"Portrait", analysis of Gogol's story, composition. Analysis of Gogol's story "Portrait", a creative study of the mission of art

/ / / Two artists in Gogol's story "Portrait"

The main problem that Gogol raises in the story "" is the problem of choosing imaginary or true art. The writer tried to find a solution to this problem in the images of two artists described on the pages of the work.

At the beginning of the story, Gogol introduces us to the young artist Chartkov, who is spinning near the picture shop. His attention is drawn very old portrait... To Chartkov, this work seems unfinished, but the gaze of the old man depicted in the picture seems to have bewitched the artist and he buys the portrait for the last money.

It is worth noting that Chartkov was a really talented artist. He put a piece of his soul into his works. The young artist tried to depict every detail as realistically as possible. He admired the works of great masters. Despite his talent, Chartkov was very poor and lived in poverty. He did not understand how other artists, painting mediocre paintings, make big money.

Buying a portrait of an old man changed lives young artist... At night he had a dream in which he saw how the old man from the portrait came to life. He sat down on Chartkov's bed and began to count some parcels. On one of them, the artist noticed the inscription "1000 chervonnye". This moment shows Chartkov's penchant for the temptation of wealth and fame. In the morning he actually found a package of money. The artist spends part of the money on canvases and paints, but, unable to resist the temptation, rents a luxurious apartment on Nevsky Prospect and orders a laudatory article in the newspaper. After that, there was no end of clients. Chartkov still tries to paint portraits as accurately and naturally as possible, but the client does not like the work. Then he decides to write the way the customers want. By this, Chartkov gives his talent and loses his destiny.

Once a poor artist becomes a fashionable artist. They begin to reckon with his opinion, he is invited to evaluate the work of other masters. Chartkov also changes internally. Now he is not afraid to criticize others, he considers the artists who paint for months mediocre.

One day he is invited to evaluate a painting by a young artist. Chartkov, looking at the work, realizes how magnificent it is. Now he realizes that he has sold his talent. Chartkov begins to buy up the works of great artists and destroy them. Ultimately, he goes mad and dies.

Next, we find ourselves at an auction, where a portrait of an old man is exhibited. When the auction was in full swing, one artist claimed the rights to this painting. To those present, he told a story about the man depicted in the portrait. This man was very rich, anyone could borrow money from him. But everyone who touched the old man's money ended their lives tragically. One day this old man asked the storyteller's father to paint his portrait. The work was very tiring for the master. Ultimately, he dumped her. And the artist's life was filled with anger and envy. Then he decided to go to a monastery, where he painted the icon of the Birth of Jesus Christ. This icon made it possible to heal the artist's soul. And he bequeathed to his son to find and destroy the portrait of the old man.

In the images of two artists, Gogol showed us how destructive the thirst for money and fame can be, and that art must be true.

An edited version of the story "Portrait" has survived to this day. The reader has a question about who is the main character of the work. Maybe this is the city of Petersburg, where all the events take place, or a calculating usurer. At first glance, it may seem that the hero of the story is precisely the artist.

In the center of events is the artist Andrey Petrovich Chartkov. The author gave such a surname to the hero for a reason. This is a kind of hint of a connection with otherworldly forces. Gogol sympathizes with the artist and does not give readers any reason to doubt his talent.

Great Evil is depicted in the image of the Usurer. Chartkov himself attracts him into his life. Having spent the last money and exposing himself to hunger, the artist buys a work of art. He did not think about anything bad, he lived right. Of course, the artist did not know that all the owners of the portrait become his victims. All night Chartkov suffered in nightmares, a usurer came out of the picture and counted money. In the morning, he discovered a large amount.

Not everyone is able to withstand such a temptation. In it, two people were arguing inside. On the one hand, he was an artist and just wanted to work carefree, but on the other hand, a young guy woke up in him who loves to have fun. This carefree life beckoned to him. Soon, the desire to carelessly squander one's existence won out. The tragedy of this situation lies in the death of the artist. In his loss of desire to create. For someone like him, it was like death. He lost himself, his life lost its meaning.

There is a confrontation between material wealth and revelry and unconditional talent. The author very realistically conveys the doubts of a person and his mental anguish. The story has not lost its relevance today. Not everyone can pass the test of money. Need to have a strong character and willpower to resist temptation. The artist not only gave up his talent for money, but also went to serve the dark forces.

Having moved to chic house, Chartkov tries to paint. Although creativity does not bother him much. He deals more with forgery. Creates a kind of fakes, a semblance of creativity. In the image of the first model, Gogol personifies the death of naturalness. Liza in Russian classics symbolizes the heroine of Karamzin's story.

Over time, the artist despises the great meter Michelangelo. Thus, the author reflects the contempt of a fallen man who has lost his soul for the personification of an angel. Chartkov could no longer paint, he lost even the elementary skills of an artist. He still wants to create a picture and begins to paint Fallen Angel... In fact, the artist paints his soul.

To writing a story "Portrait", wherein important role also plays an element of mysticism. The writer published his work in the collection "Arabesques".

Many critics did not like the work. Belinsky believed that "The Portrait" was an unsuccessful attempt, where the author's talent began to decline.

After the scandal with the premiere of The Inspector General, Gogol left for Italy. Under the southern sun and under the influence of the artist Ivanov, Nikolai Vasilyevich revised the story, and then published it again in 1841.

The writer made adjustments to the dialogues, scenes, changed the name of the protagonist. Now he was called Chartkov, not Chertkov, which caused readers to associate with the devil. The finale of the work also changed: the figure of the usurer does not disappear from the picture, but the portrait itself disappears.

The tale consists of two parts. Central to each of them is image of the artist... Gogol shows two fates, two talents with different worldviews, with an opposite understanding of the tasks of painting. The hero of the first part is the young artist Chartkov. He serves great expectations, but does not have the funds to buy canvas, paints, or even food. However, Chartkov, with his last money, decided to buy a portrait of an old Asian man, shocked by his "live" eyes.

In the second part of the work, we learn the history of the emergence of the fatal picture. Once a usurer came to the icon painter (he is known to us as the father of the artist B.) and asked to draw a portrait. The artist agreed to an unusual order, since the old man's appearance made a great impression on him.

Every master is tempted by a portrait. Chartkov, finding the money hidden in the frame, first wants to spend it on new studio, brushes and paints to perfect your talent. But instead he gets unnecessary things, fashionable clothes visiting restaurants. Subconsciously Chartkov was jealous of life before fashion artists, wanted wealth, fame. And that desire has now triumphed over the desire for creative growth. It was the thirst for fame that made Chartkov order a laudatory article about himself.

At first, the young painter seeks to follow the truth of life, seeks not just a portrait resemblance, but tries to transfer the soul of a person, his character to the canvas. But gradually he turns into an artisan who indulges the tastes of the crowd, loses the divine spark.

Chartkov became famous and rich. The audience praises him famous people offer to teach at the Art Academy. He already looks down on the young painters, teaches them. Only after seeing a new one, for real talented picture, Chartkov understands that he ruined his talent.

The temptation of the artist's father B. was of a different kind. In demonic the image of the usurer he was attracted by the opportunity to create a portrait evil spirits... It was a challenge to talent. The artist felt that he was doing the wrong thing, but his professional interest forced him to continue working. Fortunately, unlike Chartkov, the icon painter was able to stop in time. With a huge effort of will, he managed to get rid of the influence of the portrait, to cleanse his soul. He bequeathed to his son to find and destroy the fatal picture.

The final part of the story does not add optimism. Chartkov lost his mind and died, destroying before that a large number of their good works... But the terrible portrait was not burned. He was kidnapped and may have begun to tempt a new victim.

The juxtaposition of the two fates of talented artists is natural. Gogol wanted to show that only by rejecting worldly goods, from vanity high life an artist can create real paintings, not handicraft canvases. It is not for nothing that the icon painter finds salvation from the influence of the portrait within the monastery walls.

During the period of work on the story, Gogol was at a creative crossroads. From romanticism early works he approached realism, but still did not fully comprehend the possibilities of a new direction for himself. In the story "Portrait" the writer is looking for an answer to the question: can art be extremely accurate, mirror life? Or should it represent reality artistic means, influencing the thoughts and feelings of people, educate them? After all, the artist in the second part of the story came too close to reality, made the eyes of the usurer alive and let evil into this world.

The author is responsible for his creation. Gogol emphasizes: only with pure thoughts, with kind heart you can create a real masterpiece that is able to elevate the soul, illuminate it with light and joy.

• "Portrait", a summary of parts of the story by Gogol
• "Dead Souls", analysis of the work of Gogol

The story "Portrait" by Gogol was written in 1833 - 1834 and was included in the cycle "Petersburg Tales". The work consists of two parts, which tell us about two different fates of the artists. The connecting link between the stories is the mystical portrait of the usurer, which had a special influence on the lives of both heroes.

main characters

Chartkov Andrey Petrovich- a talented artist who, after acquiring a portrait of a usurer, ruined his talent by starting to paint portraits to order.

The artist's father B.- Kolomna self-taught artist, who painted pictures for the church, painted a portrait of a usurer, went to a monastery.

Other characters

Artist B.- the son of the artist who painted the portrait of the usurer, the narrator in the second part.

Usurer- a tall, dark-skinned man with large "eyes of extraordinary fire." He was Indian, Greek or Persian by nationality, he always wore Asian clothes.

Part 1

In an art shop on the Shchukin yard, the young artist Chartkov buys a portrait of “work high artist". The painting depicted "an old man with a bronze-colored face, cheeky, stunted," with his eyes especially prominent.

At home it seems to Chartkov as if the eyes of the old man from the picture were staring directly at him. At some point, the old man in the portrait came to life and "jumped out of the frames." Sitting down beside Chartkov, he pulled out a sack from the folds of his clothes and emptied the bundles of chervonets out of it. While the old man was counting the money, Chartkov imperceptibly took one of the rolled packages for himself. After counting his wealth, the old man returned to the picture. The boy had nightmares all night long.

In the morning, the landlord with the quarterly overseer came to Chartkov to find out when the young man would give the money for housing. During the conversation, the quarterly, examining the portrait of the old man, damaged the frame of the picture, and one of the bundles dreamed of by the artist fell to the floor.

With the money received in a miraculous way, Chartkov buys new clothes, rents a beautiful apartment and advertises in the newspaper that he is ready to paint to order. The first to come to him is a rich lady with her daughter Lisa. The woman asks to remove the "defects" of her daughter's face and, as a result, contentedly buys an unfinished sketch of Psyche's face, mistaking it for a portrait of Lisa.

Chartkov becomes a famous artist in the city, he is loved in high society... He learned to paint portraits mechanically, distorting facial features, depicting not real people, and custom-made masks.

Once, at an exhibition of the Academy of Arts, Chartkov was asked to evaluate a painting by his old friend. The hero wanted to express critical remarks, but the picture was so skillfully painted that he was speechless. Only now Chartkov realized how talentless pictures he painted. The hero tries to create something really worthwhile, but he fails. Chartkov ordered to throw away the portrait of the old man, but this did not help.

Envious of other artists, the hero spent all his wealth on buying paintings, and at home he cut them and trampled them underfoot, laughing. "It seemed that he personified that terrible demon that Pushkin ideally portrayed." Gradually, the artist fell into madness - he saw the eyes of the old man from the portrait everywhere, and he died.

Part 2

The auction is in full swing. At stake is a portrait of "some Asian" with "extraordinary liveliness of eyes." Suddenly, one of the visitors intervenes in the auction - a young artist B. Young man says that he has a special right to this painting and tells the story of his father.

Once in Kolomna there lived a usurer who could always provide any person in the city with the necessary amount of money. It seemed that he was offering favorable terms, but in the end people had to pay "exorbitant interest." However, the strangest thing was that everyone who borrowed from him “ended their lives in an accident” - the young nobleman went mad, and the noble prince almost killed his own wife and committed suicide.

Once the father of the artist B. was ordered to depict the "spirit of darkness." The man believed that the usurer would be the ideal prototype, and soon he himself came to the artist with a request to draw his portrait. However, the longer a man painted, the more disgusted he was at work. When the artist said about his intention to refuse the order, the usurer threw himself at his feet and began to beg him to finish the portrait, since it alone depends on whether he will remain in the world. Frightened, the man ran home.

In the morning the moneylender's servant brought the artist an unfinished portrait, and in the evening he learned that the moneylender had died. Since then, the man's character has changed, he began to envy young artists. Somehow, competing with his own student, the artist painted a picture in which "he gave almost all the figures the eyes of a usurer." In horror, the man wanted to burn the ill-fated portrait, but a friend took it from him. Immediately after that, the artist's life improved. Soon he found out that the portrait did not bring happiness to his friend either, and he gave it to his nephew, who, in turn, sold the canvas to some collector of paintings.

The artist understood what terrible thing committed when his wife, daughter and son died. Having given his eldest son to the Academy of Arts, the man leaves for a monastery. For many years he did not paint pictures, atonement for his sin, but in the end he was persuaded to write the Nativity of Jesus. Seeing the finished painting, the monks were amazed at the skill of the artist and decided that his brush was led by a “saint high power» .

After graduating from the academy, the artist B. visits his father. He blesses and instructs his son, saying that the artist-creator should be able to find an inner "thought" in everything. Saying goodbye, the father asks to find the portrait of the usurer and destroy it.

When the artist B. finishes his story, it turns out that the painting is gone. Apparently, someone stole it.

Conclusion

In the story "Portrait" N. V. Gogol, using the example of the fate of two artists, described two opposite approaches to the tasks of art: consumer and creative. The author showed how destructive it can be for an artist to give up his gift for the sake of money and not understand that “there is talent most precious gift god ".

The retelling of Gogol's "Portrait" will be of interest to schoolchildren, students and anyone interested in classical Russian literature.

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N. V. Gogol saw St. Petersburg not only as a flourishing capital, whose life is full of magnificent balls, not only a city where the best achievements of art in Russia and Europe are concentrated. The writer saw in him a concentrate of depravity, poverty and cowardice. The collection "Petersburg Stories" was devoted to the identification of the problems of the society of northern Palmyra, and at the same time of the whole of Russia, and the search for ways of salvation. This cycle includes "Portrait", which will be discussed in our article.

The idea of ​​the story "Portrait" came from the writer in 1832. The first edition was published in the collection "Arabesques" in 1835. Later, after writing Dead Souls and traveling abroad, in 1841 Gogol subjects the book to significant changes... In the third issue of Sovremennik a new version saw the light. In it, epithets, dialogues, rhythm of presentation were changed, and the name of the leading character became "Chartkov" instead of "Chertkov", which was associated with the devil. This is the story of The Portrait.

The motif of the image, which possesses an ominous power, was inspired by Gogol's then fashionable novel by Maturin "Melmot the Wanderer." In addition, the image of a greedy usurer also makes these works related. In the image of the greedy businessman, whose portrait turns the life of the protagonist, echoes of the myth about Ahasfera - the "Eternal Jew" who cannot find peace, are heard.

The meaning of the name

The ideological concept of the work lies in its title - "Portrait". It is not by chance that Gogol names his brainchild this way. It is the portrait that is the cornerstone of the entire work, allows you to expand the genre range from story to detective story, and also completely changes the life of the protagonist. It is also filled with special ideological content: it is he who is the symbol of greed, depravity. This work raises the question of art, its authenticity.

In addition, such a title of the story makes the reader think about the problems that the writer reveals. What else could the title be? Suppose "The death of an artist" or "Greed", all this would not carry such symbolic meaning, and the ominous image would remain only a work of art. The title "Portrait" focuses the reader on this very creation, makes him always keep in mind, and subsequently, see in it more than the imprinted face.

Genre and direction

Direction fantastic realism, given by Gogol, appeared relatively little in this work. There are no ghosts, noses, or other humanized objects, but there is a certain mystical power a usurer, whose money brings people only grief; the painting, completed at the end of his life, continues the terrible mission of the person depicted on it. But to all the terrifying phenomena that happened to Chartkov after the acquisition of the canvas, Gogol gives a simple explanation: it was a dream. Therefore, the role of fantasy in the "Portrait" is not great.

The story in the second part gets elements detective story... The author gives an explanation of where the money could come from, the discovery of which at the beginning of the work seemed magical. In addition, the fate of the portrait itself has the features of a detective: it mysteriously disappears from the wall during the auction.

The portrayal of the characters of Chartkov's capricious clients, his naive craving for tasteless splendor - all these are comic techniques embodied in the book. Therefore, the genre of the story is related to satire.

Composition

The story "Portrait" consists of two parts, but each of them has its own peculiarities of composition. The first section has a classic structure:

1. exposition (life of a poor artist)
2. tie (purchase of a portrait)
3. climax (Chartkov's mental disorder)
4. denouement (death of the painter)

The second part can be perceived as an epilogue or a kind of author's commentary on the above. The peculiarities of the composition of the "Portrait" are that Gogol uses the technique of a story in a story. The son of the artist who painted the ominous portrait appears at the auction and claims his rights to the work. He talks about difficult fate his father, the life of the greedy usurer and the mystical properties of the portrait. His speech is framed by the auctioneers' bargaining and the disappearance of the very subject of the dispute.

About what?

The action takes place in St. Petersburg. The young artist Chartkov is in dire need, but for his last pennies he buys a portrait of an old man in a shop in Shchukin's yard, whose eyes are "stroked as if they were alive." Since then, unprecedented changes began to occur in his life. One night the young man dreamed that the old man came to life and thrust out a bag of gold. In the morning, gold pieces of gold were found in the frame of the painting. The hero moved from the best apartment, acquired all the things necessary for painting in the hope of devoting himself entirely to art and developing his talent. But everything turned out quite differently. Chartkov became a fashionable popular artist, and his main activity was the writing of commissioned portraits. One day he saw the work of his comrade, which awakened in young man the former interest in real creativity, but it was already too late: the hand does not obey, the brush performs only memorized strokes. Then he goes berserk: he buys up the best canvases and brutally destroys them. Soon Chartkov dies. This is the essence of the work: material goods destroy the creative nature in a person.

During the auction, when his property is being sold, one gentleman claims the rights to the portrait of the old man, which was bought by Chartkov at Shchukin's yard. He tells the background and description of the portrait, and also admits that he himself is the son of the artist, the author of this work. But during the auction, the canvas mysteriously disappears.

The main characters and their characteristics

We can say that each part of the story has its own main character: in the first it is Chartkov, and in the second the image of the usurer is vividly presented.

• The character of the young artist changes dramatically throughout the work. At the beginning of the "Portrait" Chartkov is romantic image artist: he dreams of developing his talent, learning from the best masters, only there would be money for it. And now the money appears. The first impulse was quite noble: the young man bought everything necessary for painting, but the desire to become fashionable and famous more easy way, rather than after many hours of work, prevailed. At the end of the first part, the artist is overwhelmed by greed, envy and annoyance, which makes him buy best pictures and destroy them, he becomes a "fierce avenger." Of course, Chartkov is a small man, unexpected wealth turned his head and eventually drove him crazy.
• But it can be assumed that the effect of the gold pieces on the protagonist is not due to his low social status, but with the mystical effect of the money of the usurer himself. The son of the author of the portrait of this Persian tells many stories about this. The usurer himself, wishing to retain some of his strength, asks the artist to paint a portrait of him. The storyteller's father took on this work, but could not cope with it. In this painter, Gogol portrayed the true creator in Christian understanding: undergo purification, pacify your spirit and only then start work. He contrasts with Chartkov, the artist from the first part of the story.

Themes

This relatively small story covers many topics related to quite diverse areas of human life.

• Creativity theme. Gogol introduces us to two artists. What should be a true creator? One strives to study the works of the masters, but is not averse to gaining fame in an easier way. Another painter primarily works on himself, on his desires and passions. For him, art is a part of his philosophy, his religion. This is his life, it cannot contradict it. He feels a responsibility to creativity and believes that a person must prove his right to do it.
• Good and evil. This theme is expressed through both art and wealth. On the one hand, feathered means are needed so that the creator can freely do his job and develop his talent. But on the example of Chartkov, we see that initially good intentions to invest in one's own improvement can turn into death, first of all, death. human soul... Is it only the mystical sweetness of the usurer's legacy to blame? Gogol shows that a person can overcome anything, if only he was strong. The main character he showed a weakness of spirit, and therefore disappeared.
• Wealth- the main theme in the story "Portrait". Here she is presented as a way to find happiness. It would seem that here's some money, and everything will be fine: it will happy marriage with the first beauty, creditors will leave the family alone, everything necessary for creativity will be acquired. But everything turns out differently. In addition to satisfying needs, money has flip side: the product of greed, envy and cowardice.

Problematic

• The problem of art. In the story, Gogol offers the artist two ways: to paint portraits for the sake of money, or to improve himself without special claims to wealth. The painter stands in front of difficult choice: for development he needs funds for paints, brushes, etc., but many hours of work and dishonor will not bring any money. There is a way to get rich quick, but painting portraits does not mean raising your skill level. When deciding what to do, it is necessary to remember one thing: if the one who follows the path of the master-monk makes a mistake, he can still be saved, but the one walking along the easy road will no longer get rid of the “hardened forms”.
• Vanity. Gogol shows in his story how Chartkov, who suddenly became rich, gradually comes to vanity. At first, he pretends that he does not recognize his teacher, then he agrees to endure the whims of clients for the sake of money and fame. The censure of the classics becomes an omen of trouble, and the result of this path was madness.
• Poverty. This is the problem facing most of the characters in The Portrait. Poverty does not allow Chartkov to freely engage in creativity, because of his not very high position, one of the heroes of the second part cannot marry his beloved. But poverty here is not only a material problem, but also a spiritual one. Gold drives heroes crazy, makes them greedy and envious. According to the author, a faint-hearted person with a lot of money is not able to cope: they completely destroy him.

The meaning of the story

Always remember about your soul, and not chase after wealth - this is the main idea of ​​the story "Portrait". All the possibilities for achieving the goal, finding happiness in a person already exist - Gogol says about this. Later Chekhov will turn to this idea in his drama Three Sisters, where girls will believe that the path to joy is Moscow. And Nikolai Vasilyevich shows that it is possible to reach the goal, in this case - to comprehend art, without any special material costs. The main thing is not in them, but in inner strength person.

The narrator in the second part tells about the fatal impact of the money of the usurer, but is it fair to attribute all the troubles to mysticism? A person who prioritizes money is vulnerable to envy and depravity. That is why wild jealousy awakened in the happy wife, and despair and vindictiveness in Chartkov. This is where philosophical meaning story "Portrait".

Personality, strong in spirit, not subject to such low qualities, she is able to cope with them and get rid of them from herself. This illustrates life path artist, author of a portrait of a usurer.

What does it teach?

The story "The Portrait" warns of the dangers of exalting money. The conclusion is simple: wealth cannot be set as the goal of life: it leads to the death of the soul. It is important to note that for the image little man not only material poverty is inherent, but also spiritual. This can explain the troubles of Chartkov and the borrowers of the usurer. But Gogol does not give a single positive example when money would be useful. Author's position pronounced clearly: the only the right way the writer sees in spiritual improvement, in renunciation of secular temptations. The main character realizes this too late: he did not heed the warnings of his teacher, for which he was severely punished.

In this story, Gogol is closest to Hoffman in style and method of correlating the fantastic and the real. Here every unusual thing can be explained rationally, but characters as close as possible to the society of St. Petersburg. Such persuasiveness alarmed the reader of the story and made the "Portrait" actual work both for Gogol's contemporaries and for his heirs.

Criticism

The literary criticism of the author's contemporaries was varied. Belinsky disapproved of this story, especially the second part, he considered it an addition, in which the author himself is not visible. Shevyrev adhered to a similar position, accusing Gogol of a weak manifestation of the fantastic in The Portrait. But the contribution of Nikolai Vasilievich to the development of Russian classical prose It is difficult to overestimate, and "Portrait" also makes its contribution here. Chernyshevsky speaks about this in his articles.

Considering the critics' assessments, it is important to keep in mind that the final version of The Portrait was in a late, critical period in Gogol's work. At this time, the writer is looking for a way to save Russia, mired in bribery, greed and philistinism. In letters to friends, he admits that he sees an opportunity to improve the situation in teaching, and not in introducing any newfangled ideas. From these positions, the validity of the criticism of Belinsky and Shevyrev should be considered.

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