Threatened that he would draw everyone

Italian letters of Sylvester Shchedrin are the annals of Neapolitan and Amalfitan life. The historian Mikhail Talalay talks about the new publication.

Ivan Tolstoy: Mikhail Grigoryevich, going to the recording of our program, I, putting on a jacket and wrapping a scarf, saw once again the spine of “Letters from Italy” by the artist Sylvester Shchedrin. The book is very interesting (I bought it about 50 years ago, this is one of the first books in the publishing house "Academy", which I found in Bukinist on Litein), if only because it is edited and accompanied by the preface and notes of a wonderful art critic, one of the best Russian art historians Abram Efros. And now you offer a topic again - Italian letters of Sylvester Shchedrin. What's happened? Are there any new incredible letters? Or do you want to overtake and wipe your nose to Abram Efros?

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"Letters from Italy" Sylvester Shchedrin in the new Italian publication. The hero of the "alphabet of dissent" - Arseny Roginsky.

Mikhail Talalay: Well, both. In fact, the Italian book of Italian letters Sylvester Shchedrin really published for the first time. They were known to Russian readers, including you, Ivan Nikitich, but the Italians knew about their existence, but they never saw them in their native Italian. The Italian book was published only now - in southern Italy, in the city of Amalfi, with the name of Italian - Lette Dal Meridione, "Letters from the Italian South."

The cover of the Italian edition of Shchedrin letters

Actually, the Italian book, about which I will tell mostly, it also has its own story. She is already 10 years old. She was preceded by the Russian book of 2014, which you probably missed. And this is a complete collection of letters that complemented, expanded, and I will talk about this a little more, the very publication that you talked about at the beginning, the wonderful art critic Abram Efros. Why has 10 years have passed since the book that appeared already edited, let's say, the successor of Abram Efros, a contemporary art critic, professor at St. Petersburg University Mikhail Evseviev? In 2015, Professor Evseviev brought this new book, thick, more than 700 pages, to Italy. From my presentation, we arranged three presentations, such a three-part action: in Naples, at the State University, then in Sorrento, where Sylvester Shchedrin was buried, and in Amalfi, a city that is dedicated to one of the best paintings artist. And the city, which ultimately found funds and energy for the publication of the Italian book.

As an artist, he opened precisely in the Italian south, in Naples and the environs

Ten years passed, because it was necessary to select letters. Nevertheless, we decided not to publish everything that Sylvester wrote from Italy, and to put aside his Roman letters to the side and future publishers. Still, as an artist, he opened precisely in the Italian south, in Naples and the environs, and therefore we limited ourselves to this very south. It was necessary to find a translator. It was my kind acquaintance Marina Moretti, in fact, I recommended her to amalfitan publishers. The Russian language of Shchedrin, as you hear, is almost the same as ours, but with the nuances, with some archaisms that Marina Moretti knows well. She, say, translated Kapnist, "Yabeda", so she even knows the language preceding Shchedrin. There was a lot of trouble with illustrations, because the Russian, scientific publication did not have one at all, only naked text, in 700 pages. Illustrations exist, let’s say, in the public domain on the Internet, but Mikhail Evseviev insisted that correspondence with Russian museums would necessarily arise, with the Tretyakovka in Moscow, with the Russian Museum in St. Petersburg, so that the Italians would pay them official permission and so on. The correspondence is not fast, but all illustrations were obtained legally, without any Internet. Although the temptation was to take something else from there.

I was carried away by this project, I must say, for personal reasons, because my father loved Shchedrin. There were no letters in our family library, but there were his albums. My father told me that he still loved such an exalted, cheerful style of Sylvester Shchedrin, his bright colors, bought his albums, bought cards, very dull, where these colors were bad. Then I gave them all to Mikhail Evseviev.

Sylvester Shchedrin. The veranda by the sea near Sorrento

As for the colors, the Italian book has a subtitle, somewhat piercing, but corresponding to the invigorating sensation that Shchedrin conveys from south to north. The new book is called, I repeat, lettere Dal Meridione, and its subtitles - I translate: "Russian artist in love with the world of the South." There is some tautology - "Letters from the Italian South" and "The Light of the South". In Italian, this was avoided: Meridione and Sud, in Russian translation this is not easy.

Ivan Tolstoy: Mikhail Grigoryevich, but in general, where does the interest of the artist’s letters come from? The artist speaks with a pen, a cutter, a pencil, as you like, with some other plastic, but, as a rule, not in a word. There are not so many artists gifted verbally, well, not that on the fingers of one hand, but still this is not the most important thing in them. What is attractive Sylvester Shchedrin in general? And when you answer, explain this question to us, let's move on to his biography, to his life. I do not think that every listener from his teeth bounces knowledge of his life and fate.

Portrait of S. Shchedrin's work by P. Basin. Naples, 1821

Mikhail Talalay: Let's start then with the last part of your question so that the meaning of his letters is clearer. Sylvester Shchedrin, again, in Italian, is Figlio Dell'arte, a beautiful, elegant expression-"son of art." So in Italy they say about the offspring that continued the art of parents. And Shchedrin in this sense had a wonderful beginning from childhood. His father is also an artist, primarily a sculptor, and even the rector of the Academy of Arts. Therefore, both of his sons were immersed in the very core of the artistic life of St. Petersburg, the whole of Russia of that era. His brother Apollo became a prominent architect, Sylvester himself became a brilliant artist. Both, of course, are graduates of the Academy of Arts.

And, in fact, not like Figlio Dell'arte, but in terms of his qualities, he receives a guesthouse in his merits, as they called it then (now this grant), and leaves for Italy. And under the conditions of the guesthouse, he was supposed to return five years later, when the boarding house ended, but he does not return to Russia. He leaves in 1818, this year was his very first letters, and lives the next 12 years in Italy, he died in Sorrento. The first five years has been living as a boarding house of the Academy, and then, the next 7 years, already as a private person, but as an realized, in advance, a demanded artist, whose paintings are bought not only in Russia, but also in Europe. And he writes letters to his homeland, a lot of letters.

Before us are different details of the European life of the first third of the otentento

He wrote them with enthusiasm and talented, literary, which, in general, is obvious to the modern reader. The very first preserved letter dates back to the time of arrival in Italy. We do not know whether he had previously been engaged in an epistolary genre or not, but these are already mature, completely literary texts. And, in addition to their literary advantages, this, of course, is an unusually important historical source. Before us are different details of the European life of the first third of the OttoChento, using the Italian name for the 19th century. The artist saw from the inside Europe, mainly Italy, recorded what he saw, formulated, accompanied it with a rather lengthy, high -quality commentary. We can judge by his letters about the life of Italians, primarily the Neapolitans of that time, about nature, about people, about the ways of moving travelers, about Russians abroad, about the cost of life, about the ruble exchange rate, about the organization of postal services in Europe and Russia. He wrote a lot about a lot, and wrote well.

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Ivan Tolstoy: "Parents to Petersburg.

Written in Naples on June 27, 1819.

Vedi Napoli E Poi Muori, in fact; The city is extensive, beautiful, crowded, the location is attractive, the most beautiful street of Toledo is always filled with many people; Such crowding can be seen in other cities only on some extraordinary holidays, but here every day, and in the evening it is so close that you can’t go for a matter and for a hurry: a terrible knock of crews, a cry of the peddles, all this is unusual, and it is more likely from Rome, the city of the most quiet. I live on the shore of the sea in the most beautiful and crowded place, for there is a passage to the royal garden; Even better, under my windows they put chairs for the audience; On the shore there are many varieties with oysters and various fish; A scream of terrible girls selling rotten mineral water, which is immediately drawn and served passing and passing. But the whole night is a scream, and you need to get used to it to sleep calmly. The conversation of the Neapolitans is disgusted to me, everyone seems to be crying or teasing, and the language is the worst of all over all in Italy. But here in the use of French, and in taverns all people speak French. Living here is more expensive than in Rome, but everything is on a big leg, everything is removed, decorated, although it’s not everywhere good; But apartments are sensitive more. "

Sylvester Shchedrin. Naples, 1819

Mikhail Talalay: This letter to his parents, one of the first, the artist begins with a phrase that has already become classical: "See Naples and die." Now she is well known. Ehrenburg made her paraphrase, which became even better known with us than about Naples: "To see Paris and die." There are comic retelling of the type: "retire and die." The first seemed to have been introduced into Goethe’s literature, but, it seems to me, Shchedrin simply overheard it, and did not read it from Goethe. After the publication of letters, we can say that he was probably the first to introduce into our domestic everyday life, well, then his parents and friends are still quite narrow, but he was the first to introduce this wonderful phrase.

Now about the letters themselves, about how they are preserved. This, of course, is great luck. After the premature death of Shchedrin (he died when he was not forty years old, in 1830 in Sorrento), these letters, of course, were protected as relics. His brother Apollo, his parents, who survived his son, naturally, these letters passed to his relatives. They then got to the museum, in the Academy of Arts, and researchers began to engage in them at the end of the 19th century. At first, quite modestly, at that time they did not attach importance to the epistolary genre, but nevertheless used the information that Sylvester Shchedrin reported here. The first academic publication was published back in 1932, then reprinted, this is the efros edition that you have now mentioned. But there was only one third of the surviving messages of Shchedrin, those that he wrote to his relatives in St. Petersburg.

Sylvester Shchedrin. Self -portrait, 1817

Another researcher - Esfir Acarkin, turned to the epistolary after 30 years. She found Shchedrin's letters to his close friend Samuel Halberg. The sculptor lived in Rome, then his friends broke up, Shchedrin went to Naples and wrote very regularly and, of course, more openly and vividly to his friend-sculptor to Rome, who later had such a sad, melancholy task-to scream the tombstone for the grave of Shchedrin in Sorrento.

Ivan Tolstoy: and remove the posthumous mask from Pushkin.

"Sculptor Samuel Halberg in Rome.

Written in Castellamar on July 3, 1820.

In the early days, I began to make sketches in places where, apparently, not a single landscape leg stepped, because, passing me, some boys, about 12 years or more, cried and shouted my mother, hiding from my views, although they were in the distance from me in the fathoms of 20, but looking incessantly at the appearance I had done, I seemed to look at them with that I looked at them with thunderstorm, which brought them in fear. Others believed that I was an Englishman, teased me, carpeting Italian, already unhappy in Naples, in the manner of horse or English; Still others climbed to my mountain, and I could not drive them away otherwise than threatening that I would draw them all, which is why they fled from me with a purposes. ”

Mikhail Talalai: The current publisher of letters - Mikhail Evseviev, who became my friend, naturally, knew these previous two publications of letters, but was so carried away by the personality himself, the paintings of Shchedrin that he decided to read them again. As he himself told me, his excitement was caused by the fact that in previous publications there were often outflows, that is, there were some kind of gaps, or censorships, or something was not dismantled by the publishers. Therefore, he set a goal - to collect and read everything.

Sylvester Shchedrin. Letters from Italy. Ed. Abram Efros. M.-L., Academia, 1932

His book of 2014 is called "Italian letters and reports", that is, creative reports at the Academy of Arts from Sylvester Feodosievich Shchedrin are also included. Set in the title of dates - 1818–1830. And the letters are everything. Of these-about 70 letters that Evseviev first published completely, they were known before, but came out with some bills. He found five letters for the first time. And of course, a huge apparatus of comments, and plus creative reports, and much, much more. Therefore, it turned out a weighty Tom that is not all, I repeat, entered our Italian book.

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Remarkable correspondence with brother. Evseviev, before publishing the final arch, on the outskirts of it, prepared an interesting book. This is the correspondence of two brothers: one brother lives in St. Petersburg, this is the architect Apollo Shtshrin, the second went to Naples. "Correspondence of two angles." Apollo from St. Petersburg is exhorting: "Dear, we miss you. Parents ask: where is Sylvester?" Sylvester replies: “Dear brother, I would return, but look what kind of fortune I have here. I, in fact, is known as an Italian artist. I am bought as an Italian artist. And my parents, I send me in support of the means earned exclusively here.” So he did not return to Petersburg. Correspondence between two brothers was published by a separate volume. The messages of Apollo were not previously known.

Ivan Tolstoy: "Brother Apollo Feodosievich Shchedrin in St. Petersburg.

Written in Potzcuoli, May 6, 1828.

Finally, I managed to see and make a sketch from the nature of the eruption of Vesuvius

Finally, I managed to see and make a sketch from the nature of the eruption of Vesuvius. After the former eruption of 1822, the mountain completely subsided and weak smoke was very occasionally shown; This year, from March 17, some signs appeared, and even saw the flame occasionally at night, and from the 19th to times small eruptions were made; Finally, on March 22, at about two o’clock in the afternoon, a terrible pillar rose to smoke and stood about an hour above the mountain, like the most thick clouds; The change of forms of smoke from continuous eruption, as well as a change in lighting and colors, was an incomparable sight with nothing; It is a pity that there was nothing significant at night. How great pleasure brought me this spectacle, on the other hand it was unpleasant to tremble the doors and windows in the whole house. The rumors of this eruption immediately reached Rome, from where many foreigners set off into Naples, including Bryullov and Gabertel, but only Bryullov came to me, then, as a laughter, the subsided volcano stopped smoking completely, and he, having left for four days, returned again to Rome. "

Mikhail Talalai: A few words about my friendship with the publication of letters, about friendship with Mikhail Evseviev. He came to me back in the 90s, when he found out that there was such a researcher of Russian-Italian ties, and invited me to meet. I well remember our first meeting, of course, on Nevsky Prospekt, at the monument to Catherine. Then there were still tables, behind which it was possible to drink beer, almost directly on Nevsky Prospekt, at the entrance to the public library, now they were removed. I was preparing for this meeting, I recalled that I could tell about Shchedrin.

I remember the first question: "Where does such a stupid name come from - the kingdom of both Sicily?"

I remember the first question that puzzled me. Mikhail Evsevyev asked me: "Where does such a stupid name come from - the kingdom of both Sicily?" In fact, Shchedrin lived there, first in the papal region in Rome, and then in Naples, the capital of the kingdom of both Sicily. Thank God I was prepared. This is a difficult story, I will not tell now. The current person can, as they say, find out where it is, really, the absurd name - both Sicily ... We became friends. Mikhail Evseviev went to visit me in Naples, I met with him in St. Petersburg. Then they prepared this Italian book.

Of course, this is not only a translation of the messages, of course, the Italians wanted to participate as authors. The main corps is the architecturally built publication of Shchedrin’s letters made by Evseviev, but naturally, an application appeared, written by the Neapolitans, Sorrentians, Amalfitans, where local residents expressed their love for Sylvester, appreciation for his art, emphasizing the fact that the artist died and was buried in Porrento, in the south of Italy. Explaining, in general, the well-known circumstance that we do not choose the place of birth, but here is the place of death, the last point of our life path is often a conscious choice. Shchedrin as if in his life trajectory picked up and embodied the phrase with which we began: "To see Naples and die."

Superobroting of the Russian edition of 2014.

And now I have both books on my desk. One is a fresh Italian. Другая – российская десятилетней давности, которая имеет одну особенность: она принадлежит к тем ста экземплярам из общего тиража, которые одеты в суперобложку. Эти особые экземпляры пронумерованы, и на моем стоит №11. На суперобложке – коллаж, состоящий из фрагмента картины известного пейзажа Щедрина "Набережная Мерджеллина в Неаполе" и кавалькады осликов на фоне пейзажа. На первых двух осликах есть всадники, а последний ослик без оных. И вот я читаю из аннотации к тому: "Сто пронумерованных экземпляров книги одеты в суперобложку с композицией I. Soiguine (California, USA): Сильвестр Щедрин едет на осле по дуге Неаполитанского залива, за ним едет Михаил Евсевьев, а на третьего осла можешь сесть ты".