L n thick children's photographs. Lev Tolstoy

Leo Tolstoy near the terrace of the Yasnaya Polyana house, May 11, 1908, Tula province., Krapivensky district, village. Yasnaya Polyana. Among Tolstoy's numerous visitors on the eve of his 80th birthday, a folk teacher from Siberia, IP Sysoev, who had previously visited America, came to Yasnaya Polyana. He asked Lev Nikolaevich for permission to photograph him for the Americans. The photographer Baranov, brought by Sysoev, took these photographs on May 11, the day when Tolstoy was strongly impressed by the report he had read in the newspaper Rus about the execution of twenty Kherson peasants. On that day, Lev Nikolaevich dictated into the phonograph the beginning of the article on the death penalty - the original version of "I can not be silent."
Photo Baranov S. A.

Leo Tolstoy playing gorodki, 1909, Tula province, Krapivensky district, village Yasnaya Polyana. In the background on the left is the grandson of Ilya Andreevich Tolstoy, on the right is the son of the servant Alyosha Sidorkov. “With me,” recalls Valentin Fyodorovich Bulgakov, “Lev Nikolayevich, at 82, played towns with Alyosha Sidorkov ... the son of the old Yasnaya Polyana servant Ilya Vasilyevich Sidorkov. There is a photograph depicting Tolstoy's "blow". Of course, he could no longer play “seriously” for a long time: he just “tried his strength””. 1909
Tapsel Thomas

Leo Tolstoy with his family, 1892, Tula province, Krapivensky district, village Yasnaya Polyana. From left to right: Misha, Leo Tolstoy, Lev, Andrey, Tatyana, Sofya Andreevna Tolstaya, Maria. Vanechka and Alexandra are in the foreground.
Photo studio "Scherer, Nabgolts and Kº"

Leo Tolstoy riding a Dawn, 1903, Tula province, Krapivensky district, village. Yasnaya Polyana. Many contemporaries of Leo Tolstoy admired his skill as a rider, including Vladimir Vasilyevich Stasov: “But as soon as he sat down, it’s just a miracle! The whole will gather, the legs seem to have merged with the horse, the body is a real centaur, it will tilt its head a little, - and the horse ... dances and knocks under him with its feet, like a fly ... ".

Leo and Sophia Tolstoy, 1895, Tula province, Krapivensky district, village. Yasnaya Polyana. The first mention of Tolstoy riding a bicycle is in a letter to his daughter Tatyana Lvovna dated April 16, 1894: “We have a new hobby: cycling. Papa spends hours studying on it, riding and circling along the alleys in the garden ... This is Alexei Maklakov’s bicycle, and tomorrow we will send it to him so as not to break it, otherwise it will probably end like this.
Photo Tolstaya Sofia Andreevna

Leo Tolstoy with relatives and friends, including the artist Nikolai Ge, 1888, Tula province, Krapivensky district, village. Yasnaya Polyana. Standing from left to right: Alexander Emmanuilovich Dmitriev-Mamonov (artist's son), Misha and Maria Tolstoy, M. V. Mamonov, Madame Lambert (governess); sitting: Sasha Tolstaya, Sofya Andreevna Tolstaya, Alexander Mikhailovich Kuzminsky (husband of Tatyana Kuzminskaya), artist Nikolai Nikolaevich Ge, Andrey and Lev Tolstoy, Sasha Kuzminsky, Tatyana Andreevna Kuzminskaya (sister of Sofya Andreevna Tolstaya), Mikhail Vladimirovich Islavin, Vera Alexandrovna Kuzminskaya, Misha Kuzminsky, Miss Chomel (governess of the Kuzminsky children); in the foreground - Vasya Kuzminsky, Lev and Tatyana Tolsty. For 12 years of friendship with Tolstoy, Ge painted only one pictorial portrait of Tolstoy. In 1890, at the request of Sophia Andreevna Tolstoy Ge, he sculpted a bust of Tolstoy - the first sculptural image of the writer, and even earlier, in 1886, he completed a series of illustrations for Tolstoy's story "What makes people alive"
Photo by Abamelek-Lazarev S.S.

Leo Tolstoy playing tennis, 1896, Tula province, Krapivensky district, village Yasnaya Polyana. From left to right: Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy, Maria Lvovna Tolstaya, Alexandra Lvovna Tolstaya, Nikolai Leonidovich Obolensky (son of Tolstoy's niece Elizaveta Valeryanovna Obolenskaya, since June 2, 1897 - husband of Maria Lvovna Tolstaya).
Photo Tolstaya Sofia Andreevna

Leo Tolstoy and Maxim Gorky, October 8, 1900, Tula province, Krapivensky district, village. Yasnaya Polyana. This was the second meeting of the writers. “I was in Yasnaya Polyana. I took away a huge pile of impressions from there, which to this day I can’t figure out ... I spent the whole day there from morning to evening, ”Alexei Maksimovich Gorky wrote to Anton Pavlovich Chekhov in October 1900.
Tolstaya Sofia Andreevna

Leo Tolstoy, land surveyor and peasant Prokofy Vlasov, 1890, Tula province, Krapivensky district, village.
Yasnaya Polyana. Adamson Photos

Leo Tolstoy with his family under the "tree of the poor", September 23, 1899, Tula province., Krapivensky district, village. Yasnaya Polyana. Standing: Nikolai Leonidovich Obolensky (son of Tolstoy's niece Elizaveta Valeryanovna Obolenskaya, since June 2, 1897 - husband of Maria Lvovna Tolstoy), Sofya Nikolaevna Tolstaya (Leo Tolstoy's daughter-in-law, since 1888 the wife of his son Ilya) and Alexandra Lvovna Tolstaya. Seated from left to right: grandchildren Anna and Mikhail Ilyichi Tolstoy, Maria Lvovna Obolenskaya (daughter), Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy, Sofya Andreevna Tolstaya with her grandson Andrei Ilyich Tolstoy, Tatyana Lvovna Sukhotina with Volodya (Ilyich) in her arms, Varvara Valeryanovna Nagornova (niece of Leo Tolstoy, the eldest daughter of his sister Maria Nikolaevna Tolstoy), Olga Konstantinovna Tolstaya (wife of Andrei Lvovich Tolstoy), Andrei Lvovich Tolstoy with Ilya Ilyich Tolstoy (grandson of Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy).
Photo Tolstaya Sofia Andreevna

Leo Tolstoy and Ilya Repin, December 17 - 18, 1908, Tula province, Krapivensky district, village. Yasnaya Polyana. The photograph refers to the last visit to Yasnaya Polyana by Ilya Efimovich Repin, taken at the request of his wife Natalya Borisovna Nordman-Severova. During almost thirty years of friendship, Tolstoy and Repin were photographed together for the first time.
Tolstaya Sofia Andreevna

Leo Tolstoy on a bench under the "tree of the poor", 1908, Tula province, Krapivensky district, village. Yasnaya Polyana. In the background Sofya Andreevna Tolstaya and four peasant boys.
Photo Kulakov P. E.

Leo Tolstoy and a peasant petitioner, 1908, Tula province, Krapivensky district, village. Yasnaya Polyana. Ivan Fedorovich Nazhivin wrote down the words of Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy: “To love the distant, humanity, the people, to wish them well is not a tricky business ... No, you’ve got to love your neighbors, love your neighbors, those whom you meet every day, who sometimes get bored, they annoy, they interfere, - love them, do good to them! .. Here I am walking in the park the other day and thinking. I hear some woman walking behind and asking for something. And I just had an idea that I needed to work on. “Well, what do you need?” I say impatiently to the woman. “What are you bothering about?” But it's good that now he came to his senses and recovered. And then it happens, you realize it too late.
Bulla Karl Karlovich

Leo Tolstoy, July 1907, Tula province., Der. Ash trees. Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy was filmed on one of the hot days of July 1907 in the village of Yasenki, where the Chertkovs lived at that time. According to an eyewitness, Bulgarian Hristo Dosev, the photo was taken after a heart-to-heart conversation between Tolstoy and one of his associates. “At the same time,” writes Dosev, “Chertkov prepared his photographic apparatus in the yard, wanting to take a portrait of L.N. But when he asked him to pose for him, L.N., who almost always peacefully agreed to this, this time did not want to. He furrowed his eyebrows and could not hide his unpleasant feeling. "There's an interesting, important conversation about a person's life, but here you're doing stupid things," he said irritably. But, having surrendered to the requests of VG, he went to stand. Apparently, having tamed himself, he joked with Chertkov. "He keeps shooting! But I'll take revenge on him. I'll take some car and, when he starts shooting, I'll douse him with water! And I laughed merrily."

Leo and Sofya Tolstoy on the 34th wedding anniversary, September 23, 1896, Tula province, Krapivensky district, village. Yasnaya Polyana
Photo Tolstaya Sofia Andreevna

Leo Tolstoy plays chess with Vladimir Chertkov, June 28 - 30, 1907, Tula province, Krapivensky district, village. Yasnaya Polyana. On the right you can see the reverse of the portrait of Leo Tolstoy, on which the artist Mikhail Vasilyevich Nesterov was working at that time. During the sessions, Tolstoy often played chess. The eighteen-year-old son of Vladimir Chertkov Dima (Vladimir Vladimirovich Chertkov) was one of his most "unyielding" partners.
Photo Chertkov Vladimir Grigorievich

Leo Tolstoy with his granddaughter Tanya Sukhotina, 1908, Tula province, Krapivensky district, village. Yasnaya Polyana. In his diary, Lev Nikolaevich wrote: “If I were given a choice: to populate the earth with such saints as I can imagine, but only so that there are no children, or such people as now, but with children constantly arriving fresh from God, “I would choose the latter.”
Chertkov Vladimir Grigorievich

Leo Tolstoy with his family on the day of his 75th birthday, 1903, Tula province, Krapivensky district, village. Yasnaya Polyana. Standing from left to right: Ilya, Lev, Alexandra and Sergei Tolstoy; seated: Mikhail, Tatyana, Sofya Andreevna and Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy, Andrey.

Leo Tolstoy is having breakfast on the terrace of a house in Gaspra, December 1901, Tauride Gubernia, village. Gaspra. From the diary of Sofya Andreevna Tolstoy: “... it is difficult, terribly, sometimes unbearable with his stubbornness, tyranny and complete lack of knowledge of medicine and hygiene. For example, doctors tell him to eat caviar, fish, broth, but he is a vegetarian and this destroys himself ... ".
Photo Tolstaya Alexandra Lvovna

Leo Tolstoy and Anton Chekhov in Gaspra, September 12, 1901, Tauride Province, village. Gaspra. The writers met in 1895 in Yasnaya Polyana. The photo was taken on the terrace of Sofya Vladimirovna Panina's dacha.
Photo by Sergeenko P.A.

Leo Tolstoy with his daughter Tatyana, 1902, Taurida province, pos. Gaspar
Photo Tolstaya Sofia Andreevna

Leo Tolstoy with his daughter Alexandra on the seashore, 1901, Taurida Province, village. Miskhor
Photo Tolstaya Sofia Andreevna

Leo Tolstoy and Dushan Makovitsky among patients and doctors of the Trinity District Psychiatric Hospital (talking to a patient who calls himself Peter the Great), June 1910, Moscow province., p. Trinity. Tolstoy became interested in issues of psychiatry in particular after meeting in 1897 with the famous criminologist and psychiatrist Cesare Lombroso. Living in Otradnoye next door to the two best at that time, the Trinity District and Pokrovskaya Zemstvo Psychiatric Hospitals, he visited them several times. Tolstoy visited the Trinity Hospital twice: on June 17 and 19, 1910.
Photo Chertkov Vladimir Grigorievich

Leo Tolstoy in Yasnaya Polyana, August 28, 1903, Tula province .., village. Yasnaya Polyana
Photo Protasevich Franz Trofimovich

Leo Tolstoy, Alexandra Tolstaya, chairman of the Moscow Literacy Society Pavel Dolgorukov, Tatyana Sukhotina, Varvara Feokritova, Pavel Biryukov, on January 31, 1910, Tula province, Krapivensky district, village. Yasnaya Polyana. The black poodle Marquis belonged to Tolstoy's youngest daughter Alexandra Lvovna.
Photo Saveliev A.I.

Leo and Sophia Tolstoy and their daughter Alexandra among the peasants of the village of Yasnaya Polyana on Trinity Day, 1909, Tula province, Krapivensky district, village. Yasnaya Polyana. Left: Alexandra Lvovna Tolstaya.
Photo Tapsel Thomas

Leo Tolstoy walks from the house along the Preshpekt alley, 1903, Tula province, Krapivensky district, village. Yasnaya Polyana. From the diary of Mikhail Sergeevich Sukhotin, 1903: “Each time I am more and more surprised by the health and strength of L.N. He is getting younger, fresher, stronger. There is no mention of his former fatal illnesses ... He again acquired his youthful, quick, cheerful gait, very peculiar, with his socks turned outward.
Photo Tolstaya Alexandra Lvovna

Leo Tolstoy among the peasants of the village of Krekshino, Moscow province, 1909, Moscow province, village. Krekshino. The peasants of the village of Krekshino came with bread and salt to welcome the arrival of Leo Tolstoy. He came out to them in a shirt with suspenders outside, as the day was very hot and, according to eyewitnesses, he talked with them for a long time. The conversation turned to land, and Lev Nikolaevich expressed his view of landed property as a sin, all the evil from which he again resolved by moral perfection and refraining from violence.
Photo Tapsel Thomas

Leo Tolstoy in the office of the house in Yasnaya Polyana, 1909, Tula province, Krapivensky district, village. Yasnaya Polyana. Tolstoy is filmed in his office, in an armchair intended for visitors. Lev Nikolayevich sometimes liked to sit in this armchair in the evenings, reading a book by the light of a candle, which he placed next to him on a bookcase. The rotating bookcase was presented to him by Pyotr Alekseevich Sergeenko. On it were placed books that Tolstoy used in the near future and which therefore had to be “at hand”. A note was pinned on the bookcase: "Books from the right ones."
Photo Chertkov Vladimir Grigorievich

Leo Tolstoy on a walk, 1908, Tula province, Krapivensky district, village Yasnaya Polyana
Photo Chertkov Vladimir Grigorievich

Leo Tolstoy tells a fairy tale about a cucumber to his grandchildren Sonya and Ilyusha, 1909, Moscow province, village. Krekshino
Photo Chertkov Vladimir Grigorievich

Leo Tolstoy at the station in Krekshino, September 4 - 18, 1909, Moscow province., Der. Krekshino
Unknown author

Departure of Leo Tolstoy to Kochety to his daughter Tatyana Sukhotina, 1909, Tula province, Tula district, Kozlova Zasek station. In the last two years of his life, Tolstoy often left Yasnaya Polyana - sometimes for a short stay with his daughter Tatyana Lvovna in Kochety, then to Chertkov in Krekshino or in Meshcherskoye, Moscow province.
Photo Chertkov Vladimir Grigorievich

Leo Tolstoy, 1907, Tula province, Krapivensky district, village. Yasnaya Polyana. “Not a single photograph, not even portraits painted from him, can convey the impression that was obtained from his living face and figure. When Tolstoy looked at a person, he became motionless, concentrated, inquisitively penetrated inside him and as if sucking out everything that was hidden in him - good or bad. At that moment his eyes hid behind overhanging brows, like the sun behind a cloud. At other times, Tolstoy responded to a joke like a child, burst into a sweet laugh, and his eyes became cheerful and playful, came out of thick eyebrows and shone, ”wrote Konstantin Sergeevich Stanislavsky.
Photo Chertkov Vladimir Grigorievich

The State Museum of Leo Tolstoy in Moscow has about 26 thousand copies of photographs. The museum has not only the most complete collection of photographs of Leo Tolstoy (about 12 thousand), but also unique photographs of persons, places, events related to the life and work of the writer.

The basis of the museum's photo fund was the exhibits of the Tolstoy exhibition, which opened in 1911 on a voluntary basis in the Historical Museum in Moscow. The owners of the photographs (among them K. K. Bulla, F. T. Protasevich, the firm Scherer, Nabgolts and K, who shot Tolstoy) donated them to the permanent museum of L. N. Tolstoy, which opened in 1911 in Moscow on Povarskaya Street, and in 1921 passed into the jurisdiction of the state. Based on the decision of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR in 1939 on the concentration in the State. Museum of L. N. Tolstoy in Moscow of all materials related to his life and work, photo funds were replenished with new materials from different museums of the country. Of particular value among them are photographs and negatives of S. A. Tolstoy, the writer's wife, received by the museum from Yasnaya Polyana, the Library. V. I. Lenin (the former Rumyantsev Museum), the Historical Museum: L. N. Tolstoy could see them, hold them in his hands, they have inscriptions and notes of the writer's family members.

In subsequent years, large and significant in content receipts were from the archives of V. G. Chertkov, Tolstoy’s granddaughter S. A. Tolstoy-Yesenina, the son and grandson of the writer S. L. and S. S. Tolstoy, the great-grandson of A. I. Tolstoy, acquaintances of the Tolstoy family - Kh. N. Abrikosov, P. N. Boulanger, P. A. Sergeenko, N. N. Gusev, as well as from the archives of K. S. Shokhor-Trotsky and others.

The photographic Tolstovian of the museum is numerous and varied. This is a whole photo chronicle of the writer's life, which was created over 60 years - from the first daguerreotype image to a color photograph taken by the pioneer of color photography S. M. Prokudin-Gorsky.

Tolstoy filmed by professionals

There are few images of the young Tolstoy. These are daguerreotypes (mirror prints on a silver-plated metal plate) of 1849 and 1854 (out of the four daguerreotypes of the writer known to us, three are in our museum) and the first photographs in the modern sense of the word, i.e. prints on paper, by S. L. Levitsky , M. B. Tulinova, I. Zheryuze (1856, 1862). In the future, as photographic equipment improved and Tolstoy's popularity grew, there were more and more photographs of him, especially in the first decade of the 20th century. Leo Tolstoy was photographed by representatives of well-known photographic firms, correspondents of newspapers and magazines, members of his family, relatives, friends, acquaintances and casual visitors.

In the 1870s, there were still few images of the writer. The author of "Anna Karenina" appears before us in the photographs of the professional I. G. Dyagovchenko (1876) and M. M. Panov (1878-79).

In the 1880s - 90s, among professional photographers, the Scherer, Nabgolts and Co. firm occupies a special place among professional photographers in the documentary iconography of the writer, which photographed Tolstoy and his family for almost a quarter of a century. Most of the photographic portraits of the writer were made at the initiative of Sofya Andreevna for the collected works of her husband that she was preparing. In the same years, many amateur photographs of Tolstoy appeared, which was associated with the simplification of photography techniques.

Tolstoy in amateur photographs

The first amateur images of the writer (with the exception of a self-portrait of 1862) were made by a neighbor on the estate, Prince S. S. Abamelek-Lazarev (1884), family friend M. A. Stakhovich (1887) and wife S. A. Tolstaya (1887). The first two authors created entire photo collections - portraits of Tolstoy, his family, relatives and guests of Yasnaya Polyana; many of the photographs are of a genre nature, conveying the emotional atmosphere of the Yasnaya Polyana estate.

In the 1890s, in addition to the already mentioned S. S. Abamelek-Lazarev and S. A. Tolstoy, the writer was photographed by Adamson, E. S. Tomashevich, Y. Stadling (Swedish journalist), P. F. Samarin, P. I. Biryukov, D. I. Chetverikov, artist N. A. Kasatkin, P. V. Preobrazhensky, the son of the writer Ilya Lvovich and others. All of them captured important, significant moments of the writer's social activity, his occupations and interests: Tolstoy on the mowing with a peasant from Yasnaya Polyana; draws up lists of the starving in Begichevka, Ryazan province; among like-minded people on a farm in Rusanov, Tula province; at booths on Maiden's Field in Moscow...

Some authors created heartfelt portraits of the writer, such as P. I. Biryukov, others managed to convey the immediacy of the captured moment, such as, for example, Tolstoy’s “vertical twine”, sitting on a horse, in the picture of the artist N. A. Kasatkin.

The largest number of photographs of Leo Tolstoy was taken in the 1900s, when instant devices appeared. Among the authors are people close to the writer: wife Sofya Andreevna, daughters Maria and Alexandra, son Ilya; friends and acquaintances: V. G. Chertkov, D. A. Olsufiev, P. I. Biryukov, D. V. Nikitin, I. M. Bodyansky, D. A. Hiryakov, P. A. Sergeenko and many others.

In their photographs, Tolstoy appears to us in a relaxed, confidential atmosphere, with family and guests, like-minded people and acquaintances, at work and on a walk, in Yasnaya Polyana, Moscow and other places. Psychological chamber photo portraits alternate with dynamic shots conveying the expression of a moment or a separate plot.

The last decade of the writer's life in photographs

In 1901, in connection with the “Determination of the Holy Synod” about the falling away of Count Leo Tolstoy from the Orthodox Church, it was officially forbidden to shoot and distribute images of the writer, so there are few professional photographs of him from the 1900s. As before, S.A. Tolstaya ordered portraits of her husband from the firm Scherer, Nabgolts and Co. In 1903, on the 75th anniversary of Leo Tolstoy, his son Ilya Lvovich invited his friend, professional photographer F.T. Protasevich, to Yasnaya Polyana, who took many pictures of the hero of the day, his family and guests. On the eve of the writer's 80th birthday (1908), a St. Petersburg photographer from the Novoye Vremya, K. K. Bull, came to Yasnaya Polyana with his son. In two days they created a whole pre-anniversary collection, which still amazes the audience with the truth of life and technical brilliance: psychologically capacious portraits of the writer, his family, guests, peasants, views and interiors of the estate and its environs.

The last professional photograph of Tolstoy in Yasnaya Polyana was taken by photographers from the Otto Renard company, who in 1909 came to Yasnaya together with representatives of the Gramophone company who wanted to record the voice of the “patriarch of Russian literature”.

The chronicle of L. N. Tolstoy’s trips in 1909 and in 1910 to his friend V. G. Chertkov in Krekshino near Moscow, to T. L. Sukhotina’s daughter in Kochety, the writer’s last visit to Moscow in September 1909, was reflected (in addition to V. G. Chertkov and T. Tapsel) in the photographs of professional masters S. G. Smirnov, A. I. Savelyev, the firm “Yu. Möbius”, in film frames by A. O. Drankov, J. Meyer (“Pate” company). They also filmed the mourning days of November 1910 in Astapovo and Yasnaya Polyana, which were also captured by professionals T. M. Morozov, F. T. Protasevich and cameramen of the company A. A. Khanzhonkov.

S. A. Tolstaya and V. G. Chertkov - creators of outstanding photo collections

The most significant collections of Tolstoy's iconography are the works of the writer's wife S. A. Tolstoy and his friend V. G. Chertkov - both in terms of the number of pictures and the variety of subjects.

The photographs of S. A. Tolstoy (about 1000 subjects) are a kind of chronicle of the last twenty years of the life of L. N. Tolstoy (1887 - 1910). Her camera recorded both important events and everyday, prosaic ones. In her photographs we see Leo Tolstoy at work, on vacation, with family and guests, with prominent cultural figures; other favorite subjects of her photographs are portraits of children and grandchildren, relatives, numerous guests, landscapes of her beloved Yasnaya Polyana, episodes of everyday life. Many of the photographs by S. A. Tolstoy depict the author himself, as she shot with a travel camera, which she mounted on a tripod.

Among the photographs marked by a certain static composition, there are many such photographs in her photo collection that vividly and vividly reflect the everyday life of Yasnaya Polyana and Moscow family life, in which, according to I. Repin, “every moment was deeply interesting - as only Tolstoy". The collection of S. A. Tolstoy is unequal in terms of technique (it did not even have a special room for processing photographs), but in terms of the nature of the plots that convey the full-blooded lifestyle of L. N. Tolstoy, the atmosphere in which he lived, it is unsurpassed.

Tolstoy's friend and like-minded V. G. Chertkov created his photo collection (about 360 subjects) for only five years (1905 - 1910). First of all, he tried to express by means of photography the peculiarity and complexity of the spiritual image of Leo Tolstoy. Hence his predilection for a close-up portrait, for the themes "Tolstoy and Nature", "Tolstoy and the People", through which, in his opinion, the personality of the writer was most revealed. Few of the amateurs, not to mention the professional photographers, had as much access to the minutes as Chertkov, when it was possible to “spy” and take a close-up of Tolstoy’s face during a casual conversation, alone with his thoughts, at the moment of creativity. Instant devices enabled Chertkov to shoot a whole series of simultaneous close-up portraits of Lev Nikolayevich. Each "ribbon" of such pictures (there are 10 such series in the museum) conveys Tolstoy's face in motion, in an endless variety of expressions. Some of Chertkov's photographic portraits, in terms of their psychological capacity and degree of generalization, can compete even with the best pictorial and graphic images of the writer, delighting us with the perfection of technical execution (the professional T. Tapsel, specially invited by Chertkov from England, developed and printed the pictures).

Around Tolstoy

The value of the photo fund is a unique collection of daguerreotypes (portraits of Leo Tolstoy, his relatives, friends and acquaintances) 1844 - 1856. works by V. Shenfeldt, K. P. Mazer, A. Ya. Davignon, M. A. Abadi, N. A. Pashkov, and the Blumenthal brothers. All seventeen daguerreotypes have survived to our time in good condition, with the exception of the 18th, which has partially lost its image.

Among a large number of photographs of various people from the environment of Leo Tolstoy, the museum contains photo albums of representatives of secular society from the 1850s-1870s. from the archives of the Chertkovs, Panins, Levashovs, Vorontsovs-Dashkovs; albums of "photo portraits of the most august persons and persons famous in Russia" by G. Denyer (1865).

In the "Various Places" section, one should note close-up photographs of the views of the Caucasus taken by photographers and topographers of the General Staff of the Caucasian Army in the 1850s - 1860s, an album of light paintings by Count Nostitz (1896) with views of Moscow and the Crimea.

Photographs of persons and places associated with the life and work of Leo Tolstoy make up about 2/3 of the total number of photographs, but no matter how large this part of the main photo fund is, the boundaries of its expansion are endless - Tolstoy absorbed so much, so wide and diverse were his connections.

Set of postcards "L. N. Tolstoy in the photographs of his contemporaries” with some comments…

Lev Nikolaevich, being the fourth child in the family, was born in 1828 in Yasnaya Polyana, the estate of Maria Nikolaevna's mother. Early enough, the children were left without parents and their father's relatives took care of them. Nevertheless, very bright feelings remained about the parents. Father, Nikolai Ilyich, was remembered as honest and never humiliated before anyone, a very cheerful and bright person, but with eternally sad eyes. About the mother, who died very early, I would like to note one found quote from the memoirs of Lev Nikolayevich:

“She seemed to me such a high, pure, spiritual being that often in the middle period of my life, during the struggle with the temptations that overwhelmed me, I prayed to her soul, asking her to help me, and this prayer always helped me”
P. I. Biryukov. Biography of L. N. Tolstoy.

This biography is also notable for the fact that L.N. himself took part in editing and writing it.

Moscow, 1851. Photo from Mather's daggerotype.

In the photo above, Tolstoy is 23 years old. This is the year of the first literary attempts, the sprees, maps and random companions in life familiar to that time, which, later, were described in War and Peace. However, the first school for serfs was opened by him four years before. Also, 1851 is the year of entry into military service in the Caucasus.

Tolstoy the officer was very successful and, if not for the reaction of the authorities to the sharp pamphlet in 1855, the future philosopher would have been under stray bullets for a long time.

1854 Photo from a daggerotype.

The brave warrior, who showed his best side during the Crimean War, was finishing the “Sevastopol Tales” already in the rear, in St. Petersburg. Acquaintance with Turgenev brought Tolstoy close to the editorial board of the Sovremennik magazine, where some of his stories were also published.

Editorial board of the journal "Sovremennik", St. Petersburg. Standing from left to right: L. N. Tolstoy, D. V. Grigorovich. Seated: I.A. Goncharov, I.S. Turgenev, A.V. Druzhinin, A.N. Ostrovsky. Photo by S.L.Levitsky.

1862, Moscow. Photo by M.B. Tulinov.

Perhaps, Tolstoy is characterized in an important way by the fact that while in Paris, he, a participant in the heroic defense of Sevastopol, was unpleasantly struck by the cult of Napoleon I and the guillotining, at which he happened to be present. Later, the characteristics of the orders that reigned in the army will emerge in 1886, in the famous “Nikolai Palkin” - the story of the old veteran will again shock Tolstoy, who served only in the army and did not face the senseless cruelty of the army as a means of punishing the recalcitrant poor. The vicious judicial practice and their own inability to protect the innocent will also be mercilessly criticized in “Memoirs of the Trial of a Soldier”, which tells about 1966.

But a sharp and irreconcilable criticism of the existing order is yet to come, the 60s became years of enjoying a happy family life with a loving and beloved wife, who did not always accept, but always understood her husband’s thoughts and actions. At the same time, "War and Peace" was written - from 1865 to 68.

1868, Moscow.

It is difficult to find an epithet for Tolstoy's activities before the 80s. Anna Karenina is being written, and there are many other works that later earned a low rating from the author in comparison with later works. This is not yet the formulation of answers to fundamental questions, but the preparation of the foundation for them.

L. N. Tolstoy (1876)

And in 1879, the "Study of Dogmatic Theology" appeared. In the mid-80s, Tolstoy organized the publishing house of books for popular reading "Intermediary", many stories were written for him. One of the milestones in the philosophy of Lev Nikolaevich comes out - the treatise “What is my faith?”

1885, Moscow. Photo of Scherer and Nabholz firm.

LN Tolstoy with his wife and children. 1887

The 20th century was marked by a sharp controversy with the Orthodox Church and excommunication from it. Tolstoy took an active part in public life, criticizing the Russo-Japanese War and the social structure of the empire, which was already beginning to burst at the seams.

1901, Crimea. Photo by S.A. Tolstoy.

1905, Yasnaya Polyana. Leo Tolstoy returns from swimming on the Voronka River. Photo by V. G. Chertkov.

1908, Yasnaya Polyana. Leo Tolstoy with his beloved horse Delir. Photo by K.K.Bulla.

August 28, 1908, Yasnaya Polyana. Leo Tolstoy on his 80th birthday. Photo by V. G. Chertkov.

1908, Yasnaya Polyana. At the terrace of the Yasnaya Polyana house. Photo by S.A. Baranov.

1909 In the village of Krekshino. Photo by V. G. Chertkov.

1909, Yasnaya Polyana. LN Tolstoy in the office at work. Photo by V. G. Chertkov.

The entire large family of Tolstoy often gathered at the family estate of Yasnaya Polyana.

1908 Leo Tolstoy's house in Yasnaya Polyana. Photo by K.K.Bulla.

1892, Yasnaya Polyana. Leo Tolstoy with his family at the tea table in the park. Photo by Scherer and Nabholz.

1908, Yasnaya Polyana. Leo Tolstoy with his granddaughter Tanechka. Photo by V. G. Chertkov.

1908, Yasnaya Polyana. LN Tolstoy plays chess with MS Sukhotin. From left to right: T.L. Tolstaya-Sukhotina with M.L. Tolstoy's daughter Tanya Tolstaya, Yu.I. Igumnova, L.N. Tolstoy, A.B. Vanya Tolstoy, M.S. Sukhotin, M.L. Tolstoy, A.L. Tolstoy. Photo by K.K.Bulla.

L. N. Tolstoy tells the tale of the cucumber to the grandchildren Ilyusha and Sonya, 1909

Despite the pressure of the church, many famous and respected people maintained close relations with Lev Nikolayevich.

1900, Yasnaya Polyana. L.N. Tolstoy and A.M. Gorky. Photo by S.A. Tolstoy.

1901, Crimea. L.N. Tolstoy and A.P. Chekhov. Photo by S.A. Tolstoy.

1908, Yasnaya Polyana. L.N. Tolstoy and I.E. Repin. Photo by S.A. Tolstoy.

In the last year of his life, Tolstoy secretly left his family in order to live the remaining time according to his own worldview. On the way, he fell ill with pneumonia and died at the Astapovo station in the Lipetsk region, which now bears his name.

Tolstoy with his granddaughter Tanya, Yasnaya Polyana, 1910

1910 In the village of Calm. Photo by V. G. Chertkov.

Most of the photographs presented above were taken by Karl Karlovich Bulla, Vladimir Grigorievich Chertkov and the wife of the writer Sofya Andreevna. Karl Bulla is a famous photographer of the late 19th - early 20th centuries, who left a colossal legacy, which today largely determines the visual representation of that bygone era.

Carl Bulla (from Wikipedia)

Vladimir Chertkov is one of Tolstoy's closest friends and associates, who became one of the leaders of Tolstoyism and the publisher of many of Leo Nikolayevich's works.

Leo Tolstoy and Vladimir Chertkov

Leo Tolstoy in Yasnaya Polyana (1908).
Photographic portrait by S. M. Prokudin-Gorsky. First color photograph. First published in the Notes of the Russian Technical Society.

In the memoirs of another associate of Tolstoy - Pavel Alexandrovich Boulanger - a mathematician, engineer, writer, who introduced Russian readers to the biography of the Buddha (published to this day!) And the main ideas of his teaching, Tolstoy's words are quoted:

God gave me the highest happiness - he gave me such a friend as Chertkov.

Sofya Andreevna, nee Bers, was a faithful companion of Lev Nikolaevich and it is difficult to overestimate all the support she gave him.

S. A. Tolstaya, ur. Bers(from Wikipedia)

Photo fund

IN State Museum of Leo Tolstoy in Moscow is kept about 26 thousand copies of photographs main fund. The museum has not only the most complete collection of photographs of Leo Tolstoy (about 12 thousand copies), but also unique and diverse photographs of persons, places, events related to the life and work of the writer.
The basis of the museum's photo fund was the exhibits of the Tolstoy exhibition, which opened in 1911 on a voluntary basis in the Historical Museum in Moscow. The owners of the photographs (among them K.K. Bulla, F.T. Protasevich, the firm "Scherer, Nabgolts and K", who shot Tolstoy) donated them to the permanent museum of L.N. Tolstoy, which opened in 1911 in Moscow on Povarskaya street, and in 1921 passed into the hands of the state. Based on the decision of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR 1939 about concentration in the State. Museum of Leo Tolstoy in Moscow of all materials related to his life and work, photo funds were replenished with new materials from different museums of the country. Of particular value among them are photographs and negatives by S.A. Tolstoy, the writer's wife, received by the museum from Yasnaya Polyana, the Library. V.I. Lenin (former Rumyantsev Museum), Historical Museum: L.N. could see them. Tolstoy, hold in hands; they have inscriptions and marks of the writer's family members.

In subsequent years, large and significant in content receipts were from the archives V.G. Chertkov , granddaughters Tolstoy S.A. Tolstoy-Yesenina , son and grandson of the writer S.L. and S.S. Tolstykh , great-grandson A.I. Tolstoy , acquaintances of the Tolstoy family - H.N. Abrikosova, P.N. Boulanger, P.A. Sergeenko, N.N. Gusev, also from the archive K.S. Shokhor-Trotsky and others.
The photographic Tolstovian of the museum is numerous and varied. This is a whole photo chronicle of the writer's life, which was created over 60 years - from the first daguerreotype image to photographs obtained as a result of instant shooting.

There are few images of the young Tolstoy. These are daguerreotypes (mirror prints on a silver plated metal plate) 1849 and 1854 (of the 4 daguerreotypes of the writer known to us, three are in our museum) and the first photographs in the modern sense of the word, i.e. prints on paper S.L. Levitsky, M.B. Tulinova, I. Zheryuze (1856, 1862). In the future, as photographic equipment improved and Tolstoy's popularity grew, there were more and more photographs of him, especially in the first decade of the 20th century.

L.N. Tolstoy was photographed by representatives of well-known photographic firms, correspondents of newspapers and magazines, members of his family, relatives, friends, acquaintances and casual visitors.

The first amateur images of the writer (with the exception of a self-portrait of 1862) were made by a neighbor on the estate, Prince S.S. Abamelek-Lazarev (1884), family friend of M.A. Stakhovich (1887) and wife S.A. Tolstoy (1887). The first two authors created entire photo collections - portraits of Tolstoy, his family, relatives and guests of Yasnaya Polyana; many of the photographs are of a genre nature, conveying the emotional atmosphere of the Yasnaya Polyana estate.

The largest number of photographs of L.N. Tolstoy was made in the 1900s, when instant devices appeared. Among the authors are people close to the writer: wife Sofya Andreevna, daughters Maria and Alexandra, son Ilya; friends and acquaintances: V.G. Chertkov, D.A. Olsufiev, P.I. Biryukov, D.V. Nikitin, I.M. Bodyansky, D.A. Hiryakov, P.A. Sergeenko and many others. In their photographs, Tolstoy appears to us in a relaxed, confidential atmosphere, with family and guests, like-minded people and acquaintances, at work and on a walk, in Yasnaya Polyana, Moscow and other places. Psychological chamber photo portraits alternate with dynamic shots conveying the expression of a moment or a separate plot.

L.N. Tolstoy. 1903 Yasnaya Polyana. Photo by A.L. Tolstoy.

The last professional photograph of Tolstoy in Yasnaya Polyana was taken by photographers from the Otto Renard company, who in 1909 came to Yasnaya together with representatives of the Gramophone company who wanted to record the voice of the “patriarch of Russian literature”.

Chronicle of L.N. Tolstoy in 1909 and in 1910 to a friend V.G. Chertkov to Krekshino near Moscow, to the daughter of T.L. Sukhotina in Kochety, the last visit of the writer to Moscow in September 1909 was reflected (in addition to the photographs of V.G. Chertkov and T. Tapsel) in the photographs of professional masters S.G. Smirnova, A.I. Savelyev, firm "Yu. Mobius", in the film frames of A.O. Drankov, J. Meyer (firm "Pate"); they also filmed the mourning days of November 1920 in Astapovo and Yasnaya Polyana, which were also captured by professionals T.M. Morozov, F.T. Protasevich and cameramen from A.A. Khanzhonkov.

The most significant collections of Tolstoy's iconography are the works of the writer's wife S.A. Tolstoy and his friend V.G. Chertkov - both in terms of the number of shots and the variety of subjects.

The value of the photo fund is a unique collection of daguerreotypes (portraits of Leo Tolstoy, his relatives, friends and acquaintances) 1844-1856. works by V. Schoenfeldt, K.P. Mazer, A.Ya. Davignon, M.A. Abadi, N.A. Pashkov, the Blumenthal brothers. All seventeen daguerreotypes have survived to our time in good condition, with the exception of the 18th, which has partially lost its image.

Among a large number of photographs of various persons from the environment of L.N. Tolstoy, the museum contains photo albums of representatives of secular society of the 1850s-1870s. from the archives of the Chertkovs, Panins, Levashovs, Vorontsovs-Dashkovs; albums of "photo portraits of the most august persons and persons famous in Russia" by G. Denyer (1865).

In the "Different places" section, it is worth noting close-up photographs of the views of the Caucasus taken by photographers and topographers of the General Staff of the Caucasian Army in the 1850s-1860s, an album of light paintings by Count Nostitz (1896) with views of Moscow and Crimea.

Photographs of persons and places associated with the life and work of L.N. Tolstoy make up about 2/3 of the total number of photographs, but no matter how large this part of the main photo fund is, the boundaries of its expansion are unlimited - Tolstoy absorbed so much, his connections were so wide and diverse.

Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy was born on September 9, 1828 in the Krapivensky district of the Tula province, in the hereditary estate of his mother - Yasnaya Polyana. For the birthday of one of the greatest writers in the world, we bring to your attention a set of postcards “L. N. Tolstoy in the photographs of his contemporaries” with some comments…

Lev Nikolaevich, being the fourth child in the family, was born in 1828 in Yasnaya Polyana, the estate of Maria Nikolaevna's mother. Early enough, the children were left without parents and their father's relatives took care of them. Nevertheless, very bright feelings remained about the parents. Father, Nikolai Ilyich, was remembered as honest and never humiliated before anyone, a very cheerful and bright person, but with eternally sad eyes. About the mother, who died very early, I would like to note one found quote from the memoirs of Lev Nikolayevich:

“She seemed to me such a high, pure, spiritual being that often in the middle period of my life, during the struggle with the temptations that overwhelmed me, I prayed to her soul, asking her to help me, and this prayer always helped me”

P. I. Biryukov. Biography of L. N. Tolstoy.

Moscow, 1851. Photo from Mather's daguerreotype.

This biography is also notable for the fact that L.N. himself took part in editing and writing it.

In the photo above, Tolstoy is 23 years old. This is the year of the first literary attempts, the sprees, maps and random companions in life familiar to that time, which, later, were described in War and Peace. However, the first school for serfs was opened by him four years before. Also, 1851 is the year of entry into military service in the Caucasus.

Tolstoy the officer was very successful and, if not for the reaction of the authorities to the sharp pamphlet in 1855, the future philosopher would have been under stray bullets for a long time.

1854 Photo from a daguerreotype.

The brave warrior, who showed his best side during the Crimean War, was finishing the “Sevastopol Tales” already in the rear, in St. Petersburg. Acquaintance with Turgenev brought Tolstoy close to the editorial board of the Sovremennik magazine, where some of his stories were also published.

Editorial board of the journal "Sovremennik", St. Petersburg. Standing from left to right: L. N. Tolstoy, D. V. Grigorovich. Seated: I.A. Goncharov, I.S. Turgenev, A.V. Druzhinin, A.N. Ostrovsky. Photo by S.L.Levitsky.

1862, Moscow. Photo by M.B. Tulinov.

Perhaps, Tolstoy is characterized in an important way by the fact that while in Paris, he, a participant in the heroic defense of Sevastopol, was unpleasantly struck by the cult of Napoleon I and the guillotining, at which he happened to be present. Later, the characteristics of the orders that reigned in the army will emerge in 1886, in the famous “Nikolai Palkin” - the story of the old veteran will again shock Tolstoy, who served only in the army and did not face the senseless cruelty of the army as a means of punishing the recalcitrant poor. The vicious judicial practice and their own inability to protect the innocent will also be mercilessly criticized in “Memoirs of the Trial of a Soldier”, which tells about 1966.

But a sharp and irreconcilable criticism of the existing order is yet to come, the 60s became years of enjoying a happy family life with a loving and beloved wife, who did not always accept, but always understood her husband’s thoughts and actions. At the same time, "War and Peace" was written - from 1865 to 68.

1868, Moscow.

It is difficult to find an epithet for Tolstoy's activities before the 80s. Anna Karenina is being written, and there are many other works that later earned a low rating from the author in comparison with later works. This is not yet the formulation of answers to fundamental questions, but the preparation of the foundation for them.

L. N. Tolstoy (1876)

And in 1879, the "Study of Dogmatic Theology" appeared. In the mid-80s, Tolstoy organized the publishing house of books for popular reading "Intermediary", many stories were written for him. One of the milestones in the philosophy of Lev Nikolaevich comes out - the treatise “What is my faith?”

1885, Moscow. Photo of Scherer and Nabholz firm.

LN Tolstoy with his wife and children. 1887

The 20th century was marked by a sharp controversy with the Orthodox Church and excommunication from it. Tolstoy took an active part in public life, criticizing the Russo-Japanese War and the social structure of the empire, which was already beginning to burst at the seams.

1901, Crimea. Photo by S.A. Tolstoy.

1905, Yasnaya Polyana. Leo Tolstoy returns from swimming on the Voronka River. Photo by V. G. Chertkov.

1908, Yasnaya Polyana. Leo Tolstoy with his beloved horse Delir. Photo by K.K.Bulla.

1908, Yasnaya Polyana. At the terrace of the Yasnaya Polyana house. Photo by S.A. Baranov.

1909 In the village of Krekshino. Photo by V. G. Chertkov.

1909, Yasnaya Polyana. LN Tolstoy in the office at work. Photo by V. G. Chertkov.

The entire large family of Tolstoy often gathered at the family estate of Yasnaya Polyana.

1908 Leo Tolstoy's house in Yasnaya Polyana. Photo by K.K.Bulla.

1892, Yasnaya Polyana. Leo Tolstoy with his family at the tea table in the park. Photo by Scherer and Nabholz.

1908, Yasnaya Polyana. Leo Tolstoy with his granddaughter Tanechka. Photo by V. G. Chertkov.

1908, Yasnaya Polyana. LN Tolstoy plays chess with MS Sukhotin. From left to right: T.L. Tolstaya-Sukhotina with M.L. Tolstoy's daughter Tanya Tolstaya, Yu.I. Igumnova, L.N. Tolstoy, A.B. Vanya Tolstoy, M.S. Sukhotin, M.L. Tolstoy, A.L. Tolstoy. Photo by K.K.Bulla.

L. N. Tolstoy tells the tale of the cucumber to the grandchildren Ilyusha and Sonya, 1909,

Despite the pressure of the church, many famous and respected people maintained close relations with Lev Nikolayevich.

1900, Yasnaya Polyana. L.N. Tolstoy and A.M. Gorky. Photo by S.A. Tolstoy.

1901, Crimea. L.N. Tolstoy and A.P. Chekhov. Photo by S.A. Tolstoy.

1908, Yasnaya Polyana. L.N. Tolstoy and I.E. Repin. Photo by S.A. Tolstoy.

In the last year of his life, Tolstoy secretly left his family in order to live the remaining time according to his own worldview. On the way, he fell ill with pneumonia and died at the Astapovo station in the Lipetsk region, which now bears his name.

Tolstoy with his granddaughter Tanya, Yasnaya Polyana, 1910

1910 In the village of Calm. Photo by V. G. Chertkov.

Most of the photographs presented above were taken by Karl Karlovich Bulla, Vladimir Grigorievich Chertkov and the wife of the writer Sofya Andreevna. Karl Bulla is a famous photographer of the late 19th - early 20th centuries, who left a colossal legacy, which today largely determines the visual representation of that bygone era.

Carl Bulla (from Wikipedia)

Vladimir Chertkov is one of Tolstoy's closest friends and associates, who became one of the leaders of Tolstoyism and the publisher of many of Leo Nikolayevich's works.

Leo Tolstoy and Vladimir Chertkov

Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy. First color photograph. First published in the Notes of the Russian Technical Society.

In the memoirs of another associate of Tolstoy - Pavel Alexandrovich Boulanger - a mathematician, engineer, writer, who introduced Russian readers to the biography of the Buddha (published to this day!) And the main ideas of his teaching, Tolstoy's words are quoted:

God gave me the highest happiness - he gave me such a friend as Chertkov.

Sofya Andreevna, nee Bers, was a faithful companion of Lev Nikolaevich and it is difficult to overestimate all the support she gave him.

S. A. Tolstaya, ur. Bers (from Wikipedia)