“They spoke of her as a provincial woman who had risen to the literary salon in Paris,
evil, proud, smart, arrogant.
Except "smart", everything is wrong, that is, maybe evil,
yes, not to the extent, not in the style of how people think about it.
Gorda is no more than those who know their worth.
Self-doubtful - no, not in the least in a bad way.
But, of course, she knows her specific gravity ... ",
- Bunin's wife will write later in her memoirs.
"The uniqueness of Zinaida Gippius"
This is what Alexander Blok called
a completely unique combination of personality and poetry.

Berdyaev wrote this about her in his autobiography Self-Knowledge: “I consider Zinaida Nikolaevna a very wonderful person, but also very painful. I was always struck by her serpentine coldness. There was no human warmth in her. There was clearly a mixture of female nature with male nature, and it was difficult to define , which is stronger. There was genuine suffering. Zinaida Nikolaevna by nature is an unhappy person. "

She was called both a "witch" and "Sataness", they sang her literary talent and called her "the decadent Madonna", they feared her and worshiped her. A green-eyed beauty, a dashing Amazon with a scythe to the floor, a slender figure and a halo of sunny hair, teasing her fans with caustic words and pointed hints. Calm in her marriage, St. Petersburg socialite lady, the owner of a well-known salon in St. Petersburg. Tireless disputant and organizer of everyday stormy philosophical-literary and political-historical discussions. All this is she - Zinaida Gippius.
Throwing a challenge to the public, she even ten years after the wedding with Merezhkovsky appeared in public with a braid - an underlined sign of virginity. In general, she allowed herself everything that was forbidden to others. For example, she wore men's outfits (this is how she depicted her in the famous portrait of Lev Bakst) or sewed dresses for herself, at which passers-by both in St. Petersburg and in Paris looked around in bewilderment and horror, she obviously used makeup to the point of obscurity - she applied a thick layer of powder to her delicate white skin brick color. And in 1905, long before Coco Chanel, she made a short haircut. - See more at: http://labrys.ru/node/6939#sthash.rgHnw1Ry.dpuf

Through the path to the forest, in welcoming comfort,
With fun sunny and doused with shadow,
The thread is spiderweb, resilient and clean,
Has hung in the sky; and imperceptible trembling
The wind shakes the thread, trying in vain to break;
It is strong, thin, transparent and simple.
Heaven's living emptiness cut open
A sparkling feature - a multicolored string.
We are accustomed to appreciate one unclear.
In tangled knots, with some false passion,
We are looking for subtleties, not believing what is possible
Combine greatness with simplicity in the soul.
But everything that is difficult is pitiful, deathly and rude;
And the subtle soul is as simple as this thread ...
Zinaida GIPPIUS

Rumors, gossip, legends swarmed around her, which Gippius not only collected with pleasure, but also actively multiplied. She was very fond of hoaxes. For example, she wrote letters to her husband in different handwritings, as if from female fans, in which, depending on the situation, she scolded or praised him. In the intellectual and artistic circles of the Silver Age, Gippius was well known for her preaching of "androgynous and psychological unisex." Sergei Makovsky wrote about her: "She was all -" on the contrary ", defiantly, not like everyone else .."

Hobbies, falling in love happened in both spouses (including same-sex ones). But Zinaida Nikolaevna never went further than kissing. Gippius believed that only in a kiss are lovers equal, and in what should follow next, someone will definitely stand above the other. And Zinaida could not allow this in any case. For her, the most important thing has always been the equality and union of souls - but not bodies. All this made it possible to call the marriage of Gippius and Merezhkovsky "the union of a lesbian and a homosexual." Letters were thrown to Merezhkovsky's apartment: "Aphrodite took revenge on you by sending a hermaphrodite wife."

Dmitry Merezhkovsky Nizhny Novgorod, 1890s

L. Bakst, Portrait

L.S. Bakst. Portrait of D.V. Filosofov. 1898

S.I.Vitkevich (Vitkatsi). Portrait of D.V. Filosofov. June 1932.
http://www.nasledie-rus.ru/podshivka/6406.php

Zinaida Gippius and ballet critic L. S. Volynsky. ...

In the late 1890s, Gippius was in close relationship with the English Baroness Elizabeth von Overbeck. Coming from a family of Russified Germans, Elizaveta von Overbeck collaborated with Merezhkovsky as a composer - she wrote music for the tragedies of Euripides and Sophocles, translated by him, which were staged at the Alexandrinsky Theater. Gippius dedicated several poems to Elizabeth von Overbeck.

Today I will hide your name
And aloud - to others - I will not name.
But you will hear that I am with you
Again you - alone - I live.
In the humid sky, the Star is larger,
Trembling - flowing - its edges.
And I look into the night, and my heart remembers
That this night is yours, yours!
Let me see my dear eyes again,
To look into their depth - in breadth - and blue.
Earthly heart in the great Night
In his longing - oh, don't leave!
And more and more greedy, more and more steadfast
It calls - one - you.
Take my heart in the palm of your hand
Warm - comfort - comfort, loving ...

From the intimate diary of Gippius "Contes d amour" (1893) it is clear that she liked courtship and was attracted to some men, but at the same time they repulsed her. "In my thoughts, my desires, in my spirit - I am more of a man, in my body - I am more of a woman. But they are so merged that I do not know anything." She tried to enter into a love affair with Dmitry Filosofov, a companion of the Merezhkovskys, on the basis that he is a man with a clear predominance of the feminine principle (he was a homosexual), and she herself has a pronounced masculine character. Naturally, nothing came of it; Gippius wrote a story about this failure in letters

It looks like she has remained a virgin. But their fifty-year spiritual union with Dmitry Merezhkovsky gave Russian culture and literature, perhaps, much more than if they were a traditional married couple. Her death caused an explosion of emotions. Those who hated Gippius came to see for themselves that she was dead. Those who respected and appreciated her saw in her death the end of an entire era ... Ivan Bunin, who never came to the funeral - he was panicky afraid of death and everything connected with it - practically did not leave the coffin ... 1902

I honor the Tall one,
His testament.
For the lonely -
There is no victory.
But the only way
Open to the soul
And the call is mysterious
Like a warlike cry
Sounds, sounds ...
Lord epiphany
He has given us now;
For achievement -
The road is tight
Let it be bold
But unchanging
One - joint -
He pointed out.
1902

Time is cutting flowers and herbs
At the very root with a shiny oblique:
Buttercup of love, aster of glory ...
But the roots are all intact - there, underground.

Life and my mind, fiery-clear!
You two are the most merciless to me:
By the root you tear what is beautiful
In the shower after you - nothing, nothing!
1903

Leon Bakst is called a great theater artist, and rightfully so. But did he perform differentlyare portraits or genre painting less good in other techniques? Judge for yourself...

Portrait of a girl in a Russian kokoshnik, 1911

K. Sokolsky - I dreamed

Leon Bakst (1866-1924) - one of the most prominent representatives of Russian Art Nouveau, artist, set designer, master of easel painting and theatrical graphics, was born in Grodno. His father is Israel Rosenberg. Some call him a Talmudic scholar, others - an average merchant. It is possible that he was both one and the other at the same time. Israel Rosenberg named his son Leib-Chaim. Later, Leib became the Lion. Leo - Leon. The usual transformation of Jewish names in the Russian-speaking environment. Soon after the birth of their son, the Rosenberg family moved from Grodno to St. Petersburg.

Portrait of a Woman, 1906

He spent his childhood in St. Petersburg, where his grandfather lived, who loved high life and luxury. My grandfather was a wealthy tailor. The boy grew up sickly and was distinguished by a noticeable imbalance of character. From his mother, he inherited a love of books and read them voraciously, whatever. The child owed his first vivid impressions to his grandfather, a former Parisian who transferred the chic French salon to an apartment on Nevsky Prospekt. Walls covered with yellow silk, antique furniture, paintings, ornamental plants, gilded cages with canaries - everything here was "not at home", everything delighted the emotional boy. The stories of parents returning from the Italian opera also caused joyful excitement.

Young Dahomean, 1895

As a boy, he enthusiastically acted in front of the sisters invented and staged plays by himself. The figurines cut from books and magazines turned into heroes of dramatizations played out in front of the sisters. But then the moment came when the adults began to take the boy with them to the theater, and a magical world opened up in front of him. Could anyone have thought then that it was here, many years later, that he would find his true calling.

Portrait of Alexandre Benois, 1898

Very early on, Leo developed a craving for painting. Father, to the best of his strength, resisted. As a Talmudist, it is not a Jewish thing to "paint little men". And as a merchant. Painting was considered unprofitable. Artists, for the most part, led a semi-beggarly existence. Israel Rosenberg was a tolerant person. And, in order to make sure that the painterly attempts of the indomitable son were, either through mutual acquaintances, or through relatives, I went to the sculptor Mark Antokolsky. The master looked at the drawings, found in them undoubted signs of talent and strongly advised them to study.

Portrait of the Dancer M. Kazati, 1912

The council took effect and in 1883 the young Rosenberg entered the Academy of Arts as a volunteer. The future Bakst stayed here from 1883 to 1887. Academic training did not correspond much to the trends of the era. The professors, for the most part, strictly adhered to the classical canons. And they completely ignored new trends in painting, the notorious Art Nouveau in its various forms and manifestations. And, to the best of their strength and capabilities, they discouraged the students from wanting to go off the beaten path once and for all. Bakst did not study too hard. Failed the silver medal competition. Then he left the Academy. Whether in protest. Or completely disbelieving.

Lady on the couch, 1905

After leaving the Academy, Leon Bakst, at that time still Rosenberg studied painting with Albert Benoit. The father, apparently, refused to further finance his son's creative rushes. And the young artist earned his living and paying for lessons in some publishing house. He illustrated children's books. In 1889, Leib-Haim Rosenberg became Leon Bakst. The artist borrowed his new surname, or rather a pseudonym, from his maternal grandmother, somewhat shortening her. Grandmother's last name was Baxter. The appearance of the catchy pseudonym was associated with the first exhibition at which the artist decided to present his work. It seemed to him that in the eyes of the Russian public, an artist named Leon Bakst had undeniable advantages over the artist Leib-Haim Rosenberg.

Portrait of Zinaida Gippius, 1906

In the same 1893 Leon Bakst came to Paris. He studied at Jerome's studio and at the Académie Julien. In places widely known among artists from all over the world, where it was possible to glean and, accordingly, learn a new art, not associated with centuries-old traditions. It was difficult for Bakst to live in Paris. He lived mainly by selling his paintings. More precisely etudes. In a letter to his friend, Leon Bakst bitterly complained: "To this day I am fighting not to leave Paris ... The seller of paintings impudently takes my best sketches for a pittance." Leon Bakst lived in Paris for six years.

Portrait of Andrei Lvovich Bakst, the artist's son, 1908

From time to time he came to Petersburg. Either to unwind and relax, or to establish new connections and exchange impressions. During one of his visits, Leon Bakst got acquainted with the "Nevsky Pikvikians". It was a self-education circle organized by the famous Russian artist, art historian, art critic Alexander Benois. The circle included Konstantin Somov, Dmitry Filosofov, Sergei Diaghilev and some other artists, art critics and writers who eventually formed the famous art association "World of Art".

Portrait of the future Countess Henri de Boishelin, 1924

In 1898, the first issue of the World of Art magazine was published - the organ of an artistic association and a group of Symbolist writers. Sergey Diaghilev became the editor of the magazine. The editorial office of the magazine was located in the house of the editor; the first years on Liteiny Prospect, 45, and since 1900 - on the Fontanka River Embankment, 11. Leon Bakst headed the art department of the magazine. He also invented a stamp for the magazine with an eagle "reigning arrogantly, mysteriously and lonely on the top of the snow." The art department of the magazine widely exhibited works of outstanding representatives of Russian and foreign painting. This determined the high artistic and aesthetic level of the publication, made it a mouthpiece for new trends in art, and influenced the development of Russian culture at the turn of the century.

Model

In 1903 Bakst became friends with the artist's widow Gritsenko Lyubov Pavlovna. She was the daughter of an eminent merchant, a great connoisseur and collector of painting, the founder of the world famous gallery P.M. Tretyakov. Tretyakov adhered to liberal views, had nothing against Jews in general, and Bakst himself in particular. Appreciated him as an artist. He willingly bought paintings. But he did not perceive Bakst as a son-in-law. The Jew is still, wherever it went. But a Jew, a person associated with the Jewish religion, did not fit into the centuries-old family traditions. And Bakst had to make concessions. According to one version, he converted from Judaism to Lutheranism. According to the other, in order to perform a church wedding ceremony, he became Orthodox.

Portrait of Walter Fyodorovich Nouvel, 1895

In 1907 Bakst had a son, Andrei (in the future - a theater and film artist, died in 1972 in Paris). The marriage turned out to be fragile. In 1909 Leon Bakst left the family. The divorce did not affect the relationship with his ex-wife. They remained invariably friendly. When in 1921 Lyubov Pavlovna, together with her son, left Russia, Leon Bakst supported them financially until the end of his days. Another thing is interesting. Shortly after the divorce, the newly converted Christian Leon Bakst returned to the faith of the fathers.

Portrait of Anna Pavlova, 1908

In 1909, in accordance with the new law on Jews in the Russian Empire, he was offered to leave Petersburg. Bakst had extensive connections. Many influential acquaintances. His services were used by the Imperial Court. But he decided not to seek help from anyone. And he left for Paris. The powers that be replaced their anger at the mercy of the authorities in 1914. This year Bakst was elected a member of the Academy of Arts. And in this capacity, despite his religion, he had the right to live wherever he pleased.

Portrait of a girl. 1905

From 1908 to 1910, during the raids from Paris to St. Petersburg, Leon Bakst taught at the private painting school of Zvantseva. One of Bakst's students was Marc Chagall. Bakst drew attention to the remarkable talent of the young Chagall. Although, as they write, he did not fully approve of him and was strict in his assessments. For all his innovation, Bakst believed that for an artist, regardless of direction, nature should serve as a model. Chagall's alogisms, the notorious Chagallian "picture mania" embarrassed him. Chagall's fellow practitioner Obolenskaya recalled that, examining Chagall's painting, which depicted a violinist sitting on a mountain, Bakst could not understand how the violinist had managed to drag such a large chair onto such a large mountain.

Portrait of Andrey Bely, 1905

Chagall wanted to follow his teacher to Paris. He was irresistibly drawn to Europe. Bakst was against it. - So, you are satisfied with the prospect of perishing among 30 thousand artists who flock from all over the world to Paris, - he said. Judging by the manuscript of Chagall's book "My Life", Bakst simply cursed his student. Chagall's wife Bell, preparing the book for publication, blotted out several out of the ordinary expressions. In those years, unlike our time, profanity was not allowed on the pages of literary works. According to Chagall, Bakst handed him one hundred rubles and advised him to use them more profitably in Russia. He had previously supported Chagall financially.

Portrait of the writer Dmitry Fedorovich Filosofov, 1897

Bakst was engaged in portrait painting a lot and willingly. His brush belongs to portraits of famous figures of literature and art: Levitan, Diaghilev, Rozanov, Zinaida Gippius, Isadora Duncan, Jean Cocteau, Konstantin Somov, Andrei Bely. Andrei Bely recalled: “Red-haired, clever Bakst refused to write me simply, he needed me to be enlivened to ecstasy! stories and anecdotes, then the predatory tiger Bakst, flashing eyes, sneaked up to me, grabbing a brush. " Art critics consider Bakst to be one of the most prominent Russian portrait painters of the early 20th century.

Portrait of Princess Olga Konstantinovna Orlova, 1909

Leon Bakst was not only an excellent portrait painter. He proved himself to be an outstanding landscape painter. His graphic works, as his contemporaries noted, were “strikingly decorative, full of special mysterious poetry and very“ bookish. ”Despite the variety of manifestations of artistic talent and the associated opportunities, Bakst did not have much income. Constantly in need of money, Bakst collaborated with satirical magazines, was engaged in book graphics, decorated the interiors of various exhibitions.He also taught drawing to children of wealthy parents.

Portrait of L.P. Gritsenko (wife of L. Bakst and daughter of P.M. Tretyakov), 1903

In 1903, in St. Petersburg Bakst was asked to take part in the design of the ballet "The Fairy of the Dolls". The sketches of sets and costumes created by Bakst were received with enthusiasm. "From the very first steps," Alexander Benois wrote later, "Bakst took a downright dominant position and since then has remained the only and unsurpassed one."

Portrait of Madame T., 1918

In Paris, Bakst joined the ballet group of Sergei Diaghilev, the organizer of Russian Seasons in Paris. Sergei Pavlovich brought several ballets to Paris. These ballets, which form the basis of Russian Seasons, shocked the jaded French, aroused in them a storm of incomparable delight. The triumph of Diaghilev's Russian Seasons was primarily due to the extraordinary beauty of Bakst's productions. A special, "Bakst" style, with its wonderful, almost mysterious, amazing interweaving of the magic of ornament and combination of colors.

Portrait of Sergei Diaghilev with his nanny, 1906

Theatrical costumes created by Bakst were widely written about in various art-related publications, thanks to the rhythmically repeating color patterns, they emphasized the dynamics of the dance, the movement of the actor. The pinnacle of Bakst's creativity was the scenery for Diaghilev's ballets: "Cleopatra" in 1909, "Scheherazade" in 1910, "Carnival" in 1910, "Narcissus" in 1911, "Daphnis and Chloe" in 1912. These performances, as critics wrote, literally "drove Paris crazy." And they marked the beginning of the artist's world fame.

Nude, 1905

Russian artist, art critic and memoirist Mstislav Dobuzhinsky, who had known Bakst since the time of joint teaching at the Zvantseva painting school and was thoroughly familiar with his work, wrote: the change of idols, the variability of Parisian hobbies, despite all the "shifts" caused by the war, to new phenomena in the field of art, to the noise of futurism - Bakst still remained one of the irreplaceable legislators of "taste." Paris had already forgotten that Bakst was a foreigner, that he had his "roots" in St. Petersburg, that he was an artist of the "World of Art". Leon Bakst - began to sound like the most Parisian of Parisian names. "

Lady with Oranges (Dinner), 1902

In 1918 Leon Bakst left the Diaghilev group. His departure is attributed to a number of reasons. It is also a world war. The French had no time for the Russian Seasons. In addition, Bakst was cut off from Diaghilev's troupe. The troupe remained in Paris, while Bakst was at that time in Switzerland. Bakst's departure from the troupe, and this is perhaps the main thing, was prompted by the aesthetic differences with Diaghilev, the growing contradictions. Diaghilev was a dictator. Long before the "Paris seasons", working on the portrait of Diaghilev, Bakst complained that Diaghilev absolutely did not know how to pose, followed literally every stroke, and demanded that he look more beautiful in the portrait than in life. Apparently, while working on the sketches, Diaghilev tried to influence, strongly advised something, made demands. Bakst didn't like it. And at some stage he refused to cooperate.

Portrait of Isaac Levitan, 1899

In Paris, Bakst was extremely popular. His style was adopted by the trendsetters of Parisian fashion. And they began to use it widely. Russian poet Maximilian Voloshin wrote: "Bakst managed to grasp that elusive nerve of Paris, which rules fashion, and his influence is now being felt everywhere in Paris - both in ladies' dresses and at art exhibitions." A book was published dedicated to the work of Bakst. This book, according to contemporaries, "represented the height of technical perfection." The French government awarded Bakst the Order of the Legion of Honor.

Portrait of Isadora Duncan

The loud Parisian fame of Bakst, his world fame meant little to Russia. For the Russian authorities, Bakst, first of all, was a Jew, with all the ensuing consequences. Russian publicist, art and literary critic Dmitry Filosofov wrote: "After the first revolution, already" famous ", with a red ribbon in his buttonhole, he came from Paris to St. Petersburg, completely forgetting that he was a Jew from the Pale of Settlement. Imagine his surprise when a policeman came to him and said that he should immediately leave either for Berdichev or for Zhitomir. " The late vice-president of the Academy of Arts, Count Ivan Ivanovich Tolstoy (later mayor) was indignant, the press raised a fuss, and Bakst was left alone. Yes, of course he was a Jew. But he felt like a son of Russia, firstly, and a man, secondly. And most importantly, an artist.

Self-portrait, 1893

Bakst's popularity, his great fame, tragically affected his fate. Bakst was overwhelmed with orders, which he could not, and did not want to refuse. Excessive work undermined his health. Leon Bakst died on December 27, 1924 in Paris, at the age of 58. While working on the ballet "Istar" for the troupe of Ida Rubinstein, he had a "nervous fit". Bakst was admitted to the Riel-Malmaison Hospital. They could not help him. According to another version, a kidney disease brought Bakst to his grave. Also, the cause is called "pulmonary edema". Perhaps we are talking about the manifestations of the same disease. People who were not very knowledgeable in medicine were based not so much on the diagnosis as on its dominant manifestations. Buried Bakst in the Parisian cemetery Batignolles.

Portrait of Countess Keller, 1902

Based on the article "Great Bakst" by Valentin Domil

Carnival in Paris in honor of the arrival of Russian sailors on October 5, 1893, 1900

Downpour, 1906

And yet, talking about the famous theater artist Leon Bakst cannot be dispensed with without his stunning sketches of stage costumes and scenery (sorry, you have to limit yourself in quantity):

Sketch of a dancer's costume for Paul Paré's ballet "The Embarrassed Artemis", 1922

Costume design for the ballet "Scheherazade" - Silver Negro, 1910

Costume design for Ethel Levy for the Hello Tango revue, 1914

Costume design for Paganini for the ballet "The Magic Night" by Gabriele d "Annunzio

Set design for the ballet "Scheherazade", 1910

Sketch for Cleopatra's costume for Ida Rubinstein for the ballet "Cleopatra"

Costume design for the ballet "Narcissus" - Bacchante, 1911

Costume design for Tamara Karsavina for the ballet "The Firebird", 1910

Costume design for the ballet "The Blue God" - The Bride, 1912

Set design for the ballet "Daphnis and Chloe"

Fantasy on the theme of modern costume (Atalanta), 1912

Ida Rubinstein as Istar in the ballet of the same name by Vincent d'Andy, 1924

Set design for the ballet "Martyrdom of St. Sebastian", 1911

Dance of the seven veils. Costume design for Salome for O. Wilde's drama "Salome", 1908

Costume design for the ballet "Afternoon of a Faun" - Second Nymph, 1912

Costume design for Ida Rubinstein for the mystery "The Martyrdom of St. Sebastian", 1911

Costume design for Ida Rubinstein as Elena in the tragedy "Elena in Sparta"

Set design for the ballet "Afternoon of a Faun", 1911

Costume design for an odalisque for the production of Scheherazade, 1910

Costume design for the ballet "Indian Love", 1913

Chinese mandarin. Costume design for "The Sleeping Beauty", 1921

Costume design for Vaslav Nijinsky for the choreographic poem "Perry" by Paul Duke, 1911

Set design for the ballet "Sleeping Beauty", 1921

Natalia Trukhanova's costume in the role of Peri, 1911 / Costume design for the ballet "Scheherazade" - Blue Sultan, 1910 (right)

Costume design for Harlequin in "Carnival" by R. Schumann / Drawing by Vaslav Nijinsky in "Scheherazade" (right)

Set design for the production of "Boris Godunov", 1913

Lev Bakst. "Portrait of Zinaida Gippius" (1906)
Pencil, sanguine on paper. 54 x 44 cm
State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia

Graphic portrait made on paper. The artist used a pencil, used a sanguine. Moreover, the sheet of paper is glued together. The bottom line is that Zinaida Nikolaevna had an absolutely amazing figure, especially remarkable were her marvelous legs, and therefore these long, endless legs, which Bakst wanted to show, he could do only by gluing some more paper.
The portrait was scandalous, starting with the costume and ending with a completely indecent pose.
On Gippius' boy's costume, this is the costume of the little Lord Pumplerob - a story that was written by the Anglo-American writer Bardned in 1886. And he became very widely known in 1888, he was already translated into Russian. In general, this story has been translated into 17 foreign languages.

The hero is a boy, a seven-year-old American, a staunch Republican, a very reasonable and noble deeds and thoughts, a child who, by the will of fate, ended up in England. Moreover, who turned out to be a lord by birth, behaves in the same democratic and friendly manner.

So, he was a golden-haired boy who appeared in front of readers, in front of his grandfather-lord, it appeared in a black velvet suit, in short pantaloons, in a shirt with a lace frill, and this fashion, she then tormented wonderful, mobile, emotional children - boys of the entire late 19th century.

So, the very fact that Zinaida Nikolaevna tries on this costume, which was extremely suitable for her, in this, too, has an element of irony and provocation.

Zinaida Gippius dedicated two sonnets to Bakst.
I. Salvation

We judge, sometimes we speak so beautifully,
And it seems that great powers have been given to us.
We preach, intoxicated with ourselves,
And we call everyone to us resolutely and imperiously.
Alas for us: we are walking a dangerous road.
Before the grief of a stranger, they are doomed to be silent, -
We're so helpless, so pitiful and ridiculous
When we try to help others in vain.

Will console in sorrow, only he will help
Who is joyful and simple and always believes
That life is joy, that everything is blessed;
Who loves without melancholy and how a child lives.
Before the true power I humbly bow;
We are not saving the world: love will save it.

Through the path to the forest, in welcoming comfort,
With fun sunny and doused with shadow,
The thread is spiderweb, resilient and clean,
Has hung in the sky; and imperceptible trembling
The wind shakes the thread, trying in vain to break;
It is strong, thin, transparent and simple.
Heaven's living emptiness cut open
A sparkling feature - a multicolored string.

We are accustomed to appreciate one unclear.
In tangled knots, with some false passion,
We are looking for subtleties, not believing what is possible
Combine greatness with simplicity in the soul.
But everything that is difficult is pitiful, deathly and rude;
And the subtle soul is as simple as this thread.

This article was automatically added from the community

SMART SOUL (ABOUT BAKSTA)

And I want - and I do not want to talk about Bakst now. I want to because everyone is thinking these days about him. But, of course, I can only say two words, a hundredth part of what is thought and remembered. Most talk about a person when he barely died. So it is accepted. But I can't do that. I'm talking either about the living, or about the dead long ago, accustomed to be dead. And death is near - it should infect with silence. But it does not infect; and it all seems that the noise of our words disturbs the deceased.

I will speak about Bakst briefly, quietly, in a half-whisper. By no means listing his artistic merits - others will do it in due time - no, it's simple about Bakst. About Bakst - a man. After all, all the same, all the same - until the end of my life I will repeat - a man first, an artist later. In the face of death, this is especially clear. You especially understand that you can be the greatest artist and die, and no one's heart will shrink about you. And who knows if this alone is valuable for the deceased, and does he really need afterlife admiration and praise?

Bakst was an amazing person in his almost childish, cheerful and kind simplicity... The slowness in his movements and in his dialect sometimes gave him some kind of "importance", rather, the innocent "air of importance" of a schoolboy; he naturally, naturally, always remained a bit of a schoolboy. His kind simplicity deprived him of any pretense, a hint of a pretense, and this was also natural for him ... Not secretive - he was, however, naturally closed, did not have this nasty Russian "soul wide open."

His friends from the World of Art (Bakst was a member of their close circle in 1898-1904) know him better and better than me. They are almost all alive and someday they will remember, tell us about Bakst the comrade, with his sweet "intolerable" and irreplaceable, about Bakst of distant times. But I want to note — and now — the features that were revealed to me sometimes in his letters, sometimes in unexpected conversation; they are worth being noted.

Did anyone know that Bakst is not only big and talented, but also clever soul? They knew, of course, but were not interested: are they interested in the mind of the artist? And the poet is happily forgiven for stupidity (is it just stupidity?), And in an artist or musician it is even customary to tacitly encourage it. Somehow it has become a tradition that art and a great mind are incompatible. Whoever does not say this, he thinks. Therefore, there is no interest in the mind of the artist.

I had this interest, and I affirm that Bakst had a serious mind, surprisingly subtle. I'm not talking about intuitive subtlety, it is not uncommon in an artist, an artist is supposed to, but precisely about subtlety smart... He never pretended to long metaphysical rhetoric - they were in great vogue then - but, I repeat: is it an accidental letter, is it an accidental minute of a serious conversation, and again I am smart guys.

In Bakst, the clever man got along in the best possible way not only with an artist, but also with a cheerful schoolboy, a grammar-school student, sometimes thoughtful, sometimes simply cheerful and mischievous. Our "serious conversations" by no means prevented us from sometimes inventing some kind of fun together. So, I remember, we decided one day (Bakst came in by accident) to write a story, and immediately began to work on it. Bakst gave the topic, and since it was very funny, we thought about it and decided to write in French. The story came out not at all bad: it was called "La cle". I was sorry afterwards that the last sheet had disappeared somewhere. Now, however, it would have disappeared anyway, just as Bakst's letters with my entire archive would have disappeared.

Constantly, in those years, we met in my intimate circle, very literary, but where Bakst was a welcome guest. And in work I had to see him two or three times: when he did my portraits and when he did, we have, a portrait of Andrei Bely.

He worked persistently, hard, always dissatisfied with himself. Bely, almost finished, suddenly smeared over and began again. And it turned out to be even more interesting with me.

I don’t know why - his workshop was then in the premises of some exotic embassy, ​​either Japanese or Chinese, on Kirochnaya. There our sessions took place, only three or four, I think.

The portrait was almost ready again, but Bakst silently disliked it. What's the matter? I looked and looked, thought and thought - and suddenly I took it and cut it in half, horizontally.

- What are you doing?

- In short, you are longer. We must add.

And, indeed, "added me", for a whole strip. This portrait so, with an inserted strip, and was later on at the exhibition.

Another feature, which would seem completely unusual for Bakst, with his exoticism, Parisianism and external "snobbery": tenderness for nature, for the earth Russian, just to the ground, to the village forest, ordinary, your own. Perhaps this has not remained in him in recent decades, forgotten, erased (probably erased), but all the same - it was: after all, it once manifested itself with such irresistible sincerity in a letter to me from Petersburg to the countryside, which is now remembered.

We saw and corresponded with Bakst periodically; happened to lose each other over the years. My frequent absences abroad contributed to this, the "World of Art" was coming to an end; its heyday was behind.

Returning to Petersburg one day, I hear: Bakst is getting married. Then: Bakst got married. And then, after a while: Bakst is ill. I ask his friends: what is sick? They themselves do not know or do not understand: some strange melancholy, despondency; he is very suspicious, and it seems to him that unknown troubles await him, since he converted to Christianity (to Lutheranism, for marriage, his wife is Russian).

Friends shrug their shoulders, consider it suspicious, "Levushkin eccentricities", trifles. After all, only a formality, if only he was a "believer"! Others saw here, probably, the beginning of a mental illness ... But me, and many of us, this led to completely different thoughts.

And when, in 906 or 7, in Paris, I happened to see Bakst cheerful, cheerful, resurrected - these reflections took the form of clear conclusions. What brought Bakst back to life? Paris, the broad road of art, your favorite work, a rising star of success? Then, after all, the conquest of Paris by the Russian Ballet began ... Well, of course, whoever it would not give vigor and cheerfulness. And it gave Bakst, but it gave, added life to the living. And he came to life, came out of a fit of his strange melancholy, earlier: when he was able (after the revolution of 05) to take off the "formality" imposed on him by Christianity. He recovered physiologically, returning to his native Judaism.

How why? After all, Bakst is the same “unbelieving” Jew as an unbelieving Christian? What does religion have to do with it?

It turns out that it has nothing to do with it. Here's another sign of depth and wholeness Bakst the Human. The quality and strength of the fabric of his being. A real person is physiologically true to his age-old history; and the centuries-old history of the Jewish people is not metaphysically or philosophically, but also physiologically religious. Every Jew, a genuine Jew, suffers from a rupture, even a purely external one, and the more acute the more integral and deeper he is. It’s not a matter of faith, not of consciousness: it’s a matter of the value of the human person and of righteousness, up to physiology, its connection with its history.

After many years (and what!) Meeting with Bakst again here, in Paris.

I look, speak, and only gradually begin to "recognize" him. The process of uniting the old-time Petersburg Bakst with this present one is slowly taking place in me. It always happens that way, with everyone, if you don't see each other for a very long time. Even when people don't change much outwardly. Has Bakst changed a lot? Well, he has changed, of course, but not like all of us who have escaped from the Soviets: he is lucky, he has not seen the Bolsheviks; and on it it is clear how it is impossible to imagine them to someone who has not seen. His naivety about an unimaginable life in St. Petersburg makes us smile like adults smile at children.

Sometimes I close my eyes and, listening to a kind of slow talk, I completely see the old Bakst in front of me: his short, young figure, his pleasantly ugly face, hunchbacked, with a sweet childish smile, bright eyes, in which there was always something sad, even when they laughed; reddish thick hair with a brush ...

No, and this is Bakst; he has become all plump, has become solidly immobile, his hair does not stand with a brush, sticks smoothly to his forehead; but the same eyes, smiling slyly, sad and schoolchildren, he is just as unbearable, annoying, naive, suspicious - and simple. This is Bakst, twenty years older, Bakst - in fame, happiness and wealth. In essence, this is the same Bakst.

But I finally recognize Bakst - next summer, when again between us - for the last time! - a correspondence ensued. Again thin, sharp, intelligent letters, words so true, precise, under the joke - depth and sadness, under the smile - anxiety. He sent me his book "Serov and I in Greece". This book ... but I don't want about the book. I don’t want to talk about “literature”. I will only say that Bakst knew how to find words for what he saw as an artist. But he also found them for what is visible with a different gaze, with an inner one - his words, very transparent, very simple, very deep.

And so he died.

I was told this late at night. Is Bakst dead? Can not be! Someone noticed a long time ago: "There is no way to die to Bakst." Yes, perhaps, from the outside it should have seemed so. But I know that Bakst never wanted to think about death and - constantly thought about it. His death is a surprise, improbability, because any death is always unexpected and improbable. Even for us, living in the most mortal of time, every single death is a surprise. You have to get used to each separately.

For a long time I will not get used to the fact that Bakst is dead, that his agitated, gentle and intelligent soul has gone somewhere.

Notes:

Lev Samoilovich Bakst (Rosenberg, 1866-1924. December 23) - Russian painter and theater artist, one of the organizers of the "World of Art" circle (1898-1904), where he often met with the Merezhkovskys. The portraits of Z.N. Gippius, V.V. Rozanov, A. Bely. In 1907 he traveled with V.A. Serov in Greece and created a decorative panel "Ancient Horror", the analysis of which was given by Vyach. Ivanov in the book "On the Stars" (1919). In 1903 he married L.P. Gritsenko (daughter of P.M. Tretyakov and widow of the artist N.N. Gritsenko), for which he adopted Lutheranism. In 1910 he designed many Russian ballets by S.P. Diaghilev in Paris. After breaking up with Diaghilev, he worked for Parisian theaters.