagines a scary old man leaving the frame and counting gold ducats before his eyes.

New life

Gogol's story "Portrait" is mystical in nature. In the morning, the young man unexpectedly discovers a bundle of gold coins in his possession, after which he repays all his debts, moves from Vasilyevsky Island to Nevsky Prospekt and begins new life. At first he wants to devote himself entirely to art, but, carried away by all sorts of temptations, he quickly forgets about it. Chertkov buys fashionable clothes, orders an article about himself in a newspaper and finds rich customers. They know nothing about creativity, but they pay generously, so the young man begins to draw beautiful trinkets and quickly becomes rich.

Retribution for Apostasy

N.V. Gogol talks about the inevitable retribution for abandoning one’s destiny. “Portrait” is the story of a man who betrayed high art. Having become rich, Chertkov quickly loses his former youthful vivacity. He becomes a fashionable painter, gains weight in society, but at the same time completely loses his talent. One day, the Academy of Arts invites him to evaluate the work of a painter who trained in Italy for many years. Seeing this work, Chertkov is amazed at its harmony and perfection. He returns home and tries to write something similar himself. However, the artist’s calloused hand no longer obeys him, and he soon becomes convinced that his talent has dried up. Then Chertkov is overcome by insane envy and anger. He devotes the rest of his life to buying up all outstanding paintings at auctions and mercilessly destroying them. The artist dies in another fit of madness, and in his dying delirium he sees the living eyes of a mysterious old man everywhere.

Moneylender

Now you know what the first part of your story is about. Its summary tells about the fate of the mad artist. “Portrait” (N.V. Gogol knows how to captivate the reader) also has a second part. It describes the history of the creation of the mysterious image.

A portrait of an old man is being sold at auction. Buyers argue for a long time about the price, and in the end there are only two rich contenders. Suddenly, a modestly dressed man of about thirty-five interrupts the auction and begins to talk about the history of this portrait. Many years ago in Kolomna (a suburb of St. Petersburg) there lived a strange moneylender. He had an outstanding appearance: tall, bronze skin color and sharp facial features. In addition, he was unusually rich and lent money to the most famous residents capital Cities. However, his gold did not bring happiness to anyone. A young man who strived to devote himself to serving society, after a joint deal with a moneylender, turned into an inhuman official. A young man passionately in love, having taken a loan from a strange old man, became insanely jealous and almost killed his wife. Residents of Kolomna were afraid of the moneylender and never borrowed from him...

great artist

N.V. Gogol was a passionate admirer of the fine arts. “Portrait” is the fruit of the writer’s reflections on the role of creativity in the life of every person. Further in the work we're talking about about a simple and honest painter who managed to achieve recognition from others through his hard work and outstanding talent. One day, a moneylender approached him with a request to paint his portrait. The artist happily responded to this proposal, but while working on the canvas he felt a strong disgust for what was happening. He tried to stop, then the old man fell to his knees in front of him and revealed his secret: he was preparing for death and wanted his essence to be embodied in a portrait. The artist leaves the moneylender's house in horror, and the next day finds out that he has died. The image of the old man has since been kept in the painter’s house.

Devil's instigation

Amazing events are described in the work. Its brief content tells about the vicious influence of the mystical image on others. “Portrait” (Gogol created this story in two editions) tells that everyone who kept it close to themselves was subjected to devilish temptations. The honest artist suddenly began to envy his student and tried to beat him in a design competition new church. Only through long monastic service was he able to atone for his guilt before God and create a truly great work - the painting “The Nativity of Jesus.” The other owners of the portrait also experienced its power negative impact. At the end of the story, the repentant artist bequeathed to his son to find the image of the moneylender and destroy it. The descendant of the great painter was the narrator of this exciting story. The listeners, captivated by his story, did not notice how the item of desperate bargaining disappeared from the wall. This ends the story written by N.V. Gogol. The portrait mysteriously disappeared and may have been stolen.

Heroes of the story

So who can be called the main character of the story that Gogol wrote (“Portrait”)? The plot of the work makes it possible to appoint the artist Chertkov to this role. After all, at the center of the story is the story of his apostasy and moral collapse. But regarding the role that the characters play in constructing the work as a whole, its main character is the moneylender. It is about the desire of the devilish force to subjugate art with the help of gold that Gogol reflects in his story. “Portrait”, the meaning of which is enclosed by the author in a bright and expressive form, also tells about the secret power of money over human soul, and about high creativity, which can become an instrument of evil in vicious hands.

And, of course, we must not forget about the role of the city of St. Petersburg in the work. Only here, according to Gogol, ancient paintings come to life, demonic moneylenders weave their networks and dangerous portraits suddenly disappear. Tempting and majestic, poor and rich, beautiful and deceptive, the city of Petersburg can also be considered a full-fledged hero of the story.

Main character stories, a young and budding artist; resident of St. Petersburg. Full name- Andrey Petrovich Chartkov. This is an impoverished nobleman who has only one serf in his service - the servant Nikita. He doesn’t even have money for an extra candle so as not to sit in the dark. In the story, Chartkov rents a room on Vasilyevsky Island and barely makes ends meet.

One of the characters in the story, the father of one of the two artists described in the work. This man lived in Kolomna and was engaged in painting temples. One day he came up with the idea of ​​painting a portrait of the spirit of darkness. It didn’t take long to persuade fate, because a neighbor, a moneylender, came to see him and caused nothing but trouble for those around him.

One of the characters in the story, a man whose portrait, along with money, brought misfortune to its owners. The moneylender was an elderly man large sizes with Asian appearance. He lived next door to a talented self-taught artist, whom he asked to paint his portrait. The fame of the old Asian man was not the best. Everyone who borrowed money from him was sure to experience some kind of tragedy.

One of the characters in the story, the son of a famous painter from Kolomna; the narrator of a story about a terrible moneylender and his portrait. All that we know about him is that, at the insistence of his father, he studied at the Academy of Arts. Then he traveled to Italy to improve his skills and knew about the terrible impact of the portrait of an old Asian man on those around him.

Nikita

An episodic character, Chartkov's assistant and servant.

Apartment owner

An episodic character, he demanded a quarterly debt from Chartkov.

Varukh Kuzmich

An episodic character, a policeman, who, at the request of the owner of the apartment, demanded money from Chartkov for payment. I accidentally found a bundle of money in his apartment.

Salesman

An episodic character, he sold a painting with a portrait of an old man to Chartkov.

Friend of the artist's father

Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol

Nowhere did so many people stop as in front of the art shop in Shchukin’s courtyard. This shop represented, indeed, the most heterogeneous collection of curiosities: the paintings were mostly painted oil paints, covered with dark green varnish, in dark yellow tinsel frames. Winter with white trees, a completely red evening, similar to the glow of a fire, a Flemish peasant with a pipe and a broken arm, looking more like an Indian rooster in cuffs than a man - these are their usual subjects. To this must be added several engraved images: a portrait of Khozrev-Mirza in a sheepskin hat, portraits of some generals in triangular hats with crooked noses. Moreover, the doors of such a shop are usually hung with bundles of works printed in popular prints on large sheets, which testify to the native talent of a Russian person. On one there was Princess Miliktrisa Kirbitievna, on the other the city of Jerusalem, through the houses and churches of which red paint swept without ceremony, capturing part of the land and two praying Russian men in mittens. There are usually few buyers of these works, but there are a lot of viewers. Some drunkard footman is probably already yawning in front of them, holding in his hand containers of dinner from the tavern for his master, who, no doubt, will slurp the soup not too hot. In front of him, probably, is already standing a soldier in an overcoat, this gentleman of the flea market, selling two penknives; a merchant woman with a box filled with shoes. Everyone admires in his own way: men usually point their fingers; gentlemen are considered seriously; footmen boys and craftsmen boys laugh and tease each other with drawn caricatures; old footmen in frieze overcoats look only to yawn somewhere; and the traders, young Russian women, rush by instinct to listen to what the people are babbling about and to see what they are looking at. At this time, the young artist Chartkov, passing by, involuntarily stopped in front of the shop. An old overcoat and an unfashionable dress showed in him a man who was selflessly devoted to his work and did not have time to worry about his outfit, which always has a mysterious appeal to youth. He stopped in front of the shop and at first laughed inwardly at these ugly pictures. Finally, an involuntary thought took possession of him: he began to think about who would need these works. What do the Russian people look at? Eruslanov Lazarevich, on ate and drank, on Thomas and Erem, this did not seem surprising to him: the objects depicted were very accessible and understandable to the people; but where are the buyers of these motley, dirty, oil paintings? who needs these Flemish men, these red and blue landscapes, which show some claim to a somewhat higher step in art, but in which all its deep humiliation was expressed? These, it seemed, were not at all the works of a self-taught child. Otherwise, despite all the insensitive caricature of the whole, a sharp impulse would burst out in them. But here one could see simply stupidity, a powerless, decrepit mediocrity that arbitrarily entered the ranks of the arts, while its place was among the low crafts, a mediocrity that was nevertheless faithful to its calling and brought its craft into art itself. The same colors, the same manner, the same stuffed, habitual hand, which belonged more likely to a crudely made machine gun than to a person. !.. He stood for a long time in front of these dirty pictures, finally not thinking about them at all, and meanwhile the owner of the shop, a little gray man in a frieze overcoat, with an unshaven beard since Sunday, had been talking to him for a long time, bargaining and agreeing on a price, without even knowing what he liked and what he needed. “For these peasants and for the landscape, I’ll take the little white one. What a painting! it will just hurt your eye; just received from the exchange; The varnish is not yet dry. Or here it is winter, take winter! Fifteen rubles! One frame is worth it. What a winter it is!” Here the merchant gave a slight click to the canvas, probably to show all the goodness of winter. “Will you order them to be tied together and taken down behind you? Where would you like to live? Hey, kid, give me some rope." “Wait, brother, not so soon,” said the artist, who came to his senses, seeing that the nimble merchant had seriously begun to tie them together. He felt somewhat ashamed of not taking anything, having stood in the shop for so long, and he said: “But wait, I’ll see if there’s anything here for me,” and, bending down, he began to take out the bulky, worn out, dusty old clothes piled up from the floor. paintings that, apparently, did not enjoy any honor. There were old family portraits, the descendants of which, perhaps, could not be found in the world, completely unknown images with torn canvas, frames devoid of gilding, in a word, all sorts of old rubbish. But the artist began to look, thinking secretly: “maybe something will be found.” He had heard more than once stories about how sometimes paintings by great masters were found in the trash of popular print sellers. The owner, seeing where he was going, abandoned his fussiness and, having assumed his usual position and proper weight, positioned himself again at the door, inviting passers-by and pointing them with one hand to the bench … “Here, father; here are the pictures! come in, come in; received from the exchange." He had already shouted enough and mostly fruitlessly, talked his fill to the patchwork salesman who was also standing opposite him at the door of his shop, and finally, remembering that he had a buyer in his shop, he turned his back on the people and went inside. “What, father, did you choose something?” But the artist had already stood motionless for some time in front of one portrait in large, once magnificent frames, but on which traces of gilding now shone slightly. He was an old man with a bronze-colored face, high cheekbones, and stunted; the features of the face seemed to be captured in a moment of convulsive movement and responded not with northern strength. The fiery afternoon was captured in them. He was draped in a loose Asian suit. No matter how damaged and dusty the portrait was; but when he managed to clean the dust from his face, he saw traces of work high artist. The portrait, it seemed, was not finished; but the power of the brush was striking. Most extraordinary of all were the eyes: it seemed as if the artist had used all the power of his brush and all his diligent care in them. They simply looked, looked even from the portrait itself, as if destroying its harmony with their strange liveliness. When he brought the portrait to the door, the eyes looked even stronger. They made almost the same impression among the people. A woman who stopped behind him cried out: “He’s looking, he’s looking,” and backed away. He felt some unpleasant feeling, incomprehensible to himself, and put the portrait on the ground.

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1833–1834 is the period when from the pen of Gogol, one of the most mysterious writers, a cycle of works entitled “Petersburg Stories” came out. Gogol, "Portrait" literary work whom we will analyze below is a mystical writer. A note of mystery did not escape the “Portrait” either.

The story includes two parts that tell about the destinies of two creative people. The main characters of Gogol's work are artists. The stories are connected by a mystical object - a portrait of a certain merchant. This thing affected the fate of the characters in the story. How exactly? This is what we will talk about.

Theme of Gogol's story

The confrontation between good and evil is an eternal theme in art at all times. What is good or evil, what do they look like and how to recognize and distinguish between them? Every person asks himself the answers to these difficult questions from time to time. It is especially important for creative person, keep your soul pure, since art is incredibly sensitive to the slightest manifestations of hypocrisy and falsehood. The devil lives in human soul. Satan is patiently waiting in the wings. And as soon as a person shows weakness, instead of the spiritual he gives preference to material wealth, immediately the devilish force begins to influence the weaknesses in all ways, and completely takes possession of the mind and heart of the person. The role of such a devilish force, embodied in a symbolic object - a portrait of a merchant (usurer), is the center of Gogol's work. Confront evil spirits not easy. Most often, a person is weak in the face of demonic tricks and cunning. This is what it's all about main strength evil, which affects human weaknesses, finds even deeply hidden innermost thoughts and desires. A person who is strong enough inside and adequately resists the temptation of evil is a textbook rarity.

Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol in his work often touched upon this eternal theme of the struggle between good and evil. The writer was considered a deeply religious person, and therefore attached great importance to the purity and incorruptibility of the human soul. A rather original, specifically Gogolian understanding of the ways in which the devil tempts an immaculate soul is skillfully reflected by the writer in the story called “Portrait.” This work is very colorful: the story has elements of a fairy tale and has the task of warning naive, simple-hearted and gullible people from the insidious temptation of dark forces. Every person sometimes finds himself, as it seems to him, in a completely hopeless situation. In such moments of despair and confusion, a bitter feeling of disappointment and hopelessness makes the unfortunate person an easy prey for the devil's machinations. No one is immune from misfortune in life, but not everyone will be able to overcome the difficulties and hardships that have not befallen them, while keeping their soul pure and untouched by anger and envy.

Remark about the main characters of the story

In Gogol's story, traditionally, they highlight central characters, as well as supporting characters. Among the main characters are Chartkov and the father of a master, a painter named B. Chartkov is distinguished by his remarkable talent, but loses his talent and inspiration as soon as he acquires the ill-fated portrait of a merchant. After this, Chartkov devotes his life to drawing commissioned portraits, which finally puts an end to high art. As for the artist’s father, whose name the author does not tell the reader, the hero worked on paintings for churches. The man was not a professional artist; B.’s father learned the craft on his own. It is this master who is the author of the portrait of the merchant who will bring so much trouble to his owners. After painting the portrait, the artist becomes a monk.

Minor characters works - directly the painter B. and the merchant himself, whose portrait turned out to be endowed with gloomy power. Moneylender described tall man with dark skin and large, fire-filled eyes. The trader’s nationality is unusual for these regions: either Indian, Greek or Persian. The merchant wore clothes exclusively of Asian cut.

Image of master Andrey Chartkov

The main character of the story is the artist Chartkov, a young and talented artist. Andrei Petrovich's teacher recognizes the presence of talent in his student, however, he warns Chartkov against a temptation that is extremely dangerous for true talent - the temptation of idle and well-fed social life. Working for money to order will give the artist a beautiful, comfortable life, but it can kill talent and destroy the spiritual purity of a young master. And in order to create, you must first pass any information through the soul, and only then pour it out in the form of a skillful creation. The young artist tries to heed the professor’s instructions and plunges headlong into creativity. Chartkov devotes himself entirely to art, constantly looking for something new, unknown and unwritten by anyone.

At times he could forget everything, taking up his brush, and would tear himself away from it as if from a wonderful, interrupted dream. Its taste has developed noticeably...

But material difficulties constantly weigh on Chartkov. From time to time, watching visiting painters who, not possessing the talent of our artist, managed to make a fortune in a short time from their works of dubious quality, they introduced doubts into Andrei’s pure soul.

- Yes! be patient, be patient! - he said with annoyance. “There is finally an end to patience.” Be patient! How much money will I use for lunch tomorrow? No one will give you a loan. And if I were to sell all my paintings and drawings, they would give me two kopecks for everything. They are useful, of course, I feel it: each of them was undertaken for good reason, in each of them I learned something. But what's the use?..

In moments of despair, the soul becomes especially vulnerable and susceptible to the influence of evil. Perhaps it is not at all by chance that the young artist finds this strange portrait of an old man with incredibly lively eyes in an old shop among all sorts of rubbish.

He was an old man with a bronze-colored face, high cheekbones, and stunted; the features of the face seemed to be captured in a moment of convulsive movement and responded not with northern strength. The fiery afternoon was captured in them. He was draped in a loose Asian suit. No matter how damaged and dusty the portrait was, when he managed to clean the dust from his face, he saw traces of the work of the great artist. The portrait, it seemed, was not finished; but the power of the brush was striking. Most extraordinary of all were the eyes: it seemed as if the artist had used all the power of his brush and all his diligent care in them. They simply looked, looked even from the portrait itself, as if destroying its harmony with their strange liveliness...

Fatal incident: acquisition of a portrait of an old merchant

Without knowing why and for what purpose, Chartkov buys this portrait for the last money. Studying the amazing portrait he had just purchased, the young artist first admires the skill and talent of the master, who was able to depict the eyes in the portrait so realistically. But then these eyes begin to terrify Chartkov. These are too alive, too realistic eyes give the whole image an ominous look. Subtle soul the artist sensed danger. But the devil had already managed to find a weakness in the trusting nature of the talented person. The process of temptation begins as if unobtrusively: in a dream, Chartkov sees an old man leaving the portrait and beginning to count the money from his bag. By chance, one wad of money falls out of the old man’s hands and rolls straight to the feet of the hungry artist. The temptation turned out to be stronger than the artist’s willpower: Chartkov is ready to do anything just to get the coveted money.

The demon skillfully manipulates the dreams and desires of a creative person. Chartkov, magically Having received the money, he first intended to spend resources on brushes, paints and new canvases. The young master assumed that with a certain saving of the funds he miraculously acquired, he would be able to calmly engage exclusively in art for three years. But the temptation of the devil turned out to be too tempting. Resist the old dream of being rich and beautiful life Chartkov is not able to. Even such a low act as ordering a laudatory article in his honor seems like a wonderful idea to the hero. Chartkov fully enjoys the false laudatory reviews about his person.

The destructive and devilish nature of material wealth and money

Material wealth seems increasingly attractive young man. New wardrobe Tasty dinner in a fashionable restaurant, a carriage ride around the city and, finally, a new luxurious apartment - this is what the artist ends up spending the devil’s money on. All lofty spiritual dreams recede into the background before material wealth. The young master is already ready to spend his talent on material enrichment. All the teacher’s warnings are forgotten, and idle pleasures fill the artist’s mind. However, the first commissioned portrait is not easy for Chartkov. The hero’s desire for excellence in work causes disagreement from the customer.

The artist began to explain that these spots and yellowness are played out well, that they make up the pleasant and light tones of the face. But they answered him that they would not make up any tones and were not played out at all; and that it only seems so to him...

Chartkov was forced to submit meekly; the desire to satisfy the client’s wishes took precedence over his creative convictions:

He insensitively began to tell him that general coloring that is learned by heart and turns even faces taken from life into some kind of coldly ideal...

The artist tries to please the customer, but the creative soul of the painter is not yet ready to give up true art. Carried away by his work, Chartkov feels how passion and inspiration fill his soul, talent is still alive, genius does not allow the artist to take dictation. After the clients leave, Chartkov cannot calm down, the hero’s head is overflowing with ideas, thoughts and images. Therefore, the master takes out an unfinished painting of Psyche and pours images filled with inspiration onto the canvas:

... when the artist, having seen enough of nature, already moves away from it and produces a creation equal to it ....

A portrait painted at the behest of the heart and a commissioned work - comparison

This work amazed the customers. The painting was not only talentedly painted, but a living part of the artist was felt in the canvas. Praise and recognition in secular society Chartkov's talent very quickly made the young master a fashionable and sought-after artist. Money and fame, which the painter had dreamed of for so long, finally came into Chartkov’s life. But working to order turned out to be not at all as pleasant as the hero thought. What was required from the artist was not the display of versatility of talent, a special vision of the image or the splendor of color and shadows, but artisanal work: to make the portrait as attractive as possible in the eyes of the customer, and in a fairly short time. Chartkov received the desired material reward, compliments and invitations to dinner, even recognition of his artistic talent, but the young master had to pay for all this with his pure soul.

Fame cannot give pleasure to those who stole it and did not deserve it; it produces constant awe only in those worthy of it. And therefore all his feelings and impulses turned to gold. Gold became his passion, ideal, fear, pleasure, goal. Bunches of banknotes grew in the chests, and like anyone who receives this terrible gift, he began to become boring, inaccessible to everything except gold, a causeless miser, a dissolute collector, and was already ready to turn into one of those strange creatures of which one comes across a lot in our insensitive light, at which a person full of life and heart looks with horror, to whom they seem to be moving stone coffins with a dead man inside instead of a heart….

“The devil is playing with us” (Mamardashvili)

I remember a quote from the philosopher Merab Mamardashvili: “The devil plays with us when we do not think accurately.” The first part of this phrase fits here. Devilish power enslaved the soul and heart of the artist. Every statement of Chartkov seemed saturated with anger and bile. The hero no longer believed in the existence of inspiration, no longer sought the novelty of the image or the freshness of colors. Chartkov exchanged his talent for fame and money. But the blackened soul of the painter could not find peace. Nothing in life could bring joy to Chartkov the way art did.

But the devil's game is not over yet. One day, Chartkov receives an invitation - as a respected artist and venerable member of society - to evaluate the work of a little-known artist sent from Italy, where for many years this same artist studied the skills of the great geniuses of art. The picture Chartkov saw struck the master to the very heart.

Dear readers, lovers of the classics! We invite you to familiarize yourself with the works of Nikolai Gogol “ Dead Souls”

Pure, immaculate, beautiful, like a bride, stood before him the artist’s work. Modest, divine, innocent and simple, like a genius, it rose above everything. It seemed that the heavenly figures, amazed by so many gazes fixed on them, shyly lowered their beautiful eyelashes. With a feeling of involuntary amazement, experts contemplated the new, unprecedented brush. Everything here seemed to come together: the study of Raphael, reflected in the high nobility of the positions, the study of Correggius, breathing in the final perfection of the brush.” But most powerfully visible was the power of creation, already contained in the soul of the artist himself...

It was this kind of creativity that he himself always dreamed of. How could it happen that life was spent on artisan portraits, and not on real art. And, wanting to prove to everyone and himself that his talent is still alive, Chartkov takes up his brush, trying to depict something similar to the picture he saw of a little-known artist. But the dark force in the soul cannot create beautiful things.

Greed, hatred and malice now fill the mind and heart of the painter. Chartkov's great talent turned out to be the price of retribution for undeserved money and fame. Now the angry and soulless artist cannot create anything. Chartkov's mind, enslaved by dark forces, tells the hero only one solution to the problem. Since he is no longer able to create, then everything ingenious and beautiful should be destroyed.

Results of the devil's game

The significant monetary reserves that Chartkov accumulated during his life are now used to purchase the most outstanding talented artistic creations. But Chartkov’s mind, struck by anger and envy, is not going to admire the paintings; the hero’s goal is to destroy all worthy works of art. Many talented creations torn to shreds will perish forever in the workshop of a mad artist. And the artist himself, due to a moment of weakness, lost not only his talent, but also his reason. In such deals with dark forces, only the devil himself always wins.

The image of the master who created the portrait of a moneylender

But the weak-willed Chartkov is not the only victim of the strange portrait. The first person to suffer was the artist himself, who painted this portrait. The artist was a good-natured man with a bright soul and kind hearted. The master realized his talent by depicting saints when painting churches. The self-taught painter never sought excessive wealth or luxury, but put his soul into his work. Such a person is a worthy target for evil force.

Not far from the artist, in a large stone house, lived a moneylender. The man was famous for his great wealth, but was known for his ability to make special deals. The area where the artist had to live was inhabited for the most part by poor people, so there were many moneylenders in this area. All these small moneylenders are rather insensitive people:

These small moneylenders are several times more insensitive than any big ones, because they arise among poverty and brightly displayed beggarly rags, which the rich moneylender, who deals only with those who come in carriages, does not see...

But among all the moneylenders, one stood out in particular. The hero wore a strange Asian outfit, his dark skin caught his eye. The skinny face and “extraordinary fire of the eyes” also attracted attention. But the most important thing is the trader’s ability to conduct business:

He gave money willingly, distributing the terms of payments, it seemed, very favorably; but by some strange arithmetic calculations he made them rise to exorbitant percentages...

The moneylender orders a portrait...

There were very unpleasant rumors about this moneylender. They said that all those who received money from the Asian died tragically and prematurely. Moreover, the person who received the loan was transformed in a short time. The debtor became angry, envious and saw only the bad side in everything. All the actions of such people aroused universal contempt.

It is impossible to tell how the vain soul suffered; pride, deceived ambition, destroyed hopes - everything came together, and in fits of terrible madness and rage his life was interrupted...

And then one day, this same moneylender turned to the artist with a request to draw his portrait. The artist was simply amazed by the man’s eyes. The old master was just trying to depict the devil when painting one church, but the image of the demon was not successful. The old man set to work with great curiosity. The artist tried to depict all facial features as realistically as possible on the canvas. The painter paid special attention to the eyes of the moneylender; the artist was able to demonstrate all his skill and talent with particular precision and expressiveness. The eyes turned out to be so close to life that it scared the artist himself. The hero's sensitive soul has already felt the touch of an evil force. Father B. felt so disgusted and disgusted that the master, without finishing the work, flatly refused to continue painting the portrait. But evil does not give up so easily. This ill-fated portrait returned to the artist again. The shadow of evil began to creep into the master’s soul, the hero became envious and malicious. And when he tried to depict the face of a saint on the canvas, he unwittingly drew the eyes of a moneylender in the picture.

The fight against evil: is it possible to defeat the Devil?

A pure soul the artist continued to fight the devilish force. Having gotten rid of the dangerous portrait, the old master goes to the holy monastery to save the soul. Sincere prayer and righteous life help the artist maintain the purity of his soul and heart.

But, realizing the danger of the painted picture, the father of the painter B. asks his son to destroy the portrait of the moneylender. However, to win dark force not easy. Despite all efforts, this demonic portrait disappears at the very last moment.

The sons of Taras Bulba – Ostap and Andrey – are the central characters in Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol’s story “Taras Bulba”. We offer thoughtful readers

Evil and good are two parts of one whole. We should remember that only with our permission does evil begin to surpass good. An insidious moneylender cannot force a person to make a deal with him against his will. This is the decision of the person himself and only he is responsible for it. The power of evil is considerable; what the Devil promises is the dream of most people. But we should not forget about the price, which the devilish usurer will certainly exact in full.