1889–1890
oil on canvas
160 х 211

The painting opens a series of works devoted to the acts of St. Sergius of Radonezh (circa 1321–1391), the founder and abbot of the Holy Trinity-St. Sergius monastery, aka Bartholomew, his laic name. Sergius is one of the most venerated Russian saints, whose image as a youth became for the artist a symbol of hope for the revival of Russian spirituality. Nesterov uses an episode of St. Sergius hagiography. Unlike his brothers, Bartholomew found it difficult to learn his ABC's. One day, when looking for his herd that had gone astray, the youth found himself in woods where he met a monk praying under an oak. On learning that the boy was failing at his ABC's, he used the sacrament of communion to help Bartholomew achieve the blessing of knowledge. The folding icon that the old man holds in his hand and that resembles a cathedral, a church in the distance are the symbols of the saint's future deeds. The youth's fragile figure matches the thin young trees, brittle bladed of grass, the young pine tree that shoots up by his feet. The dark figure of the old man, by contrast, looks mysterious as it appears from behind the ancient oak. His face is hidden, a luminous halo around his head. It seems as if it was the contemplation of broody autumn landscape that brought this vision to the artist's mind.

at 10, Lavrushinsky Lane, Hall 39