The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1873-05-25

come |
Young Crusader. 81
A Great Russian Painter. 81
All the national pride Of the Russians, Il
those of the educated classes, q
says the Baltic Gazette, seems at present to b
itself upon the great artist who t
has quite recently, and, 1t might De SAID, a
very suddenly, revealed himself to his r
highly -gratified country men; for, II there Is q
great men, Russia deserves to be mentioned t
above all others.
We allude to Vogisny Tatkeleff. whose I
great paintings, at the art exposition In .
Moscow, attract daily large crowds OF de-
tonished spectators. The two paintings
are of very large size, and represent battle
scenes in the Crimean War. The impress
1sion which they produce upon the behoider
is almost overwhelming. SUCH teIrieie
perb coloring-truly, Horace Vernet never
painted any thing better in his palmiest
days, if his productions are at all worthy to
be mentioned side by side with those OF
the Russian, whose two$paintings have
suddenly made him famous, and raised him
from poverty and obscurity to wealth ; for !
the paintings were Instantly purchased for
4 the Imperial Gallery of the st. Petersburg |
| Winter Palace, for the sum Of sixty thou
sand rubles, and every Russian VINO mas
A
1 tBat who is vogisny TatkeleR ~ asked
everyb body on the opening day OF the MOS
Gov exposition.
| No one had ever heard of him, and yet
Il he was great master. All that the mana
gers knew about him was, that he lived at.
small village near Borissov, and that he
had sent the two paintings in old-fashion-
ed, decidedly chimney cases, with frames
of equally primitive manufacture, TO Mos
COW. NJ. Kattoff, the editor of the Moscosn
~ >lvvS k7, vaavp
He sent two of his most accomplished as
/, sistants in search of M. Vogisny Tatkelef;
r and not only did they ascertain all about
4 1.-THE past history of the great painter-to
whom in their report, they gave the proud
!! name of the. Russian Raphael-but they
I brought him, personally, with them to Mos
b cow When, ON the 9Th of March, Count
4 Baranowicz, the president of the art exhibi-
ton, presented M. Tatkeleff at an I'M
? promptu meeting, attended by many mem
b pSarance of the man excited as much snr-
g prise as his works had done. -.sgS
IF Imagine q little, slender man of sixty,
10 with the head of O child, almost beardless,
,f only few TUFTS of silver gray hair on hia
scalp, with small, elegant hands aud feet,
et nlaitiy clad in the national costume of the
20 middle classes, with the timid manners Of
" q little girl, and you have before your eyes
the man who henceforth will rank with the
y great painters of modern times.
10 Their, Ivan Tatkelef, was the serf of hu
= name and enlightened nobleman in tn.
~ Borissov Government. Vogisny Tatkeleff
in when little boy, one day drew a crnd'
9, charcoal sketch on a board fence. Th
ne proprietor of his father. and himself &C
cidentally PASSED by, and was struck b.
Az lby the close resemblanees which some Q
1 :: the faces traced by the boy bore to we'll
known residents of the village. In conse
on uuence, he inquired of little Vogisny :fatke
or left where he had obtained 80 mucn pro
Vi ficiency as thinner. The boy was unabl
ID, Ito tell him. He could neither read no
All write. The noblenan promised to have hir
or educated. He received lessons from sewers
OF good teachers, and displayed, from the frs
astonishing talents in drawing pofsra al,
he trait of his beuefactor, in oil, and 1T wa
ad pronounced an excellent production. Fh
" nobleman intended to emancipate him
ing bat he lost his whole fortune when W
me gisny was nineteen years old, and, In col
:. sequence, the latter met with number
ion misfortunes and sufferings, such as WEI
possible only in Russia prior to the hberi
not ton of the serfs. The new owner of tt
eff: estate was a sordid, grasping man, dest
i'm tute of esthetic feelings; ana, 20 the non
nile of young Vogisny' ne HoFce9 !Ae Es setF
has to the regular army, where incredible
in cav he had to serve fifteen long years
for a private soldier. His superiors, as ge
10 a eral thing, were brutal and Ignorant mel
and hence the l8Leub LdtCuAp Va IoOA oVA
ord ieF remained unknown and undevelope
i ife. and the only manner in which he cou
ong show them was during the last two yes
mid of his service in the army, when he "
on stationed at Tifis, and when he obtain
ace. exemption from active dnty by being g
and erousiy permitted to frescO the wall Of 4
title dinning room in the house of q relative
mly the colonel OF the infantry regimentto VIII
ruel he belonged. -, - -
ere. During the whole Of this time the unfor
ming nate man was SO poor that he was bat "a
1enciIs, with which, in his few spare hoU
ber,s be gave vent to his geniqs. To buy can
adss and colors he could rot think Of: AZ lena
olzed in 1s4e, he was discharged, and return
dan. to his native village, only to find his ?
And ents and the zest Of bis relatives Dc
,aToa what WAS be to dof He was too feeble
1 10 do the hard work of q Russian peasant;
! Eco the estate, Gnd asked her for the. hun
! ! ali. rueitiOn' Of village teacher. TO his 10.
:. lsnrprise, he found in her cultivated
7oV,.r n. -.