Harvest. Fire. Blind woman with daughter and other sketches

Taras Shevchenko. Harvest. Fire. Blind woman with daughter and other sketches.
[1841, end – 1842, the first half. St. Petersburg].
Paper, pencil, sepia. 26,4 × 36,5 cm.
Taras Shevchenko National Museum, № g – 414.

On the back – "Grandfather. Sketch of the painting "Catherine". "Female shirts sleeve". Sketch of the painting "Centurion's daughter". Other sketches.

On the upper right is marked with ink: 102, right at the bottom made pencil inscription by G. Chestahivsky: No 97 (registration number for its description).

There are three most expressive sketches related to the subject of the "Blind woman" poem (or drama "Blind beauty" that preceded it).

At the middle of page – a sketch illustration to the "History of Suvorov" – "Suvorov in the coffin"; below right – plot "Thanks from Cardinals and sketch the figure of one of the Cardinals (under it made pencil inscription by the hand of Shevchenko: hnuchok). Bottom left – an outline of a group of peasants, above the middle – the man in the chair, possibly outline sketch illustration The last days of Suvorov.

Dated according to the time of writing drama "Blind beauty" (December 1841) and the "Blind woman" poem (first half 1842), as well as performance in 1842 figures to the "History of Suvorov".

Scientific description provided in 1900 [Catalog of V. Tarnowski's Museum of Ukrainian antiquity / arranged by B.D. Grinchenko. – Chernigov, 1900. – T. 2. – p. 174. – № 172]

Reproduced and first described in 1932 by A.P. Novitsky [T. Shevchenko Complete Works. – [Kharkiv, 1932. – T. 8]. – p. 40 – 41. – № 296. – Tab. 325].

On the base of analysis of the composition and stylistic features of a sketch "Harvest" S.E. Raevsky tried to prove that it was for the allegedly pair to "Catherine" canvas oil paintings done after the "Blind woman" poem [S. Raevsky Following the lost painting // Proceedings of fifteenth Shevchenko scientific conference. – K., 1968. – p. 215 – 221]. Researcher builds his concept on the erroneous interpretation of the Shevchenko's words in letter to G.S. Tarnowskі on January 25, 1843: "… I painted two paintings this summer" as the pair paintings. Raevsky proves similarity of composition and author's manner of sketch and painting "Catherine", but this similarity does not meet the mandatory principle works for odd symmetry. Sketch despite profound elaboraton could remain unfulfilled plan.

Storage areas: from April 1861 – property of M.M.Lazarevsky, later purchased by St. Petersburg's Ukrainian community, not earlier than July 1861 – A.O. Kozachkovsky, not later than 1875 came to V.P. Kakhovski; from 1891 Kakhovski family, not later than 1893 transferred to S.D. Brazol; since 1898 – a collection of V. Tarnowskі; from 1899 – V. Tarnowski's Chernihiv museum of ukrainian antiquities, 1925 – Chernihiv Historical Museum, from 1932 – Gallery of pictures by T.H. Shevchenko (Kharkiv), from 1948 – State Museum of T.H. Shevchenko (Kyiv).

Exhibition: 1974. Kyiv. Works from the collection of Taras Shevchenko [Artworks in own collection of Taras Shevchenko: Exhibition Catalogue. – K., 1974. – p. 8].

O.G. Vartanova, V.A. Sudak

After publication: Taras Shevchenko Complete Works in 10 volumes. – K.: ed. of Acad. Sci. of UkrSSR, 1961, t. 7, bk. 2, № 271 (image); T.H. Shevchenko Complete Works in 12 volumes. – K.: Naukova Dumka, 2003, v. 7, p. 443 – 444 (notes).