Tolstoy Lev Nikolaevich (1828 - 1910) - count, famous writer, reaching unprecedented in history literature of the 19th century V. glory. Belongs to a rich and noble family that occupied high position back in the time of Peter the Great. Lev Nikolaevich's great-grandfather, Count Pyotr Andreevich, played a sad role in the history of Tsarevich Alexei. The great-grandson of Pyotr Andreevich, Ilya Andreevich, is described in “War and Peace” in the person of the old Count Rostov. Ilya Andreevich’s son, Nikolai Ilyich, was the father of Lev Nikolaevich (depicted in “Childhood” and “Adolescence” in the person of Nikolinka’s father). With the rank of lieutenant colonel of the Pavlograd Hussar Regiment, he took part in the war of 1812 and retired after the conclusion of peace. Having spent his youth cheerfully, Nikolai Ilyich lost a huge fortune. The passion for the game passed on to his son. To put his upset affairs in order, Nikolai Ilyich, like Nikolai Rostov, married the ugly and no longer very young Princess Volkonskaya. They had four sons: Nikolai, Sergei, Dmitry and Lev and a daughter Maria. Tolstoy's maternal grandfather, Catherine's general, is brought onto the stage in War and Peace in the person of the old Prince Volkonsky, and Lev's mother is depicted in the person of Princess Marya. In addition to the Volkonskys, Tolstoy is closely related to a number of other aristocratic families - the princes Gorchakovs and Trubetskoys.
1854
1862
Editorial Board of the Sovremennik magazine, St. Petersburg. From left to right are L.N. Tolstoy, D.V. Grigorovich. I.A. Goncharov, I.S. Turgenev, A.V. Druzhinin, A.N. Ostrovsky are sitting.
1868
1885
1892, Yasnaya Polyana. Leo Tolstoy with his family at the tea table in the park.
1900, Yasnaya Polyana. L.N. Tolstoy and A.M. Gorky.
1901, Crimea
1901, Crimea. L.N. Tolstoy and A.P. Chekhov.
1905, Yasnaya Polyana. Leo Tolstoy returns from swimming on the Voronka River
1908, Yasnaya Polyana. L.N. Tolstoy and I.E. Repin.
1908, Yasnaya Polyana. L.N. Tolstoy plays chess with M.S. Sukhotin.
1908, Yasnaya Polyana. L.N. Tolstoy with his granddaughter Tanya
1908, Yasnaya Polyana. Leo Tolstoy with his favorite horse Delir
1908, Yasnaya Polyana. At the terrace of a Yasnaya Polyana house.
1908 Leo Tolstoy's house in Yasnaya Polyana.
August 28, 1908, Yasnaya Polyana. Leo Tolstoy on his 80th birthday.
Valeria Dmitrieva talks about the family customs and traditions of the count’s family, researcher department traveling exhibitions museum-estate "Yasnaya Polyana".
Valeria Dmitrieva
Before meeting Sofya Andreevna, Lev Nikolaevich, at that time a young writer and an enviable groom, had been trying to find a bride for several years. He was gladly received in houses where there were girls of marriageable age. He corresponded with many potential brides, looked, chose, evaluated... And then one day a happy occasion brought him to the house of the Berses, with whom he was familiar. This wonderful family raised three daughters at once: the eldest Lisa, the middle Sonya and the youngest Tanya. Lisa was passionately in love with Count Tolstoy. The girl did not hide her feelings, and those around her already considered Tolstoy to be the groom of the eldest of the sisters. But Lev Nikolaevich had a different opinion.
The writer himself had tender feelings for Sonya Bers, which he hinted at in his famous message.
On the card table the count wrote the first letters with chalk three sentences: "IN. m. and p.s. With. and. n. m.m.s. and n. With. In the With. With. l. V. n. m. and v. With. L.Z.m.v. with v. With. T". Tolstoy later wrote that his entire future life depended on this moment.
Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy, photo from 1868
According to his plan, Sofya Andreevna was supposed to unravel the message. If he deciphers the text, then she is his destiny. And Sofya Andreevna understood what Lev Nikolaevich meant: “Your youth and need for happiness remind me too vividly of my old age and the impossibility of happiness. There is a false view in your family about me and your sister Lisa. You and your sister Tanya will protect me.” She wrote that it was providence. By the way, Tolstoy later described this moment in the novel Anna Karenina. It was with chalk on the card table that Konstantin Levin encrypted Kitty’s marriage proposal.
Sofya Andreevna Tolstaya, 1860s
Happy Lev Nikolaevich wrote a marriage proposal and sent it to the Bers. Both the girl and her parents agreed. The modest wedding took place on September 23, 1862. The couple got married in Moscow, in the Kremlin Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Immediately after the ceremony, Tolstoy asked his young wife how she wanted to continue her family life: should she go to honeymoon abroad, whether to stay in Moscow with parents or move to Yasnaya Polyana. Sofya Andreevna replied that she immediately wanted to start a serious family life in Yasnaya Polyana. Later, the Countess often regretted her decision and how early her girlhood ended and that she never visited anywhere.
In the fall of 1862, Sofya Andreevna moved to live at her husband’s estate Yasnaya Polyana, this place became her love and her destiny. Both remember the first 20 years of their lives as very happy. Sofya Andreevna looked at her husband with adoration and admiration. He treated her with great tenderness, reverence and love. When Lev Nikolaevich left the estate on business, they always wrote letters to each other.
Lev Nikolaevich:
“I’m glad that I was entertained this day, otherwise, dear, I was already feeling scared and sad for you. It’s funny to say: as soon as I left, I felt how terrible it was to leave you. - Goodbye, darling, be a good girl and write. 1865 July 27. Warrior."
“How sweet you are to me; how you are better to me, purer, more honest, dearer, dearer than anyone in the world. I look at your children's portraits and rejoice. 1867 June 18. Moscow."
Sofya Andreevna:
“Lyovochka, my dear darling, I really want to see you at this moment, and again drink tea together under the windows in Nikolskoye, and run off on foot to Alexandrovka and again live our sweet life at home. Goodbye, darling, darling, I kiss you warmly. Write and take care of yourself, this is my will. July 29, 1865"
“My dear Lyovochka, I have gone through a whole day without you, and with such a joyful heart I sit down to write to you. This is my real and greatest consolation, writing to you even about the most insignificant things. June 17, 1867"
“It’s such hard work to live in the world without you; everything is wrong, everything seems wrong and not worth it. I didn’t want to write you anything like that, but it just happened. And everything is so cramped, so petty, something better is needed, and this best is only you, and you are forever alone. September 4, 1869"
Fat people loved to spend time together big family. They were great inventors, and Sofya Andreevna herself managed to create a special family world with its own traditions. This was felt most of all on the days family holidays, as well as on Christmas, Easter, Trinity. They were very loved in Yasnaya Polyana. The fat people went to liturgy at the parish St. Nicholas Church, located two kilometers south of the estate.
The holiday dinner included turkey and signature dish- Ankovsky pie. Sofya Andreevna brought his recipe to Yasnaya Polyana from her family, to whom the doctor and friend Professor Anke passed it on.
Tolstoy's son Ilya Lvovich recalls:
“Ever since I can remember, on all special occasions in life, on major holidays and name days, Ankovsky pie has always and invariably been served in the form of a cake. Without this, dinner would not be dinner and the celebration would not be a celebration.”
Summer at the estate turned into an endless holiday with frequent picnics, tea parties with jam and games. fresh air. They played croquet and tennis, swam in the Funnel, and went boating. Arranged musical evenings, home performances...
The Tolstoy family playing tennis. From the album of photographs of Sofia Andreevna Tolstoy
We often dined in the courtyard and drank tea on the veranda. In the 1870s, Tolstoy brought children such fun as “giant steps.” This is a large pole with ropes tied at the top, with a loop on them. One foot was inserted into the loop, the other was pushed off the ground and thus jumped. The children loved these “giant steps” so much that Sofya Andreevna recalled how difficult it was to tear them away from the fun: the children did not want to eat or sleep.
At the age of 66, Tolstoy began riding a bicycle. The whole family was worried about him, wrote letters to him so that he would leave this dangerous occupation. But the count said that he was experiencing sincere childish joy and would under no circumstances leave his bicycle. Lev Nikolaevich even learned to ride a bicycle at Manezh, and the city government gave him a ticket with permission to ride along the city streets.
Moscow city government. Ticket No. 2300, issued to Tolstoy for cycling on the streets of Moscow. 1896
In winter, the Tolstoys enthusiastically skated; Lev Nikolaevich loved this activity very much. He spent at least an hour at the skating rink, teaching his sons, and Sofya Andreevna - his daughters. Near the house in Khamovniki, he filled the skating rink himself.
Traditional home entertainment in the family: reading aloud and literary lotto. Excerpts from works were written on the cards, and you had to guess the name of the author. IN later years Tolstoy was read an excerpt from Anna Karenina, he listened and, not recognizing his text, highly appreciated it.
The family loved to play mailbox. All week long, family members dropped pieces of paper into it with jokes, poems, or notes about what was bothering them. On Sunday, the whole family sat in a circle, opened the mailbox and read aloud. If they were humorous poems or stories, they tried to guess who could have written them. If there were personal experiences, we sorted it out. Modern families can take this experience into account, because now we talk so little to each other.
For Christmas, a Christmas tree was always put up in the Tolstoys' house. They prepared decorations for her themselves: gilded nuts, figures of animals cut out of cardboard, wooden dolls dressed in different costumes, and much more. A masquerade was held at the estate, in which Lev Nikolaevich, and Sofya Andreevna, and their children, and guests, and servants, and peasant children took part.
“On Christmas Day 1867, the Englishwoman Hannah and I were passionate about making a Christmas tree. But Lev Nikolaevich did not like either Christmas trees or any celebrations and then strictly forbade buying toys for children. But Hannah and I asked for permission to have a Christmas tree and to be allowed to buy Seryozha only a horse, and Tanya only a doll. We decided to invite both the courtyard and peasant children. For them, in addition to various sweet things, gilded nuts, gingerbread cookies and other things, we bought wooden naked skeleton dolls, and dressed them in a wide variety of costumes, to the great delight of our children... About 40 children from the courtyard and from the village gathered, and the children and I were It’s a joy to distribute everything from the Christmas tree to the kids.”
Skeleton dolls, English plum pudding (pudding doused in rum, lit while serving), masquerade are becoming an integral part of the Christmas holidays in Yasnaya Polyana.
Sofya Andreevna was mainly involved in raising children in the Tolstoy family. The children wrote that their mother spent most of the time with them, but they all respected their father very much and were quite afraid of them. His word was the last and decisive, that is, the law. The children wrote that if you needed a quarter for anything, you could go to your mother and ask. She will ask you in detail what you need, and with persuasion to spend it, she will carefully give you the money. Or you could go up to your father, who would simply look straight at him, glare at him and say: “Take it from the table.” He looked so soulfully that everyone preferred to beg for money from their mother.
Lev Nikolaevich and Sofya Andreevna Tolstoy with family and guests. September 1-8, 1892
The Tolstoy family spent a lot of money on the education of their children. They all got a good home primary education, and the boys then studied at Tula and Moscow gymnasiums, but only the eldest son, Sergei Tolstoy, graduated from the university.
The most important thing that children were taught in the Tolstoy family was to be sincere, kind people and treat each other well.
In their marriage, Lev Nikolaevich and Sofia Andreevna had 13 children, but only eight of them survived to adulthood.
The most difficult loss for the family was the death of their last son, Vanechka. When the baby was born, Sofya Andreevna was 43 years old, Lev Nikolaevich was 59 years old.
Vanechka Tolstoy
Vanya was a real peacemaker and united the whole family with his love. Lev Nikolaevich and Sofya Andreevna loved him very much and experienced the untimely death of their youngest son, who did not live to be seven years old, from scarlet fever.
“Nature tries to give the best and, seeing that the world is not yet ready for them, takes them back...” These were the words Tolstoy said after Vanechka’s death.
In the last years of his life, Lev Nikolaevich did not feel well and often gave his family cause for serious concern. In January 1902, Sofya Andreevna wrote:
“My Lyovochka is dying... And I realized that my life cannot remain in me without him. I have been living with him for forty years. For everyone he is a celebrity, for me he is my whole existence, our lives went into each other, and, my God! How much guilt and remorse has accumulated... It’s all over, you can’t return it. Help, Lord! How much love and tenderness I gave him, but how much of my weaknesses upset him! Forgive me, Lord! I’m sorry, my dear, dear dear husband!”
But Tolstoy understood all his life what a treasure he had inherited. A few months before his death, in July 1910, he wrote:
“My assessment of your life with me is this: I, a depraved, deeply vicious sexually person, no longer in my first youth, married you, a pure, good, intelligent 18-year-old girl, and despite this, my dirty, vicious past, you she lived with me for almost 50 years, loving me, working, hard life, giving birth, feeding, raising, caring for children and me, not succumbing to those temptations that could so easily seize any woman in your position, strong, healthy, beautiful. But you lived in such a way that I have nothing to reproach you with.”
On September 9, Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy turns 190 years old. Today his name is known even to those who have not read a single line of his. And everyone keeps in their head their own image of the great Leo, mainly formed in his later years.
Photo:
And this happened because in the last years of Tolstoy’s life, photographers staged a real photo hunt for him. They began to film Tolstoy at his desk, in an open field, at a meal, and even in a wheelchair (as in the photo above), as was the case in Crimea in 1901-1902. and in Yasnaya Polyana during his 80th birthday in 1908. This anniversary was widely celebrated in Russia, but Tolstoy himself did not celebrate; he became seriously ill. This photo is also interesting because here we see Tolstoy in his permanent home clothes - a simple large knitted sweater, which to this day is kept in the Yasnaya Polyana house-museum.
Photo: State Museum of L. N. Tolstoy
This photo was taken in the summer of 1905 by his student Vladimir Chertkov, when the writer was returning from swimming on the Voronka River. Here Tolstoy is all in his humility and pride. Great man always alone on this earth. But to whom did he take his hat off? Before Russia? Before God? No, the old man just felt hot...
Photo: State Museum of L. N. Tolstoy
But in this photo, which was also taken by Chertkov, we see a formidable Leo. You can’t hide from his gaze, he sees right through you. You cannot lie, flirt, or pose in front of him. This old man will split at the first interrogation.
However, what else can you expect from the man who wrote “War and Peace”, “Anna Karenina” and “Hadji Murat”?
Photo: State Museum of L. N. Tolstoy
In this photo we see Tolstoy in the most familiar position - at his desk. He's all about work. On the wall is Raphael’s favorite “Madonna,” a lithograph given by Aunt Alexandra Andreevna Tolstaya, a maid of honor at the imperial court. On the shelf there is a long row of spines of the Brockhaus and Efron Dictionary - Wikipedia of the early twentieth century. There are different books under it, but among them are the main ones: the Bible and the Koran.
Photo: State Museum of L. N. Tolstoy
In this photo we see Tolstoy at the most inopportune moment for filming. He just eats. The photo is blurry and amateurish, but that’s what’s good about it. This is a living Tolstoy, ordinary person. But even here it is not easy. A plate of porridge sits on a saucepan to keep it warm. However, a gravy boat... Or honey? Simple but tasteful!
Many tried to catch Leo in the camera lens in order to leave their picture for eternity. This hunt, of course, greatly irritated him.
By the way, she also became one of the reasons for the flight of the 82-year-old man from Yasnaya Polyana in the late autumn of 1910.
But what's interesting...
Photo: State Museum of L. N. Tolstoy
He was the first to “hunt” himself. This photo- this is probably the world's first selfie taken famous person. In 1862 (the year of his marriage), he bought what was then a rare invention in Russia - a camera. The device was so bulky and heavy that it had to be transported on a cart drawn by two horses; one horse could not pull the load across the Russian off-road. Tolstoy set up the “unit” himself, prepared the plate for photography (it was not an easy process) and “filmed himself” (as it is written in his hand in the left corner) using a special “pear”. “He removed himself” - that is, saying modern language, selfie.
Here's a retrograde for you!
IN State Museum About 26 thousand copies of photographs of L.N. Tolstoy are stored in Moscow. The museum not only has the most full meeting photographs of L.N. Tolstoy (about 12 thousand), but also unique photographs of persons, places, events related to the life and work of the writer.
The foundation of the museum's photographic fund was the exhibits of the Tolstoy exhibition, which opened in 1911 on a voluntary basis in the Historical Museum in Moscow. The owners of the photographs (among them K.K. Bulla, F.T. Protasevich, the company “Scherer, Nabgolts and Co.”, who photographed Tolstoy) donated them permanent museum L.N. Tolstoy, which opened in 1911 in Moscow on Povarskaya Street, and in 1921 came under the jurisdiction of the state. Based on the 1939 resolution of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR on concentration in the State. Museum of L. N. Tolstoy in Moscow with all materials related to his life and work, the photo funds were replenished with new materials from different museums of the country. Of particular value among them are photographs and negatives of S. A. Tolstoy, the writer’s wife, received by the museum from Yasnaya Polyana, the Library named after. V.I. Lenin (former Rumyantsev Museum), Historical Museum: L.N. Tolstoy could have seen them, held them in his hands, they have inscriptions and notes from members of the writer’s family.
In subsequent years, large and significant in content receipts came from the archives of V. G. Chertkov, Tolstoy’s granddaughter S. A. Tolstoy-Yesenina, the son and grandson of the writer S. L. and S. S. Tolstoy, the great-grandson of A. I. Tolstoy, acquaintances of the Tolstoy family - Kh. N. Abrikosov, P. N. Boulanger, P. A. Sergeenko, N. N. Gusev, as well as from the archives of K. S. Shokhor-Trotsky and others.
The museum's photographic Tolstoyan culture is numerous and varied. This is a whole photo chronicle of the writer’s life, which was created over 60 years - from the first daguerreotype image to the color photograph portrait made by the pioneer of color photography S. M. Prokudin-Gorsky.
Tolstoy is photographed by professionals
There are few images of the young Tolstoy. These are daguerreotypes (mirror prints on a silver-plated metal plate) of 1849 and 1854 (of the four daguerreotypes of the writer known to us, three are in our museum) and the first photographs in modern meaning of this word, i.e. prints on paper, works by S. L. Levitsky, M. B. Tulinov, I. Zheryuze (1856, 1862). Subsequently, as photographic equipment improved and Tolstoy’s popularity grew, his photographs became more and more numerous, especially in the first decade of the twentieth century. L. N. Tolstoy was photographed by representatives of well-known photographic firms, correspondents from newspapers and magazines, members of his family, relatives, friends, acquaintances and random visitors.
In the 1870s, there were still few images of the writer. The author of “Anna Karenina” appears before us in photographs by the professional I. G. Dyagovchenko (1876) and M. M. Panov (1878-79).
In the 1880s - 90s, the company Scherer, Nabholz and Co., which photographed Tolstoy and his family for almost a quarter of a century, occupied a special place among professional photographers in the writer’s documentary iconography. Most of the photographic portraits of the writer were made on the initiative of Sofia Andreevna for the collected works of her husband that she was preparing. During these same years, many amateur photographs of Tolstoy appeared, which was associated with the simplification of photography techniques.
Tolstoy in amateur photographs
The first amateur images of the writer (with the exception of a self-photoportrait of 1862) were made by a neighbor on the estate, Prince S. S. Abamelek-Lazarev (1884), family friend M. A. Stakhovich (1887) and wife S. A. Tolstoy (1887). The first two authors created entire photo collections - portraits of Tolstoy, his family, relatives and guests of Yasnaya Polyana; many pictures are genre character, conveying the emotional atmosphere of the Yasnaya Polyana estate.
In the 1890s, in addition to the already mentioned S. S. Abameleka-Lazarev and S. A. Tolstoy, the writer was photographed by Adamson, E. S. Tomashevich, J. Stadling (Swedish journalist), P. F. Samarin, P. I Biryukov, D. I. Chetverikov, artist N. A. Kasatkin, P. V. Preobrazhensky, the son of the writer Ilya Lvovich and others. They all captured important, significant moments. social activities the writer, his activities and interests: Tolstoy mowing with a Yasnaya Polyana peasant; compiles lists of starving people in Begichevka, Ryazan province; among like-minded people on a farm in Rusanov, Tula province; at the booths on Devichye Pole in Moscow...
Some authors created heartfelt portraits of the writer, such as P. I. Biryukov, others managed to convey the spontaneity of a captured moment, such as the “vertical split” of Tolstoy mounting a horse in a photograph by the artist N. A. Kasatkin.
The largest number of photographs of L.N. Tolstoy were taken in the 1900s, when instant cameras appeared. Among the authors are people close to the writer: wife Sofya Andreevna, daughters Maria and Alexandra, son Ilya; friends and acquaintances: V. G. Chertkov, D. A. Olsufiev, P. I. Biryukov, D. V. Nikitin, I. M. Bodyansky, D. A. Khiryakov, P. A. Sergeenko and many others.
In their photographs, Tolstoy appears to us in a relaxed, confidential atmosphere, with family and guests, like-minded people and acquaintances, at work and on a walk, in Yasnaya Polyana, Moscow and other places. Psychological intimate photographic portraits alternate with dynamic photographs that convey the expression of a moment or a separate scene.
The last decade of the writer's life in photographs
In 1901, in connection with the “Decree of the Holy Synod” on the fall of Count L.N. Tolstoy from the Orthodox Church, it was officially forbidden to take and distribute images of the writer, so there are few professional photographs of him from the 1900s. She continued to order portraits of her husband S. A. Tolstaya from the company “Scherer, Nabgolts and Co.” In 1903, on the 75th anniversary of L. N. Tolstoy, his son Ilya Lvovich invited his friend, professional photographer F. T. Protasevich, to Yasnaya Polyana, who took many photographs of the hero of the day, his family and guests. On the eve of the writer’s 80th birthday (1908), St. Petersburg photographer from Novoye Vremya, K. K. Bull, came to Yasnaya Polyana with his son. In two days they created an entire pre-anniversary collection, which still amazes viewers with its vital truth and technical brilliance: psychologically meaningful portraits of the writer, his family, guests, peasants, views and interiors of the estate and its surroundings.
The last professional photograph of Tolstoy in Yasnaya Polyana was taken by photographers from the Otto Renard company, who in 1909 came to Yasnaya together with representatives of the Gramophone company, who wanted to record the voice of the “patriarch of Russian literature.”
The chronicle of L. N. Tolstoy’s trips in 1909 and 1910 to his friend V. G. Chertkov in Krekshino near Moscow, to his daughter T. L. Sukhotina in Kochety, the writer’s last visit to Moscow in September 1909 was reflected (in addition to photographs of V. G. . Chertkov and T. Tapsel) in photographs of professional craftsmen S. G. Smirnov, A. I. Savelyev, the company “Yu. Moebius", in film footage by A. O. Drankov, J. Meyer (Pathe company). They filmed them mourning days November 1910 in Astapov and Yasnaya Polyana, which were also captured by professionals T. M. Morozov, F. T. Protasevich and cameramen from the company A. A. Khanzhonkov.
S. A. Tolstaya and V. G. Chertkov - creators of outstanding photo collections
The most significant collections of Tolstoy iconography are the works of the writer’s wife S. A. Tolstoy and his friend V. G. Chertkov - both in terms of the number of photographs and the variety of subjects.
Photographs by S. A. Tolstoy (about 1000 scenes) are a kind of chronicle of the last twenty years of L. N. Tolstoy’s life (1887 - 1910). Her camera recorded and important events, and everyday, prosaic. In her photographs we see Leo Tolstoy at work, on vacation, with his family and guests, with prominent cultural figures; other favorite subjects of her photographs are portraits of children and grandchildren, relatives, numerous guests, landscapes of her beloved Yasnaya Polyana, episodes everyday life. Many photographs of S. A. Tolstoy’s work depict the author himself, since she took pictures with a road camera, which she mounted on a tripod.
Among the photographs, marked by a somewhat static composition, in her photo collection there are many such photographs that vividly and vividly reflect the everyday everyday life of the Yasnaya Polyana and Moscow family life, in which, according to I. Repin, “every moment was deeply interesting - as can only be Tolstykh." The collection of S. A. Tolstoy is uneven in terms of execution technique (she did not even have a special room for processing photographs), but in terms of the nature of the subjects conveying the full-blooded lifestyle of L. N. Tolstoy, the atmosphere in which he lived, it is unsurpassed.
Tolstoy's friend and like-minded person V.G. Chertkov created his photo collection (about 360 subjects) for only five years (1905 - 1910). First of all, he tried to express through photography the peculiarity and complexity of the spiritual appearance of L. N. Tolstoy. Hence his predilection for close-up portraits, for the themes “Tolstoy and Nature”, “Tolstoy and the People”, through which, in his opinion, the writer’s personality was most revealed. Few amateurs, not to mention professional photographers, had access to the same extent as Chertkov, moments when it was possible to “spy” and shoot close up Tolstoy’s face during a casual conversation, alone with his thoughts, at the moment of creativity. Instant cameras made it possible for Chertkov to shoot whole series of simultaneous close-up portraits of Lev Nikolaevich. Each “tape” of such photographs (there are 10 such series in the museum) conveys Tolstoy’s face in motion, in the endless variety of his expressions. Some of Chertkov’s photographic portraits in their psychological capacity and degree of generalization can compete with even the best paintings and graphic images of the writer, delighting us with the perfection of technical execution (the photographs were developed and printed by professional T. Tapsel, specially invited by Chertkov from England).
Around Tolstoy
The value of the photographic fund is represented by a unique collection of daguerreotypes (portraits of L. N. Tolstoy, his relatives, friends and acquaintances) from 1844 to 1856. works by V. Shenfeldt, K. P. Mazer, A. Ya. Davignon, M. A. Abadi, N. A. Pashkov, the Blumenthal brothers. All seventeen daguerreotypes have survived to this day in good condition, with the exception of the 18th, which has partially lost its image.
Among large quantity photos different persons from L. N. Tolstoy’s entourage, the museum contains photo albums of representatives secular society 1850 -1870s from the archives of the Chertkovs, Panins, Levashovs, Vorontsovs-Dashkovs; albums of “photo portraits of august persons and persons famous in Russia” by G. Denyer (1865).
In the “Different Places” section, noteworthy are close-up photographs of views of the Caucasus taken by photographers and topographers of the General Staff of the Caucasian Army in the 1850s - 1860s, an album of light paintings by Count Nostitz (1896) with views of Moscow and Crimea.
Photographs of persons and places associated with the life and work of L.N. Tolstoy make up about 2/3 of the total number of photographs, but no matter how large this part of the main photographic fund is, the boundaries of its expansion are limitless - Tolstoy absorbed so much, so wide and diverse were his connections.
Set of postcards “L. N. Tolstoy in photographs of his contemporaries” with some comments...
Lev Nikolaevich, being the fourth child in the family, was born in 1828 in Yasnaya Polyana - the estate of his mother Maria Nikolaevna. Quite early on, the children were left without parents and were taken care of by their father's relatives. Nevertheless, very bright feelings about my parents remained. My father, Nikolai Ilyich, was remembered as honest and never humiliated himself before anyone, very cheerful and a bright person, but with eternally sad eyes. About his mother, who died very early, I would like to note one quote found from the memoirs of Lev Nikolaevich:
“She seemed to me such a high, pure, spiritual being that often in the middle period of my life, during the struggle with the temptations that beset me, I prayed to her soul, asking her to help me, and this prayer always helped me.”
P. I. Biryukov. Biography of L. N. Tolstoy.
This biography is also notable for the fact that L.N. himself took part in its editing and writing.
Moscow, 1851. Photo from Mather's daggerotype.
In the photo above, Tolstoy is 23 years old. This is the year of the first literary attempts, the usual revelry of that time, cards and random companions in life, which was subsequently described in “War and Peace”. However, the first school for serfs was opened by him four years earlier. Also, 1851 is the year of admission to military service in the Caucasus.
Tolstoy the officer was very successful and, if not for the reaction of his superiors to a sharp pamphlet in 1855, the future philosopher would have been under stray bullets for a long time.
1854 Photo from a daggerotype.
A brave warrior who showed himself with the best side during Crimean War added “ Sevastopol stories"Already in the rear, in St. Petersburg. Acquaintance with Turgenev brought Tolstoy close to the editorial board of the Sovremennik magazine, where some of his stories were also published.
Editorial Board of the Sovremennik magazine, St. Petersburg. Standing from left to right: L.N. Tolstoy, D.V. Grigorovich. Sitting: I.A. Goncharov, I.S. Turgenev, A.V. Druzhinin, A.N. Ostrovsky. Photo by S.L. Levitsky.
1862, Moscow. Photo by M.B. Tulinov.
Perhaps, Tolstoy is characterized in an important way by the fact that while in Paris, he, a participant in the heroic defense of Sevastopol, was unpleasantly struck by the cult of Napoleon I and the guillotining, which he happened to be present at. Later, a description of the order that reigned in the army will emerge in 1886, in the famous “Nikolai Palkin” - the story of an old veteran will again shock Tolstoy, who served only in the active army and was not faced with the senseless cruelty of the army as a means of punishing the rebellious poor. The vicious judicial practice and one’s own inability to protect the innocent will also be mercilessly criticized in “Memoirs of the Trial of a Soldier,” which tells the story of 1966.
But sharp and irreconcilable criticism of the existing order is still to come; the 60s became the years of enjoying a happy family life with a loving and beloved wife, who did not always accept, but always understood her husband’s way of thinking and actions. At the same time, “War and Peace” was written - from 1865 to 68.
1868, Moscow.
It is difficult to find an epithet for Tolstoy’s activities before the 80s. Anna Karenina is written, and there are many other works that subsequently earned a low rating from the author in comparison with more late creativity. This is not yet formulating answers to fundamental questions, but preparing the foundation for them.
L. N. Tolstoy (1876)
And in 1879, A Study of Dogmatic Theology appeared. In the mid-80s, Tolstoy organized book publishing for folk reading“The Mediator”, many stories are written for him. One of the milestones in the philosophy of Lev Nikolaevich comes out - the treatise “What is my faith?”
1885, Moscow. Photo of the company Scherer and Nabholz.
L.N. Tolstoy with his wife and children. 1887
The 20th century was marked by intense controversy with Orthodox Church and excommunication from her. Tolstoy took an active part in public life criticizing Russo-Japanese War and the social structure of the empire, which was already beginning to crack at the seams.
1901, Crimea. Photo by S.A. Tolstoy.
1905, Yasnaya Polyana. Leo Tolstoy returns from swimming on the Voronka River. Photo by V.G. Chertkov.
1908, Yasnaya Polyana. Leo Tolstoy with his favorite horse Delir. Photo by K.K. Bulla.
August 28, 1908, Yasnaya Polyana. Leo Tolstoy on his 80th birthday. Photo by V.G. Chertkov.
1908, Yasnaya Polyana. At the terrace of a Yasnaya Polyana house. Photo by S.A. Baranov.
1909 In the village of Krekshino. Photo by V.G. Chertkov.
1909, Yasnaya Polyana. Leo Tolstoy in his office at work. Photo by V.G. Chertkov.
All large family Tolstoy often gathered at the family estate Yasnaya Polyana.
1908 House of Leo Tolstoy in Yasnaya Polyana. Photo by K.K. Bulla.
1892, Yasnaya Polyana. Leo Tolstoy with his family at the tea table in the park. Photo by Scherer and Nabholz.
1908, Yasnaya Polyana. L.N. Tolstoy with his granddaughter Tanya. Photo by V. G. Chertkov.
1908, Yasnaya Polyana. L.N. Tolstoy plays chess with M.S. Sukhotin. From left to right: T.L. Tolstoy-Sukhotina with M.L. Tolstoy’s daughter Tanya Tolstoy, Yu.I. Igumnova, L.N. Tolstoy, A.B. Goldenweiser, S.A. Tolstoy, son of M.L. Tolstoy Vanya Tolstoy, M.S. Sukhotin, M.L. Tolstoy, A.L. Tolstoy. Photo by K.K. Bulla.
L. N. Tolstoy tells a tale about a cucumber to his grandchildren Ilyusha and Sonya, 1909
Despite the pressure from the church, many famous and respected people maintained close relations with Lev Nikolaevich.
1900, Yasnaya Polyana. L.N. Tolstoy and A.M. Gorky. Photo by S.A. Tolstoy.
1901, Crimea. L.N. Tolstoy and A.P. Chekhov. Photo by S.A. Tolstoy.
1908, Yasnaya Polyana. L.N. Tolstoy and I.E. Repin. Photo by S.A. Tolstoy.
IN last year life Tolstoy secretly left his family in order to live the remaining time according to his own worldview. On the way, he fell ill with pneumonia and died at the Astapovo station in the Lipetsk region, which now bears his name.
Tolstoy with his granddaughter Tanya, Yasnaya Polyana, 1910
1910 In the village of Zatishye. Photo by V.G. Chertkov.
Most of the photographs presented above were taken by Karl Karlovich Bulla, Vladimir Grigorievich Chertkov and the writer’s wife Sofia Andreevna. Karl Bulla is a famous photographer of the late 19th - early 20th centuries, who left a colossal legacy that today largely determines the visual understanding of that long-gone era.
Karl Bulla (from Wikipedia)
Vladimir Chertkov is one of Tolstoy’s closest friends and like-minded people, who became one of the leaders of Tolstoyism and the publisher of many of Lev Nikolaevich’s works.
Leo Tolstoy and Vladimir Chertkov
Leo Tolstoy in Yasnaya Polyana (1908).
Photographic portrait by S. M. Prokudin-Gorsky. First color photograph. First published in “Notes of the Russian Technical Society.”
In the memoirs of another like-minded Tolstoy - Pavel Aleksandrovich Boulanger - a mathematician, engineer, writer, who introduced Russian readers to the biography of Buddha (published to this day!) and the main ideas of his teaching, Tolstoy’s words are quoted:
God gave me the highest happiness - he gave me such a friend as Chertkov.
Sofya Andreevna, nee Bers, was a faithful companion to Lev Nikolaevich and it is difficult to overestimate all the support she provided him.
S. A. Tolstaya, ur. Bers(from Wikipedia)
