Portrait of a couple Jacobi

Taras Shevchenko. Portrait of a couple Jacobi. Stained paper, an Italian and a white pencil (35.7 × 27 cm). [Nizhny Novgorod]. [8 – 9.XI] 1857. Taras Shevchenko National Museum, inv. g – 726.

There is author's signature and date in white pencil at the right of portrait: 1857 // Shevchenko.

Jacobi M. K. – one of the friends Shevchenko in Nizhny Novgorod, a member of "Trusteeship at children's shelter". In Jacobi Shevchenko was reading illegal literature, he also met with Decembrist I. O. Annenkov.

In his diary on November 8, 1857 Shevchenko recorded: "Today before lunch painted portraits of Mr. and Ms. Jacobi". On the next day, ie on November 9, said: "Finished portrait of Jacobi".

In the literature reproduced under a false name, "Portrait of Zygmuntowsky (?) (Zigmantowsky)» [see. A. Novitsky, Taras Shevchenko as a painter, Lviv – Moscow, 1914, p. 47, Tab. 21; G. D. Vladimirski, A. N. Savinov, Taras Shevchenko – the artist, L. – M., 1939, Tab. XXVIII]. With Zygmuntowsky Shevchenko met only in Novopetrovsk fort during his exile, where he could not made portraits signed and dated.

In the publication by Matsapura this portrait reattributed as "Portrait of a couple Jacobi" [see "The history of the two portraits", "Ukraine", K., 1953, № 2, p. 29].

Storage areas: property of N. I. Kostomarov, Tsvetkov's gallery, State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Institute of Taras Shevchenko, Kharkiv, Gallery of pictures Shevchenko, Kharkiv.

N. P. Prokopenko

After publication: Taras Shevchenko Complete Works in 10 volumes. – Kyiv: ed. Academy of sciences of UkrSSR, 1963, v. 10, № 16 (image), p. 12 – 13 (note).