Vladimir and Rogneda

Starting in 1744, Anton Losenko lived in St. Petersburg, where he had been sent to sing in the imperial Court Chapel. After losing his voice in 1753, he was apprenticed to painter Ivan Argunov, and by 1758 he was accepted into the Imperial Academy of Arts, which had been founded the previous year, in 1757. Losenko's mentors included French painters Louis-Joseph Le Lorrain, Jean-Louis de Velly, and Louis-Jean-François Lagrenée, all invited to Russia by Ivan Shuvalov, the Academy’s curator. In 1760, Losenko was sent to Paris as a pension recipient from the Imperial Academy of Arts, where he honed his skills under the guidance of painter Jean Restout the Younger, who at the time was the director of the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture. At the end of 1762, Losenko returned to Russia, presenting his painting The Miraculous Catch of Fish (1762, now in the State Russian Museum) as his progress report. Shortly afterward, his pension was extended, and in 1763 he returned to France, where he remained until 1765, studying under Joseph-Marie Vien. His culminating work during this period was The Sacrifice of Isaac (1765, also now in the State Russian Museum). ) In 1769, Losenko returned permanently to Russia. That same year, for his paintings Abel (1768, now in the Kharkiv Art Museum) and Cain (1768, now in the State Russian Museum), as well as a copy of Raphael’s fresco Cardinal and Theological Virtues, the Academy of Arts designated him “appointed academician,” inviting him to paint a new piece to achieve the status of academician. The theme for this new work, assigned on October 4, 1769, was related to 10th-century Russian history, involving Prince Vladimir of Novgorod, Prince Rogvolod of Polotsk, and his daughter, Rogneda. The proposed subject, based on The Tale of Bygone Years and described in Lomonosov’s Ancient Russian History, was formulated as follows: "Vladimir, after securing control over the Novgorod realm, sent an envoy to Rogvolod, Prince of Polotsk, requesting the hand of his daughter Rogneda in marriage; angered by Rogneda’s proud response, Vladimir gathered all his forces, took the capital city of Polotsk by force, took Rogvolod's and his two sons' lives, [and] married the proud Rogneda against her will.” also exist. The painting was unveiled to the public at an academic exhibition held in 1770. The full title of the exhibition was as follows: "Exhibition of the gentlemen members of the Imperial Academy of the three noblest arts of painting, sculpture and architecture, exhibited in the Academic Hall for viewing". Other works by Losenko were showcased, including a reproduction of the frescoes Cardinal and Theological Virtues, Abel and Cain. Additionally, the exhibition included the works of Dmitry Levitzky, Ivan Belsky, Nicolas Delapierre and Georg Christoph Grooth, It also featured pieces by architects Jean-Baptiste Vallin de la Mothe and Yury Felten. Shortly after, Losenko was appointed professor at the Academy and became the head of the historical painting class. In 1772, he was named director of the Academy of Arts, a role he fulfilled jointly with Nicolas-François Gillet. Some details of the canvas remained somewhat unfinished due to the artist’s passing on November 23, 1773, In his poem To the Deceased Professor and Director of the Academy of Arts Anton Pavlovich Losenko, intended as an epitaph, poet Vasily Maykov wrote, “Rogneda, depicted by you on canvas / With Vladimir, in her wretched fate, / Seems not as much stricken by her father’s death / As she sighs for you!” The wide renown of Vladimir and Rogneda is evidenced by the creation of a full-size tapestry based on Losenko’s painting at the St. Petersburg Tapestry Manufactory in the late 18th century. This tapestry was gifted to Archduke Joseph and was likely taken by him to Austria. Another tapestry depicting Vladimir and Rogneda, made no later than 1824, was acquired by the State Hermitage Museum in 1954 for its collection. Until November 1, 1862, In 1862, Emperor Alexander II gifted the Vladimir and Rogneda canvas to the Academy of Arts, and it was housed in the Museum of the Imperial Academy of Arts. In 1923, it was transferred to the State Russian Museum. == Subject and description ==

Subject The theme of the painting Vladimir and Rogneda is connected to events during the civil war in Rus’ in the latter half of the 10th century, as described in Rus' chronicle. his territories were divided among his three sons: Yaropolk, the eldest, took control of Kyiv; Oleg governed the land of the Drevlians; and Vladimir went to Novgorod. A few years later, Yaropolk and Oleg quarreled and went to war, with Oleg ultimately killed in retreat after a battle in which his forces were defeated. At that time, Prince Rogvolod ruled in Polotsk and had a daughter named Rogneda. To strengthen his position, Vladimir sought to establish a family alliance with the Polotsk prince and sent his uncle, the voivode Dobrynya (his mother Malusha’s brother), From these options, Losenko chose the fourth: “I imagined Vladimir like this: after his victory and the capture of Polotsk, when he first entered Rogneda’s quarters and saw her for the first time, the plot of the painting can thus be titled—Vladimir’s first meeting with Rogneda, where he is depicted as a victor and proud Rogneda as a captive.” Discussing the details of his chosen plot, the artist wrote: Losenko aimed to avoid any suggestion that Vladimir had “himself dishonored her and then married her,” but noted that, even if that were the case, the painting “only depicts their very first meeting.” The leading figure in the composition of Vladimir and Rogneda is Prince Vladimir. Losenko describes Vladimir’s portrayal in his "Explanation" as follows: “Vladimir [is] in Rogneda's chambers, standing before her in military attire, expresses his apologies for the offense brought to her homeland and comforting her sorrow with fervor of love, and as if ardently desires to kiss her outstretched hand.” In the 1829 publication A Brief Historical Account of the State of the Imperial Academy of Arts, Academy President Alexey Olenin wrote that "the then glorious actor Dmitrevsky served, as they say, in his theatrical costume, as a model for Vladimir." Art historian Avraam Kaganovich, comparing Vladimir as depicted by Losenko with a portrait of Dmitrevsky in the role of Starodum in the comedy The Minor (created no earlier than 1782), observed that, despite a twelve-year gap or more, they are strikingly similar — "it is the same face: a distinctive elongated eye shape, characteristic nose and chin pattern, slightly puffy upper eyelids." however, Kaganovich considered such "speculations" to be unfounded. The elderly warrior in a fur-trimmed hat represents Dobrynya, Vladimir's uncle. Initially, the artist intended to portray three companions of the prince—he wrote in his "Explanation": "Behind Vladimir [are] three of his armed warriors, looking attentively at their [Vladimir and Rogneda's] actions." The painting also depicts two maids of Rogneda, Art historian Alla Vereshchagina observed that Vladimir’s shirt and boots, along with Rogneda’s dress, “bear some resemblance (though imprecise) to old Russian attire from the pre-Petrine period,” while the warriors’ clothing and the kneeling servant’s outfit “align closely with peasant dress.” In justifying the inaccuracy of the costumes, Losenko wrote: “I, knowing what is beneficial or harmful for painting, preferred the natural to the ideal. And if I could get all that nature that is to be done in my painting, I would be able to avoid all the historical critique and get rid of the extraordinary censures to which, unfortunately, painting is subjected..” == Sketches and studies ==

Sketches Three graphic sketches by Losenko, created in the process of working on the painting Vladimir and Rogneda, have been preserved. All are dated to 1769–1770. The most likely chronological order of these sketches is outlined in the monograph by art historian Avraam Kaganovich. The first is a sketch in a horizontally elongated format, stored at the Research Museum of the Russian Academy of Arts (paper, pencil, chalk, 18.0 × 24.0 cm, inventory R-763). The second, done in a vertically elongated format, is in the collection of the State Russian Museum (paper, pencil, 22.5 × 18.2 cm, inventory R-13010). (paper, pencil, 29.1 × 21.7 cm, inventory R-1226). Among these studies are Head of a Peasant in an Ushanka, (paper, pencil, 15.2 × 12.4 cm, inventory R-1210); In 1926, these Hermitage drawings by Losenko were “rediscovered” by artist and art historian Stepan Yaremich. The Research Museum of the Russian Academy of Arts holds graphic studies for female figures, including ''Rogneda's Head (paper, pencil, 22.0 × 16.0 cm, inventory 1872) and A Woman's Head'' (paper, pencil, 22.0 × 16.0 cm, inventory 1873). According to Avraam Kaganovich, the second of these sketches likely relates to the image of a servant. Although she "does not look from under her brows but rather directly and openly," "her resemblance to the painting's image is undeniable." Additionally, the collection at the State Russian Museum contains studies for the hands of various characters: Hand (paper, pencil, 12.3 × 12.4 cm, inventory R-1198), Hands (paper, pencil, 14.0 × 21.6 cm, State Russian Museum, inventory R-1203, depicting the servant's clasped hands), and another Hands study (paper, pencil, 21.6 × 19.5 cm, inventory R-1204). == Reviews and criticism ==

In his 1864 biographical essay on Losenko, writer and historiographer of Russian art Pyotr Petrov noted that Vladimir and Rogneda can't be considered the artist’s best work, as this painting "celebrated by contemporaries" suffers from numerous anachronisms. However, Petrov argued that the artist should not be blamed for this, since "not only was there no concepr of historical costume at that time," but even the historical accounts in textbooks were "filled with gross errors." According to Petrov, when viewing Losenko’s painting, the viewer cannot help but smile at "seeing Vladimir in a fantastical outfit, and Rogneda with an expression [that is] not passionionate, but cloyingly coy," though this very quality was what appealed to the artist’s contemporaries. Savinov wrote that with the completion of Vladimir and Rogneda, Losenko moved to the "front row of the Russian artists of the second half of the 18th century." Art historian Avraam Kaganovich wrote that the painting Vladimir and Rogneda is not only a distinctive example of 18th-century historical painting, but also holds great significance as a "characteristic work of Russian art, reflecting the typical features of its time both in content and artistic form." Kaganovich noted that the pronounced psychological depth of Losenko's characters aligns his work with that of leading Russian portrait painters of the 18th century. According to Kaganovich, "for its vivid psychological structure of images, Losenko's 'Vladimir before Rogneda' became the first composition in the series of works within the Russian historical genre." Discussing the artistic features of the painting Vladimir and Rogneda, art historian Alla Vereshchagina noted that it contains no more sentimentality or sensitivity than many Western European paintings from the latter half of the 18th century. Vereshchagina attributed this to the lingering traditions of the Baroque style, marked by its characteristic pathos and dramatic qualities. At the same time, according to Vereshchagina, in Vladimir and Rogneda “one also senses a striving for classical clarity, balance, and rationality,” qualities inherent in the emerging artistic style of Classicism, which Losenko significantly helped to introduce into Russian painting. According to art historian Nonna Yakovleva, the painting Vladimir and Rogneda "was 'destined' for both acclaim and criticism". On one hand, it was a long-awaited work focused on Russian history; on the other hand, certain elements within it raised doubts, particularly the lack of pathos in the main character (despite his emotional portrayal) and the "denseness and flatness of the composition," which conflicted with academic conventions. == Notes ==