1897
oil on canvas
187 х 142,5

The portrait of Savva Ivanovich Mamontov (1841–1918) is associated with the theme of tragic sacrifice of a creative personaly. Mamontov was a major industrialist and a talented patron of arts. He set up the Abramtsevo Art Circle (1870–1890s) and the Russian Private Opera (1885–1904); on his Abramtsevo estate he set up art workshops to further the traditions of folk art and crafts. The portrait was painted shortly before Mamontov bankruptcy, when the patron of arts was falsely accused of embezzlement. He was soon vindicated, but he could no longer resume his former activities. Compositionally exalted in triumph, the figure of a Russian Medici only enhances the picture's black colour scheme sounding like a requiem. Baleful shadows are lurking everywhere. A striking effect is produced by the contrast between the white shirt-front, frozen like a marble stela, and the face, grimacing convulsively: as if the subject is terrorized by the prospect of invasion by irrational forces. The composition's solemn vertical is crowned with the sculpture of a wailer, which produces the impression of the image sounding like a requiem.

at 10, Lavrushinsky Lane, Hall 33