Such different love. Russian marriage traditions

To find a wife, Russian tsars of the 16th-17th centuries. Bridal shows were organized, to which only the most beautiful and healthy virgins were allowed. Boyar families competed with each other for the opportunity to marry off their bride. The fate of eminent families and even the course of the history of the Moscow kingdom depended on the results of this medieval casting.

It was not much easier to become related to the noble families of Russia. Although the Moscow tsars were considered omnipotent, in fact they were dependent on the boyar families. Here, marriage issues were constantly hampered by intrigue and power struggles.

The custom of viewing brides for the Russian monarch is widely depicted in the paintings of Russian artists. It's interesting that .

About her). Therefore, having learned that a new exhibition is opening in the Benois building - Holidays in Russian I felt in my gut that I needed to go there. It turned out that I sensed correctly - this exhibition is like a sister to the previous one! I think that “Holidays in Russian” was made by the same people who made “Clio’s Chosen Ones”. Thank them very much! I received a lot of impressions!

The only thing that was missing was detailed and interesting comments under the pictures, they are sorely lacking. Especially considering that most of the exhibits are not from the permanent exhibition, and, as far as I know, excursions around the “Holidays in Russian” exhibition are unfortunately not offered. An iPad could have helped me out in this matter, but as soon as I took it out, the grandmothers of the servants began to look at me very suspiciously and ask if I was taking pictures... Not the slightest complaint against the grandmothers, but it was somehow uncomfortable.

Below are some impressions and comments - attempts to create signatures, which I was so lacking =) Well, and reproductions. Although once again I am convinced that no matter how high-quality scans from paintings are, they still do not convey either the mood or atmosphere of the real canvas. It's like going to the theater and watching a video of a performance. Or watching a DVD and going to a concert. Everything seems to be in place, and sometimes the quality of the sound and picture is pleasing, but the most important detail is missing and therefore the impression is completely different - flatter. Although, I’m already distracted! So, the Russian Museum, the exhibition "Holidays in Russian".

I will adhere to the chronology of the authors of the exhibition, but highlight only those paintings that I liked. In real life, there are many times more of them at the exhibition, plus some other little things like outfits, objects and some other artifacts. There was even a screen where some kind of recording from the beginning of the century was broadcast (judging by the white silhouettes moving somewhere with dignity, I assume that it was the Emperor and his family). But these things were of little interest to me; I prefer painting. And the picturesque journey through the world of Russian holidays began in Rus'.

A. P. Ryabushkin - “Moscow street of the 17th century on a holiday” (1895)
7th century, Moscow, holiday, dirt. Well, I really like this famous painting by Andrei Petrovich Ryabushkin. For others, it’s the 17th century, and even more so Moscow is something epic - Minin and Pozharsky are punishing False Dmitry, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich at the tomb of St. Phillip... well, etc. And here it is a holiday, the street - no streetlights, no pharmacies, but only a brown swamp from edge to edge. Young Russian kingdom. I am especially amused by the man at the fence, trying to let the dressed-up women through without getting too dirty....

V. G. Schwartz - “Palm Sunday in Moscow under Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich” (1865)

And here’s another one from the same era, but in an elaborate, ceremonial way. For this painting, V. G. Schwartz was awarded the title of academician - the solemn procession of the Tsar and Patriarch from St. Basil's Cathedral to the Spassky Gate of the Kremlin is shown with extreme accuracy in the depiction of attire, accessories, and ancient architecture of Moscow. And no dirt, God forbid! Although, perhaps, she is not visible, under the caftans thickly covering the royal path.... By the way, the artists who painted pictures on historical themes were very attentive to the little details in outfits and objects. They were even interested in the seams on clothes and they were the main clients of the antique dealers of that time.

G. G. Myasoedov - "Bride's Bridesmaid" (second half of the 19th century)
But here is a painting that is indirectly related to the holidays - G. G. Myasoedov, “The Bride's Bridal Shower”. A stern jury carefully examines the applicant for marriage, apparently with a famous groom. For the peasants, everything was simpler - all the brides-in-law were "in plain sight", but the wedding of boyars and princes - often this was a real ancient Russian beauty contest.

For example, Ivan the Terrible was looking for a bride in this way - letters were sent to the boyars and boyars’ children throughout the cities with the order to present their children or relatives to the parade. In this way, many girls were selected (some sources say 2000), from which the 24 best were chosen. Of these, 12 more, who in turn were presented to the sovereign and he himself chose his betrothed. The “finalists” of the royal review did not grieve too much; before the king had time to reject them, matchmakers from noble nobles were already pouring in. The custom of looking for a wife in this way, by the way, was not invented in Rus', it came from Byzantium. So the claim that the first beauty contest was held in Belgium in 1888 is quite doubtful!

A. I. Korzukhin - "Bachelorette Party" (1889)
Continuing the wedding theme (it’s not me, it’s the organizers of the exhibition who hung everything up like that) - Alexey Ivanovich Korzukhin, “Bachelorette Party”. First of all, I just liked the picture - the plot is clear and the mood of joy and confusion is captured and you can immediately see who the bride is, who the friends are, etc. But what caught my eye most was not the half-naked girl peeking out of the hut, or the woman with linen immersed in household chores, indifferent to the fun, but a group of middle-aged women at the table. They simply radiate self-confidence, carefreeness and contentment. One of them is drinking from a hefty mug, I wonder what she has in there? Although it is clear that it is not a martini...

K. E. Makovsky - “The Kissing Rite (Feast at Boyar Morozov)” (1895)
The next monumental painting by Konstantin Makovsky (it is the size of an entire wall, I saw it for the first time) raised questions. It’s called “The Kissing Ritual” and I didn’t know anything about this very ritual, although I made assumptions that turned out to be correct.

In the 16th century and earlier in Russia, women lived quite closed - they sat in the mansion, weaved and communicated only with close relatives. They attended church on major holidays, and moved around the streets in closed carriages. And around the 17th century, the so-called kissing ritual arose. After the end of the feast, the wife or daughter of the owner of the house came out to the guests, brought the guests a glass of drink, and received a kiss on the cheek from the guest. There is a version that the ritual could have been borrowed from foreigners living in Russia.

Baron Mayerberg, who visited Moscow in 1661, left a description of the ritual. After the end of the table, the wife of the owner of the house comes out to the guests, accompanied by two or three girls, dressed in her best clothes. Touching the cup with her lips, she passes the cup with the drink to the guest. While the guest is drinking, the hostess goes into another room and changes her outerwear there. In new clothes, she presents the cup to another guest. After the drink has been served to all the guests, the hostess, with downcast eyes, stands against the wall (or stove) and receives a kiss from all the guests.
Tanner wrote that the kissing ritual was carried out after urgent requests from guests, or to honor especially important guests. The husband or father asked the guest to kiss his wife or daughter as a sign of friendship and love.

But let's get back to the picture. The hostess in a yellow flyer holds a cup in her hand. Nearby, completely dissatisfied - apparently the owner's daughter. The mocking guests joyfully line up. Judging by the fact that some participants in the feast are already in shit and lying under the tables. Receiving slobbering kisses from these intoxicated bearded snouts is not the most pleasant pleasure. I think the grinning dwarf is hinting at this. But let's discuss the harsh situation of women in ancient Rus' another time.

Another name of the painting is “Feast at Boyar Morozov’s”. Boris Morozov is the teacher of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov (the Tsar himself is riding from the church a little higher in Schwartz’s painting). This boyar became famous for the fact that he had a huge influence on the tsar, countless wealth, and at the same time he also “cut up” the state treasury without hesitation, which is why he had quite a lot of problems (for example, it is believed that the salt riot in Moscow broke out precisely because of Morozova). Although, maybe they are slandering the eminent boyar... neither the government nor the rich have ever been loved in Rus'. After the death of Boris, the fortune passed to his relative Feodosia, who went down in history as simply the noblewoman Morozova. But this is a completely different story and Surikov knows better about it. As for Boris Morozov from Konstantin Makovsky, I suspect that the gray-haired old man in the center of the picture is him!

K. E. Makovsky - “Folk festivities during Maslenitsa on Admiralty Square in St. Petersburg” (1869)
And here is Makovsky. This time the event is depicted much later - this can be seen both in the clothes and in the form of the booths. In a cheerful walk, the author expressed the image of “All of St. Petersburg.” And the place where all this happens - Admiralteyskaya Square, formed in 1822, no longer exists - it has completely merged with the Alexander Garden, Admiralteysky Avenue and the passage of the same name. There is no square, but the picture remains... such is the power of art.
By the way, it was for this painting that Makovsky was awarded the title of professor at the Academy of Arts

Johann Jacob Mettenleiter - "Country Dinner" (between 1786 and 1788)
And when I came to the next picture (unfortunately I did not find a human reproduction), I became interested for a long time. Firstly, the very manner of writing, the figures, the people... filled the Dutch, big and small, “living” in the Hermitage. Then the name of the artist (slightly confirming the initial guess) is Jacob Mettenleiter. After that, it became interesting what kind of Mettenleiter it was that was hanging in the Russian Museum.

It turned out that Johann Jacob Mettenleiter was the court painter of Emperor Paul I. In 1786, already a famous master (he was 36 years old), he came to Russia, where he lived and worked until his death. - his very interesting biography, reminiscent of an action-packed novel.

By the way, the picture was painted according to the academic program received in 1786 for the title of academician. The topic was: “ Imagine Russian villagers of both sexes at the dining table, where all abundance was visible from their condition, and the tableware also corresponded to b, and where it is proper to identify them and their tools; arrange the figures historically"

Let me draw your attention (this also immediately caught my eye, it’s a pity it’s hard to see in the reproduction) - it’s not clear what people eat. There are bowls, but no food! There is a feeling that they are feeding on air, or some kind of liquid... (the dog and cat are also looking for food, but they don’t find it). This is such a sad picture in which there is no smell at all of “all abundance”

B. M. Kustodiev - "Winter. Maslenitsa festivities" (1919)
But there were a lot of works by Boris Kustodiev at the exhibition. And all of them, of course, they were of a “festive” nature. They say the master loved holidays - as soon as he sees a holiday, he immediately goes to the canvas and draws and paints. Kustodiev's holidays were bright and lively... At this exhibition I remember two of his paintings on this topic - the first - "Winter. Maslenitsa festivities" ...

B. M. Kustodiev - “Palm trading on Red Square at the Spassky Gate” (1917)
... the second is "Palm Bargaining on Red Square at the Spassky Gate." Again bright colors and an event that has become history forever.

As for the event - the Palm Trade "Verba" - a spring market, which in Tsarist Russia took place on Red Square on Lazarus Saturday and Palm Sunday. At the bazaar they sold willow branches, toys, icons, Easter eggs, sweets, etc. “Valve horse riding” and folk festivals also took place. In the 1870s, with the start of construction of the building of the Historical Museum, "Palm Market" was moved to the Smolensk market. And after 1917 it ceased to exist altogether.

This is what Ivan Shmelev wrote about “Palm Bargain” in his book “The Summer of the Lord”:
"Gavrila is preparing a ceremonial carriage for the “willow ride” on Red Square, where the willow trade, which is called “Verba,” is already noisy. Right next to the Kremlin, under the ancient walls. There, all over the square, under Minin-Pozharsky, under St. Basil's Cathedral, under the Holy Gate with the clock - they are called “Spassky Gate”, and people always take off their hats in them - “the willow is walking”, there is a great bargain - holiday goods, Easter toys, images, paper flowers, all sorts of sweets, various Easter eggs and willow"
In St. Petersburg, the "Palm Bargain" took place near Gostiny Dvor. Here is a photo from the beginning of the century.

A. A. Popov - “Folk scene at the fair in Staraya Ladoga” (1853)
But here is a simple episode of a local holiday - a small scene at a fair in provincial Staraya Ladoga. The author Andrei Andreich Popov (1831-1896) was a Russian realist artist who worked in the field of everyday painting.

D. O. Osipov - “Two girls on the day of Semik” (1860-1870s)
The next picture also intrigued me - on the canvas there are two girls frozen in languid proximity, the title is “Two girls on the day of Semik”. It became wildly interesting what kind of “semik” this was... it all turned out to be quite funny.

Semik is an ancient Russian holiday of the spring-summer calendar period with pagan horses, smoothly mimicking a Christian one and completely forgotten today. It is also called “Green Week”, “Mermaid Week” or “Rusalia”. Semik is celebrated on the Thursday before Trinity (the seventh Thursday after Easter, hence the name) and marks the end of spring and the beginning of summer. It is considered a women's holiday - that's why there are two girls on canvas.

The girls “frolic” in Semik in a rather unique way - for example, they went into the forest to “curl a birch tree” (yes, yes, “There was a birch tree in the field” - that’s from there, you can check it on Wikipedia). Having chosen the trees, the girls curled them - they tied the tops of two young birches, bending them to the ground. Wreaths were woven from branches. At the same time, they sang songs, danced in circles, and ate food they brought with them under the birch trees (there had to be scrambled eggs). When curling the wreaths, the girls worshiped, that is, they performed a ritual of worship: they hung a cross on the birch branches tied in a circle, the girls kissed in pairs through this wreath, exchanged some things (rings, scarves) and after that called each other kuma (sisterhood). Apparently this fragment is captured on canvas...

By the way, the church had a very negative attitude towards the Semik festivities and condemned it in every possible way... but people still walked!

Stanislav Khlebovsky - “Assembly under Peter I” (1858)
And here is another interesting picture painted by a Polish artist (Poland was then part of the Russian Empire). Like ladies, gentlemen, wigs, camisoles... but you still feel some kind of tightness and tension. Everything is somehow artificial and not alive...

Dreaming of living in a Western manner, Peter introduced the rule of organizing assemblies. What this was said in the decree of 1718: " Assembly is a French word, which in Russian cannot be expressed in one word, but it can be said in detail: a free meeting or congress in a house is desired not only for fun, but also for business; because here you can see each other, and talk about every need, and also hear what’s going on where, and it’s also fun"

In winter, three times a week, meetings for fun and business were held in the houses of wealthy people, and women were required to take part in them. In St. Petersburg, the Chief of Police, and in Moscow, the Commandant, were appointed in whose house the next assembly would be held.

According to Peter's plan, a relaxed atmosphere should reign at the assemblies. Each of the guests could do what he wanted: dance, have conversations, often business ones, play chess. True, contemporaries noted that this ease did not appear immediately: many were attending assemblies for the first time and simply did not know how to behave. The women sat separately from the men and danced as if under duress. Adding to the constraint was the fact that many were afraid that by some wrong action they would provoke the wrath of the king, who was always present at the assemblies. However, after some time, foreign guests noted, speaking in particular about the ladies present at the assemblies, that they " have changed so much for the better that they are not inferior to German and French women in the subtlety of address and secularism, and sometimes in some respects they even have an advantage over them"

And for this particular painting the artist received a gold medal. These are the things...

V. I. Jacobi - “Ice Palace” (18978)
And I saw this famous picture “live” for the first time. It depicts a “joke wedding” in the Ice House in St. Petersburg during the time of Empress Anna Ioannovna. One day, the Empress, who was “having fun” in a very unique way, decided to marry her court jester, Prince M.A., as a joke. Golitsyn (grandson of Princess Sofia Alekseevna’s favorite V.V. Golitsyn) and the Kalmyk Buzheninova, one of his hangers-on. The wedding day was set for a frosty day on February 6, 1740. For the newlyweds, they built the “Ice Palace” - a hefty structure made of ice, which was 8 fathoms long or 56 London feet (1 l.f. = 30.479 cm) and two and a half fathoms wide and height with a roof of 3 fathoms. Cannons were placed at the palace, and various guests congratulated the young people. Afterwards, the newlyweds were locked in their ice crypt until the morning - according to the organizers' idea, the spouses were bound to freeze overnight. However, Buzheninova hid warm clothes in the ice house in advance, which saved herself and her husband. The newlyweds passed the test assigned to them, and thanks to the many valuable gifts presented to them during the wedding, they became significantly richer.

G. G. Chernetsov - “Parade to mark the end of hostilities in the Kingdom of Poland on October 6, 1831 on Tsaritsyn Meadow in St. Petersburg” (1839)
But a truly epic canvas is a grandiose parade in honor of the victory of the Russian army in a short-term war, which went down in history not even as a war, but as simply a Polish uprising. Its result was the annexation of the Kingdom of Poland to the Russian Empire. But the picture is not just a banal battle scene, there is something else interesting in it!

The bright sun illuminates a colossal parade ground with countless similar figures of soldiers. On the left is the emperor on horseback and his retinue. But something unusual is happening in the foreground. Its entire central part is occupied by a collective portrait of his contemporaries. Grigory Chernetsov depicted 223 portrait figures of famous writers, artists, musicians, actors, public figures, including V. A. Zhukovsky, I. A. Krylov, N. I. Gnedich, A. S. Pushkin, D. V. Davydov, F. P. Tolstoy, K. P. and A. P. Bryullov, P. A. Karatygin, V. N. Asenkova, the Chernetsov brothers themselves, their father, etc. Moreover, they were all painted from life (with the exception of A. A. Ivanov, who was in Rome). list of those portrayed by the master!

The miniature heroes of their time were very interesting to look at. I especially remember the general with the wooden leg... I wonder who that is? By the way, Nicholas I did not like the picture, saying that too much attention was paid to the audience and too little to himself. But the emperor still bought the painting... as a gift to the heir

A. I. Korzukhin - “Grandma’s Holiday” (1893)
And another painting by Alexander Ivanovich Korzukhin. I've seen it before... and I really like it... A holiday - it's not necessarily universal and nationwide! He can be so intimate, kind and bright!

L. I. Solomatkin - “Singing Lovers” (1882)
Again, absolutely not an epic picture. Probably a holiday, probably a birthday... the guests are drunk and singing. On the table I counted six bottles and a small decanter... Exactly six singers started singing... I wonder if they sing well?

A. Ya. Voloskov - “At the tea table” (1851)
And here is another feast - only now everything is orderly, dignified and no one sings and, apparently, drinks. Or rather, everyone drinks, but only tea. Everyone celebrates their holidays in their own way.

I. E. Repin - "October 17, 1905" (1907-1911)
And here is another “holiday” - October 17, 1905 - a response to the manifesto of Nicholas II “On the improvement of public order,” published during the days of the revolutionary upsurge in the country. In the manifesto prepared by the head of the Council of Ministers S. Yu. Witte, who considered constitutional concessions the only means of preserving autocracy, it was promised to grant the people “the unshakable foundations of civil freedom,” personal inviolability, freedom of conscience, speech, assembly, and to recognize the Duma as a legislative body. Liberal circles of Russian society greeted the proposed transformations with enthusiasm.

Repin wrote about his painting: “ The painting depicts a procession of the liberation movement of Russian progressive society... mainly students, female students, professors and workers with red flags, enthusiastic; with the singing of revolutionary songs...lifted onto the shoulders of the amnestied and a crowd of thousands moving across the square of the big city in the ecstasy of general jubilation».

Among those depicted in the picture are democratically minded philologist M. Prakhov (left), actress L. Yavorskaya (with a bouquet), critic V.V. Stasov (center). When creating the work, Repin took care to avoid “conventionality, artificiality, rationality, prosaic emphasis and boredom.”

In Russia, due to a censorship ban, the painting first appeared before the viewer only in 1912 at the 41st Mobile Exhibition. And it makes me feel... although there is still joy here!

I. Brodsky - "Constitution Holiday" (1930)
After Repin, “Soviet” paintings quietly began. I especially liked and remembered them. Maybe because I saw them for the first time... or maybe because the holidays are somehow closer and clearer. I love socialist realism. Here, for example, is a painting by the charming artist Isaac Brodsky - “Feast of the Constitution”. I immediately had a question - what kind of holiday is this in 1930? It turned out that it was first established by a decree of the Presidium of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR on August 3, 1923, to commemorate the adoption of the 1st Constitution of the USSR, introduced by the 2nd session of the Central Executive Committee on July 6, 1923. From 1924 to 1936, it was celebrated annually on July 6. And on December 5, 1936, the Extraordinary 8th Congress of Soviets of the USSR adopted the new Constitution of the USSR and December 5 became a holiday. Then the constitution was changed again... and the date was postponed again. Well, when the Constitution Day of the Russian Federation is celebrated, I think you still remember... remember?
Who is interested in learning about the artist, a few words and a small but interesting film.

P. D. Buchkin - “All-Russian Labor Day on May 1” (1920)
People plant trees, smile and radiate joy. In the background you can see a building that looks very much like an engineering castle. There is a suspicion that the location of the action is the Champ de Mars.
The Soviet government demanded that the artist be “ faithful assistant to the party in the communist education of the working people", follow a single creative method. Painters no longer painted aristocratic families or paintings based on allegorical and mythical subjects. They praised the common people in all their glory!

A. N. Samokhvalov - “S. M. Kirov accepts the parade of athletes” (1935)
And here is another, simply amazing picture! Why is she “hiding” somewhere in the storage rooms? The canvas is huge, the figures of athletes are depicted almost in full growth. Sergei Mironovich Kirov applauds on the high podium in the left corner of the picture. The girls give him flowers.. I came closer to them.. and felt a colossal effect of presence! I was there! At this parade, next to the rejoicing athletes. And it seemed that a little more and a joyful roar and applause would be heard!
Speaking of real parades of athletes - they took place every year in pre-war times. Here's an interesting photo from one of them!

B. M. Kustodiev - “Celebration in honor of the opening of the Second Congress of the Comintern on July 19, 1920. Demonstration on Uritsky Square” (1921)
And again Boris Kustodiev! And again the holidays!

In 1920, Kustodiev received an order from the Petrograd Soviet: to paint a picture reflecting the jubilation of the masses on the occasion of the Second Congress of the Comintern that took place on July 19 - August 7. The painting was completed by Boris Mikhailovich in 1921.

Those who immediately noticed that the action of the picture takes place on Uritsky Square, but at the same time the familiar features of the Alexandrinsky Column were in sight, guessed absolutely correctly - after the end of the revolution, the square was renamed the Square named after. Uritsky in honor of the chairman of the Petrograd Cheka who was killed in 1918. So it existed right up until 1944.

Another interesting element in this picture is the two young men in the center - one of them stands with his back to the audience, the second has a pipe in his mouth. These two are young scientists from the Leningrad Institute of Physics and Technology, future Nobel laureates P. L. Kapitsa and N. N. Semenov. According to legend, young physicists came to the master’s workshop and said: “ You draw famous people. We are not famous yet, but we will become so. Write to us". And Kustodiev took it... and agreed. The result was a portrait of physicists (Here it is). But why the scientists “came out” also for the holiday in honor of the opening of the congress is a mystery!

P. A. Plastov - "Collective farm holiday (Harvest Festival)." (1938)
But here is a simple Soviet collective farm... and a simple collective farm holiday. Little has changed compared to the village holidays a hundred years ago, except perhaps the outfits...

P. P. Konchalovsky - “A. N. Tolstoy visiting me” (1940-41)
And it was impossible to pass by this picture. Pyotr Petrovich Konchalovsky, the grandfather of film director Andrei Konchalovsky, portrayed the famous writer, Count Alexei Nikolaevich Tolstoy (author of such books as “The Hyperboloid of Engineer Garin” and “Walking in the Torment”). Alexey Nikolaevich looks very good and self-satisfied, especially for that not very well-fed time. I just want to say, “what a bastard.” Although the table was set out for him by the hospitable host, Pyotr Konchalovsky. Therefore both are good!

Firinat Khalikov - "Goose Festival in Ancient Kazan" (2007)
But the picture is completely fresh - it was painted only five years ago. The author is the famous contemporary Tatar artist Firinat Khalikov. The topic is ancient... and again “incomprehensible”. The Slavs don’t have such a goose holiday... but the Tatars do!

“Goose Day” or “Goose Festival” is called Paz-emyase, which translated means: “Goose help.” The holiday is ancient and its very name contains many meanings. Firstly, the goose is the breadwinner in Tatar villages. Secondly, if one of the families is going to slaughter their flock of geese, neighbors and relatives help with the work and the accompanying rituals. There is also a third, deeper meaning. As in any matter, Allah helps a Muslim in breeding geese.

G. A. Savinov - “Victory Day” (1972-1975)
Victory Day. Not a festive paradano with Stalin, Zhukov and the proud faces of invincible Soviet soldiers, but a quiet, slightly sad personal holiday. Young people look carefree, but old people feel sad. It’s not in the faces, but in the silhouettes themselves, the artist’s brilliant work.
Have you noticed how many awards are on the uniform that is casually hung on the back of the chair?

Y. P. Kugach - “On a holiday (On a day off)” (1949)
But I want to end with this joyful picture.
Just people... they are having a holiday or just a day off... and they are happy, sincerely and brightly!

The exhibition seemed a bit small to me. Afterwards I was going to go home... but I decided to go up and look at the work of Petrov-Vodkin (they say walk two steps). And in the end, the Russian Museum completely sucked me in. I visited two more exhibitions in the Benois building - “” and “Collection of Mikhail and Sergei Botkin”, maybe I’ll write about them later. And then I somehow ended up at the permanent exhibition (why do they always hang the paintings?). As a result, I left the Russian Museum together with the police - because I was there until it closed...

If you have time, opportunity and you love painting, be sure to visit the exhibition “Holidays in Russian”. It will last until March 12th!

G. Myasoedov “Bride's Bridal Shower”, 2nd half of the 19th century.

Fornicate a little, cheat a little, get married three times, no more... This is about the husband. Well, what about the wife? We talk about how married life was built in peasant Rus' in the so-called Middle Ages.

Skinny people don't marry

A. Arkhipov “Dvushka”, 1927

Skinny girls were not valued by our ancestors: they might suddenly turn out to be infertile or unable to bear a child. Thinness was considered tantamount to illness, and a sick wife was not needed in the household. And the well-being of the parents, since they could not fatten them, was questioned.

And there’s a mole on her cheek, and there’s love in her eyes...

It makes sense... Now a mole on the cheek is synonymous with beauty, but previously the owners of such (and in general, those who had some kind of marks on the body: moles, scars, bruises, not to mention serious injuries) were not married. A runny nose or hoarseness could also influence the matchmakers' opinion, so before their arrival the girl was urgently put in order.

Was healthy, became thin

F. Zhuravlev “Before the crown”, 1874

However, it also happened the other way around: a healthy bride was “spoilt” - as, for example, in the Romanov royal family. When Mikhail Fedorovich set his sights on the poor noblewoman Maria Kholopova as his wife, an unexpected illness happened to her: “she was vomiting and breaking her insides and was swollen. And then she vomited.” The would-be bride and her relatives were exiled to Tobolsk. And the girl was only given sweets with stale whipped cream and sour cream at the suggestion of the groom’s mother, nun Martha.

Dress up for going out

F. Sychkov “On a visit”, 1940

If a girl could not leave the walls of her parents’ house alone, then a married woman had no right to go anywhere, even to church, without the permission of her husband. But, if she did leave the family nest, then in full dress: with furrowed eyebrows, rouge and whitening, “moreover, so rudely and noticeably that it seems as if someone rubbed a handful of flour over their face and painted their cheeks red with a brush” (more about the standards of female beauty of the Middle Ages - in the article “Women of Muscovy of the 16th-17th centuries in the descriptions of contemporaries”).

The wives of noble people rode in closed carriages covered with red taffeta, where they “sat with the splendor of goddesses.” The horse was decorated with fox tails. Servants ran nearby.

Quilting - alone

N. Kasatkin “Who?”, 1897

“Domostroy” (a set of rules and instructions of the 16th century) introduced some restrictions into familiar relationships. It was recommended to beat your wife “not in front of people, to teach her in private” - “beat her politely with a whip, holding her hands.” There was also another call to humanity in the collection: “don’t beat me by sight, don’t hit me in the heart with a fist, or a kick, or a staff, or anything of iron or wood.” Because whoever “beats like this out of the heart or from the heart, many stories come from him: blindness and deafness, and a dislocated arm and leg, and a finger, and headaches, and dental disease, and among pregnant wives and children, damage occurs in the womb.” Foreigners were amazed that with all this, “Russian wives saw heartfelt love in frequent beatings and scourging, and in their absence - dislike and dislike of their husbands towards themselves.”

Spending the night with a strange woman is fornication, not adultery.

K. Trutovsky “In the hayloft”, 1872

If a married man spends the night with another woman, it is not adultery, but only fornication. An adulterer was someone who had a long-term relationship with someone else's wife or a mistress and children from her. True, other options were also considered - for example, in “Metropolitan Justice” (XII century) it was told about two wives living with one husband, and in “The Tale of the Assassination of Daniel of Suzdal and the Beginning of Moscow” (XVII century) two “sons of red "Boyar Kuchka "lived with the princess in demonic lust, bound by Sotonin's law, oppressing his body with prodigal love lust, defilement in adultery." The infidel was fined in favor of the church.

A married woman caught in fornication should be beaten with a whip, and then spend several days in a monastery, eating water and bread. After which her husband beats her a second time for neglecting her work at home. The husband who forgave the harlot should have been punished.

For the guest - vodka and a kiss

B. Kustodiev “Christification”, 1916

Dessert awaited the dear guest after the feast. As a sign of special respect and love, the owner’s magnificently dressed wife came out and personally served him a glass of vodka. This is how the Holstein ambassador Adam Olearius, who visited Count Lev Shlyakhovsky in 1643, describes it. “His wife came out to us, very beautiful in face... and accompanied by a servant carrying a bottle of vodka and a glass. At the entrance, she first bowed her head in front of her husband, and then in front of me, ordered a glass to be poured, sipped it and then brought it to me, and so on up to three times. After this, the Count wished me to kiss her. Not being accustomed to such an honor, I kissed only her hand. He, however, wanted me to kiss her on the mouth as well. Therefore, out of respect for a higher person, I had to accept this honor, consistent with their customs.”

Snitching is a venial sin

“Nowhere, it seems, except Russia, is there at least one type of incest that has acquired the character of an almost normal everyday phenomenon, receiving the corresponding technical name - incestuousness,” wrote Vladimir Nabokov. This phenomenon, when the father-in-law lived with his son’s wife, was widespread in Russian villages. He was helped by the long absences of his husbands who went to work as soldiers or to work. The father of the family almost always succeeded in persuading or threatening the “young” father of the family who remained in someone else’s house to cohabitate. The people did not condemn this matter; they treated it with understanding and said: “He loves his daughter-in-law. He lives with her as if he were his wife, he liked her.”

Tired of your wife - go to a monastery

V. Maksimov “Family division”, 1876

If family life has completely gone wrong and there is no hope for peace between the spouses, then one of them may go to a monastery. If a husband leaves and his wife marries again, the deceased can become a clergyman, even if he previously brewed beer. If the wife is barren, then, having sent her to a monastery, the man has the right to marry again after six weeks.

Starting a family for the fourth time was definitely considered illegal. The marriage was subject to immediate dissolution, and the priest who married such a couple, even out of ignorance, was deprived of his rank.

The code of norms for “dissolution” (divorce), which is part of the “Charter of Prince Yaroslav” (XIII century), gave reasons for divorce from a wife: in the case of adultery, confirmed by witnesses; due to communication with strangers without permission; for an attempt on the life of her husband or failure to report a threat thereto. The wife, in turn, could “file for divorce” if the husband “slanderously accused her of treason” (without evidence). The reason could also be the long-term unknown absence of the other half - when the whereabouts are unknown.

The fourth marriage is illegal

K. Makovsky “Wedding feast”, 1883

Saint Gregory the Theologian said: “The first marriage is the law, the second is the forced forgiveness of weakness for the sake of humanity, the third is a crime of law, the fourth is dishonesty, since the life of a swine is.” Nevertheless, widowers and divorcees got married for the third and fourth time. The Church, although it condemned third marriage, still believed that it was better than living in sin. But starting a family for the fourth time was definitely considered illegal. The marriage was subject to immediate dissolution, and the priest who married such a couple, even out of ignorance, was deprived of his rank.

If you want a wife, curtain the icon

By fulfilling marital duty, even though it was a legal matter, they preferred not to offend the Lord. Before getting down to business, the pectoral cross was removed. If icons with the faces of saints hung in the room where intercourse took place, they were carefully hung. On this day, it was preferable not to attend church, and if an irresistible need arose - to wash thoroughly and change into clean clothes.

Widow - head of the family

A woman who lost her husband and never remarried automatically received all the rights that she was deprived of in marriage. She managed the property, became a full-fledged mistress in her house and the head of the family, if there was one. Widows were respected in society.

Bridal viewing is a custom of choosing a wife for the head of state from among the most beautiful girls in the country. Unlike the traditional search for a bride for dynastic reasons, the viewing of brides was held after a kind of “beauty contest”. The custom originated at the Byzantine imperial court in the 8th century, after which it was adopted in Rus' in the 16th century.

The first viewing of brides in Byzantium was noted in 788, when Empress Irene was looking for a wife for her son, the nominal emperor Constantine. In 788, out of 13 candidates presented to the court, Irina chose as her son’s wife a young, humble Armenian woman, a native of Paphlagonia, Maria of Amnia, the granddaughter of St. Philaret the Merciful. Of the remaining girls, two were taken as wives by noble people, and the rest were sent home with rich gifts.

Bride's wedding. Myasoedov G.G. 2nd half of the 19th century

The choice of a bride by Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. Sedov G.S., 1882.

In the Moscow state, they approached the search for brides for the sovereign very strictly:

When this letter comes to you, and which of you have girl daughters, then you would immediately go with them to the city to our governors for inspection, and you would not hide the girl’s daughters under any circumstances. Whoever of you hides the girl and does not take her to the governors will be in great disgrace and execution from me.

— “Decree of Ivan IV” according to S. Solovyov

Brides often came from poor and simple homes. The father of Alexei Mikhailovich’s first wife, Maria Miloslavskaya, served as a clerk for the embassy clerk Ivan Gramotin. His daughter, the future queen, went into the forest to pick mushrooms and sold them at the market. About Tsarina Evdokia Streshneva, the wife of Mikhail Fedorovich, her bed-wives used to say: “She’s not a dear lady; they knew her if she walked around in yellow boots (according to V. Dahl, yellow boots are simple women's boots); Afterwards, God exalted her empress!”. And about the mother of Peter I, Queen Natalya Naryshkina, the clerk Shaklovity, who proposed to destroy her, said to Princess Sophia:

You know, empress, what her family is and what kind of bast shoes she wore in Smolensk.