Shibanov is a mystery artist, because there are very few facts about him, including from him. Despite this, we can admire his works that are presented in art galleries. So, in the Tretyakov Gallery you can see one of his famous masterpieces called The Feast wedding contract. Let's paint pictures.

Shibanov painted his picture The Feast of the Wedding Contract in the eighteenth century, choosing the theme of serf life. This is why the canvas is surprising, because in 1777 it was not customary to paint niello, but in spite of everything, the artist depicted one of the peasant rites in his picture. In his picture, the artist decided to capture one of the most important events in the life of every young peasant couple - the rite of marriage. Young people meet when there is a discussion of the upcoming celebration.

Description of the picture

And now let's make the Feast of the wedding agreement in our composition.

Looking at the canvas, one gets the impression that we are participants in this ancient custom. The viewer, like all guests, also gets into the hut, where the fate of young people is decided.

The central figure here is the bride. She is modest, but at the same time her proud posture is full of dignity and grace. The bride is dressed in a silver sundress, over which a warm jacket is thrown over. By outerwear scattered red flowers. The head is covered with a long veil that falls to the floor. The process is exciting. The girl is worried, and in order to somehow support his beloved, the groom took her by the hand. He stands a little apart. He is dressed in a shirt, over which a greenish caftan is thrown over.

In the picture we also see matchmakers, both from the side of the bride and the groom. Some are on the left, others on the right. On the left, we see how a man carefully examines the bride, the other is trying to say something. Apparently he invites those present to the table to consolidate the decision made with a glass.

On the right side of the picture is a man in a red caftan. He is discussing something with a girl sitting next to him. sits with them and elderly woman. Maybe it's the mother of the bride. Next, we see the villagers who came to the hut, because no one wants to miss this an important event. The guests also dressed festively, taking out their best clothes, thereby emphasizing the solemnity of the event.

The painting by Mikhail Shibanov, "Celebration of the wedding contract", reflects an element from the life and life of the peasants, the era of the seventeenth century. The work itself was written in 1777, during the reign of Catherine, when peasant life was not only in decline, but in deep poverty. Therefore, it was strange to portray the motives of simple life at that time. But the artist, in this environment, considered a special zest and created a successful work on this basis.

In the picture, as already mentioned in the title, there is a ritual of concluding a marriage contract. The meaning of which is that the groom comes to the bride and if the proposed girl is liked, they conclude an agreement that is not subject to further termination. The entire environment, recreated by the artist, confirms this procedure.

In the foreground, we see the heroes of the occasion, the bride and groom. The bride, full of embarrassment, the groom, unlike her, is full of desire to possess his chosen one, devouring her with his eyes. Shibanov, especially highlights the state of the bride, dressing her image in a distinctively bright, color scheme, especially demonstrating the pale face of the poor thing. A wedding contract is a significant event in the life of peasants, and of course, the most joyful. This is probably why the artist, from the whole variety of life events, chose this.

In addition to everything, the secondary plan of the picture matters in the work. Which depicts no less significant figures of this feast, namely the guests. Their presence makes the canvas more alive, especially noticeable are the views of the guests, who, like invisible rays, concentrated on the bride, giving her such brightness and embarrassment. It remains unclear, the outfits of the guests are too expensive and rich, although some guests are rather modestly dressed. Most likely, this indicates an unequal position of the parties to the marriage contract.

In general, the artist correctly conveyed the atmosphere of the event, as part of Russian culture and the life of the peasants. The work showed my particular interest and certain sympathy. A wedding is a significant event in the life of everyone at any time and era.

Description of the picture

An interesting picture in dark, such warm colors. There are a lot of characters - everyone is interesting to look at.

Here, as if two “elements” converge, but they look at each other with interest and even sympathy. On right more women, on the left - vice versa. In the center of the picture is the bride and groom. She seems to be carrying herself, she is wearing a beautiful and rich outfit. She looks warm, a little cunning. Very rich embroidered clothes on her, she seemed to have been going to this meeting for a long time. The groom directly admires her, slightly bowed his head ... The men who are sitting at the table also smile, look approvingly. There is bread on the table and, in my opinion, meat on plates. Several people are seated. They probably eat. And they drink.

I think that these are the times of Ivan the Terrible - everyone looks like this in Russian: in caftans, sundresses ... This is a traditional action. Behind the back of the groom with his relatives, beautiful icons are visible. Behind the backs of those accompanying the bride (and there are actually three times more of them) there is still a curtain, from behind which other curious people look out.

On the right side, as I said, there are more women, there are even old women. They are the most attentive, as always. Grandmothers squint, somehow trying to see everything, to hear, so as not to miss a word. They see to it that all traditions are respected. Behind the bride are more bridesmaids in such funny headdresses - round, tied with wide ribbons. Girls smile more. It seems to me that they praise the bride, like, she cooks and embroiders. That is, they have an important "deal" here. Of course they don't conclude marriage contract, but they discuss all sorts of conditions, for example, a wedding, how much a dowry.

I think it's rather stuffy and noisy, but some grandmother calls everyone to order all the time. And so there is a playful argument, discussion. The picture looks like a photograph, so everything is alive, everything is natural! I don't think there were any gifts. And almost everything has already been decided, they are just celebrating the collusion, this is not the “Let's get married” program for you, everyone has already chosen everyone. By the way, I hope that the young people chose each other themselves, this is not the decision of matchmakers, parents ...

A funny picture, I like that it can be viewed for a very long time. And she is generally positive.

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“The word is not a gorobets, to fly is not drunk” - ce Ukrainian priyv "I read all people speak wisely, think about it first, say it out loud first.

Information about the work, and even less about the life of Mikhail Shibanov, is very poor. Neither the date of his birth, nor the origin, nor the place of study are known. The only fact is that he carried out private orders. There is an assumption that he painted iconostases, and some of his works of the 18th century are also known. In these works, the author depicted the life of ordinary peasants. They are unique for their time precisely in terms of the subject of the image. In those days, no one painted peasants. These paintings include his canvas "Celebration of the wedding contract."

This picture took pride of place in the development of the Russian genre of the XVIII century. On the other side of the picture, the author's inscription was preserved, which told about why the author chose such a plot. You can learn about the celebration itself from the old descriptions of peasant life. The bottom line is that the groom must come and look at the bride. They exchange rings and small gifts. And if everyone agreed on everything, and everyone liked everything, then no one had the right to violate this agreement, since it was “holy and indestructible”. It was this solemn moment that Mikhail Shibanov showed us in his reproduction.

In the picture, in the very center, we see a very solemnly dressed bride. She stands like a statue among people who are carefully examining her. She is dressed in a colorful sundress, light in color. The head is covered with a headdress embroidered with gold thread and a veil. There are pearls on the neck. Next to the bride, we see the suitably dressed groom. He is wearing an elegant caftan. The head is covered with a dark hat. There are a lot of people around them. They are also dressed in fine clothes. Men are wearing long cloth zipuns, and women are in chic sundresses and kokoshniks. On the other side of the picture, you can see a table and four men. Apparently, these are native brides: father and brothers. They kindly invite everyone to the table. And if it were not for the preface to the picture, then at first glance you would not say that these are ordinary peasants.

Information about the work, and even less about the life of Mikhail Shibanov, is very poor.
Neither the date of his birth, nor the origin, nor the place of study are known.
The only fact is that he carried out private orders.
There is an assumption that he painted iconostases, and some of his works of the 18th century are also known.
In these works, the author depicted the life of ordinary peasants.
They are unique for their time precisely in terms of the subject of the image.
In those days, no one painted peasants.
These paintings include his canvas "Celebration of the wedding contract."

This picture took pride of place in the development of the Russian genre of the XVIII century.
On the other side of the picture, the author's inscription was preserved, which told about why the author chose such a plot.
You can learn about the celebration itself from the old descriptions of peasant life.
The bottom line is that the groom must come and look at the bride.
They exchange rings and small gifts.
And if everyone agreed on everything, and everyone liked everything, then no one had the right to violate this agreement, since it was “holy and indestructible”.
It was this solemn moment that Mikhail Shibanov showed us in his reproduction.

In the picture, in the very center, we see a very solemnly dressed bride.
She stands like a statue among people who are carefully examining her.
She is dressed in a colorful sundress, light in color.
The head is covered with a headdress embroidered with gold thread and a veil.
There are pearls on the neck.
Next to the bride, we see the suitably dressed groom.
He is wearing an elegant caftan.
The head is covered with a dark hat.
There are a lot of people around them.
They are also dressed in fine clothes.
Men are wearing long cloth zipuns, and women are in chic sundresses and kokoshniks.
On the other side of the picture, you can see a table and four men.
Apparently, these are native brides: father and brothers.
They kindly invite everyone to the table.
And if it were not for the preface to the picture, then at first glance you would not say that these are ordinary peasants.

With his work, Mikhail Shibanov shows us the faith of the common people in traditions.
No matter how hard it was for them, they always adhered to traditions and gave themselves with all their heart.

Facts from the biography of the artist. If their contemporaries Mikhail Shibanov, the serf painter of Prince Potemkin, did not enjoy any particular fame, then the immediate descendants simply did not suspect his existence. Meanwhile, throughout the 19th century, two of his best portraits continued to be engraved for book illustrations and individual prints. Portraits of Catherine II in a traveling suit and her favorite, Count Dmitriev-Mamonov, became more and more famous, and the memory of the master completely disappeared. At first, they only slightly altered the surname, not presenting any specific personality behind it - a certain Shebanov, that's all that the publishers of old portraits could say. But then the name of the artist underwent a new alteration, and both of his famous works began to be attributed completely specific person- a pupil of the Academy of Arts Alexei Petrovich Shabanov, a student of Dmitry Levitsky.

Only the 20th century returned famous works to Shibanov. On the back of the newly discovered portrait of the son of Admiral Grigory Andreevich Sviridov, the hero of the Chesme battle, the researchers for the first time saw the autograph of the mysterious master of the late 18th century: "Written by Mikhail Shibanov."

Paintings by Mikhail Shibanov

It seemed that Shibanov’s riddle was completely resolved and experts could give the newly discovered artist his proper place as a portrait painter. middle class who once - in the portrait of Dmitriev-Mamonov - managed to rise to the heights of genuine art. It was rightly written about this canvas that it "bears comparison with the most famous works of exquisite art of the 18th century, both in the subtlety of the drawing and in its confident gentle technique."

And Mikhail Shibanov would have remained a textbook example of a single creative success, one take-off, one happy exertion of strength, if the new discovery had not turned the newly formed view of specialists upside down - the Tretyakov Gallery acquired two old canvases, on the back of one of which stood: “This picture represents the Suzdal province and peasants. Written in 1774 Mikhail Shibanov", and on the back another -" Painting representing… wedding contract festival, wrote in the same province in the village of Tatarovo in 1777 Mikhail Shibanov.

These two works almost fifty years anticipated the peasant genres of Alexei Gavrilovich Venetsianov, who was considered to be "the first Russian painter of the natural direction and the ancestor of Russian everyday painting."

But the history of the Russian genre has not lost any of its dignity from the fact that now the outstanding talent of Venetsianov no longer stood at its origins - Mikhail Shibanov owes his superiority not only to a happy discovery new topic, but also an outstanding technique, amazing for a serf master who did not go through an academic school.

And "Peasant Dinner" and "Wedding Contract" painted by no means by an average portrait painter, but by a mature, first-class master, however, in the canvases one feels constraint, static, and this is quite natural - this is how they generally wrote in his time. But the composition is complete and thoughtful, the types are expressive, the coloring is deep and full-sounding. And truly surprising for Russia at the end of the 18th century - when the idea of ​​the need for a serious description of folk life - was just awakening among its most advanced scientists - the serious ethnographic interests of the serf artist.

M. Shibanov: painting “Celebration of the wedding contract”

The picture of conspiracy, conveyed by the artist with scientific conscientiousness, was far ahead of the first verbal descriptions of the peasant wedding ceremony. This is its special value.

The Shibanovsky window in 1777 is unique not only for the history of Russian painting, but also for Russian science. Perhaps Tatarovo was the native village of the artist - Potemkin owned lands in the "Suzdal province" - and then it becomes clear not only his excellent knowledge of folk life, but also the richness of technology that is difficult to explain in another case: Suzdal icon painters have long been famous for their passing from generation to generation skill.

wedding contract(in different localities it was called in its own way - conspiracy, handshaking, zaruchiny, drunkenness) followed a successful matchmaking and played the same role in a village wedding as engagement in a later urban rite.

Church betrothal almost completely absorbed the ancient pagan ritual, and in the 19th century, researchers had to record the already half-erased features of the ceremony and the images of “conversational” songs, unconscious by the singers themselves. The original meaning of the collusion symbolism was lost long before the time of Shibanov, but the form of the rite, which each generation found new explanations for, was carefully and zealously kept.

Shibanov also noted this traditional attitude to the ancient ritual. See with what attention the women crowding behind the bride's shoulders follow the course of the ceremony, how tremulously they guard a possible mistake that, according to ancient beliefs, can turn the whole fate of the young.

Very successfully and naturally, Shibanov singled out the main symbols of the collusive rite, and did this not because of the knowledge of their open essence - after all, the participants in the ceremony themselves were not aware of it, but because of creative sensitivity and alertness: the artist was able to catch the instinctive respect with which they treated to these, the most important once, attributes of the actors of the scene. The artist singled out a loaf on the table, a ring on the groom's finger and forced us - involuntarily continuing the gesture of a young man in a red zipun - to think about a bench in the corner ("on a kut"), where he calls the bride and groom to sit down. And all this is not accidental, confirm the hypotheses that arose later than a century later.

In the days of matriarchy (by the way, this is why the ceremony is led by women) and later, in the patriarchal era, the essence of the conspiracy, apparently, was to ask the permission of the ancestor deity to leave the clan, receive a blessing and, in his invisible presence, seal the contract with magical unbreakable bonds.

In East Slavic wedding rituals, the symbol of the deity of the family was either a “pillar” by the stove, which replaced the sacred fire of an ancient family hearth, or a loaf. Shibanov depicts a “cow ritual” (the oven does not appear in the composition at all) - the most ancient, complex and ambiguous.

The viewer does not see the bench in Shibanov's painting, but, most likely, on that evening in 1777 it was covered with an inside-out sheepskin coat, which replaced the skin of the totem animal of the Eastern Slavs - a brown bear at peasant ceremonies.

The "planting" on the skin, which later - at the wedding itself, took place with even greater solemnity, was supposed to transfer the power of a common ancestor to the groom and provide the bride with a numerous and happier offspring. But up to this point, the bride had to get permission from a closer ancestor - the ancestor of her own family - to go to the groom's hearth, under the protection and patronage of the new deity. And parting with the guardian spirit, of course, she shouldn’t rejoice - that’s why Russian brides are so sad, that’s why they lament and cry, diligently depicting reluctance and compulsion.

The tense expectation that seized all those present makes us assume that the most important point collusion - "binding" the young. A handkerchief was spread on the table (in the picture it is still in the bride’s hand), rings were placed in it, raised above their heads three times, then the bride and groom exchanged rings and, at the end of the ceremony, the handkerchief tied the hands of the betrothed and the mummer.

The bride and groom are a hundred years old, but together!

According to an old magazine...