Morning of the official who received the first cross. The eternal consequences of the revelry

Of the paintings by Pavel Fedotov, I like "The Fresh Cavalier" the most. This picture has other names: "Morning of the official who received the first cross" and "Consequences of the feast."
Every time I look at this picture, it's like seeing it for the first time. She, like a book, always opens up to me in a new way. But one thing is constant - the impression. I am surprised, amazed, admire the artist who, on a small piece of canvas, was able to create such an epoch-making work!

Fedotov P.A. Fresh Cavalier. 1846. Oil on canvas. 48.2×42.5
State Tretyakov Gallery.

I try to imagine how he painted the surroundings of the picture, details, faces with a small brush ... how he managed to convey his own feelings to the image! It happens that it is difficult to express your thoughts in words, but here everything is said only with paints!

I stand in front of the picture, I look at it, I notice how people approach it. Some silently consider and move on, this is at best. At worst, when advanced art lovers stop, and they often go in pairs, and exchange not their impressions of the picture, but their knowledge gleaned from various critical sources, most often from notes on painting by Vladimir Vasilyevich Stasov.

The well-known art critic of the 2nd half of the 19th century, Vladimir Stasov, in his work "25 Years of Russian Art" (1882), spoke about the "Fresh Cavalier" like this:
“Look this official in the face: we have before us an expert, stiff nature, a corrupt bribe taker, a soulless slave of his boss, thinking of nothing more than giving him money and a cross in his buttonhole. He is fierce and ruthless, he will drown anyone and whatever you want - and not a single wrinkle on his face made of rhinoceros skin will not flinch.Angry, swagger, completely vulgar life - all this is present on this face, in this pose and the figure of an inveterate official in a dressing gown and barefoot, in hairpins and with an order on his chest ".

I respect and appreciate Vladimir Vasilievich very much, I agree with his opinions about many paintings by Russian artists, but I do not agree with the interpretation of The Fresh Cavalier. Moreover, I protest against it. Where did Stasov look in the picture as evidence of those negative qualities that he attributed to the Fresh Cavalier?

Is the Fresh Cavalier a "corrupt bribe-taker"? If I were a bribe-taker, I would not live in poverty. Is he "a soulless slave of his boss"? No, this is just Stasov's unsubstantiated assumption. Where did the critic see "anger, swagger and vulgarity"? Not this, otherwise the Fresh Cavalier would not have arranged an invited feast for his comrades. Is the fresh cavalier fierce and ruthless? It is unlikely that a ferocious and ruthless person would shelter a retired soldier, a dog, a cat and a bird. And then, why did Stasov take that the Fresh Cavalier had a "rhinoceros (rhinoceros) skin"! An invention of pure water.

Art critic Stasov did not think that people always listen to the opinions of authoritative persons, trust their opinion, knowledge, and from their words begin to judge what they see (and even not see).

Fedotov's "fresh cavalier" is a vivid example of this. From school, we are used to hearing that Fedotov in his paintings denounces and castigates the vices of society in which officials, military men, merchants, aristocrats live ... This is how our teachers were taught, and the teachers taught us the same way. We began to perceive people like the Fresh Cavalier as careerists and opportunists, we deny them purely human feelings, because we are pre-configured for denial and condemnation. An official, which means a soulless bureaucrat, has an order, which means he curried and servility, curls his curls, which means he is a frivolous rake, not tidied up in the room, which means he is a reveler and a drunkard, holes in his boots, which means he is a quitter.

Armed with stereotypes, we start from them when evaluating a picture. In this case, it is appropriate to recall another quote from Stasov: “You can regret them, but it’s tricky to exact them. ".

What do we see when we first look at the painting "The Fresh Cavalier"? We see in the center the image of a man with his hands on his hips with an order on his robe; note the expression on his face; we pay attention to the holey boot that the girl pokes in his face; we see her mocking face; we observe a mess in the home, we look at a cat that is tearing up an already peeled chair ... These bright details form in us a feeling of condemnation, for which we are already prepared.

You can not pass by the paintings and you can not examine them briefly. Any painting by any artist requires respect through careful scrutiny. And, what is important, at the same time, one must trust one's own feelings and impressions, and not judge from the shoulder, keeping someone else's opinion in mind.

Paintings by Pavel Andreevich Fedotov demand such careful scrutiny. They must be considered for a long time and carefully, because in Fedotov every little thing can speak and explain the plot. This was also noted by Karl Bryullov, who spoke very well of Fedotov's work. It was Bryullov who gave Fedotov's paintings, presented at the exam at the Academy of Arts, a positive assessment. Bryullov has never spoken so flatteringly about a single Russian artist. None of the professors dared to object to the great Charles, and the Council of the Academy of Arts unanimously recognized Fedotov as an academician in "painting domestic scenes."

With the light hand of Stasov, the painting "The Fresh Cavalier" began to be considered a classic of critical realism. Each of the subsequent critics added to Stasov's response a few of his own words confirming this idea. The monograph about the artist says: "Fedotov takes off the mask not only from the official, but also from the epoch. Look with what superiority, with what irony and sober understanding of reality the cook looks at his master. Russian painting has not yet known such an art of denunciation."

I do not think that the artist painted his picture from the standpoint of a harsh civic denunciation. He did not denounce his hero, but sympathized with him, understanding his behavior. In a letter to the censor M.N. Fedotov wrote to Musin-Pushkin: "... where there is constant poverty and deprivation, there the expression of joy from the award will come to childishness to rush about with her day and night. [Where] stars are worn on dressing gowns, and this is only a sign that they value them" .

I believe that the person in the center of the picture is a happy person! And he does not hide his happiness. Fifteen years of service have finally been crowned with an award, and even though the Order of Stanislav of the 3rd degree is the lowest order in the hierarchy of imperial orders, it evokes a genuine feeling of joy in the newly minted cavalier. The order for him is an indicator of his significance: he was noticed, singled out, awarded, which means that he was not lost among millions of such officials, but in plain sight!

A fresh cavalier is an employee of the St. Petersburg council, or rather, an official of the police department. This can be judged by a uniform uniform with lapels hanging on the back of a chair, and a cap with a red band and piping. And also - according to the newspaper lying on the table. These are "Vedomosti of the St. Petersburg City Administration and the Metropolitan Police" - a subscription daily newspaper of the St. Petersburg City Council.

The mess in the room is the result of a feast that the Fresh Cavalier threw at his house. Drinking, refreshments, fun, a guitar with broken strings - the feast was a success, it is clearly read in the picture. Of course, Fedotov did not do without a grin - he depicts under the table a retired soldier with St. George's crosses who has not yet woken up after yesterday's washing of the order.

According to the statute, the St. George Cross is higher than the Order of Stanislav, but by placing the St. George Cavalier under the table, Fedotov emphasizes the importance of the order for the Fresh Cavalier, who considers his order more important. And it can be understood.

The Order of St. George was given for military exploits, but the Fresh Cavalier has the right to believe that he was also awarded for exploits, only for labor. We can imagine what kind of work this petty official had if he was singled out from the general bureaucratic mass and presented for an award!

Fedotov has no trifles in the picture, everything works to reveal the image. Even a book thrown on the floor can add an expressive touch to the portrait of the protagonist. The book is opened so that the audience can see its author and title: "F. Bulgarin" Ivan Vyzhigin ".

We know Bulgarin as the object of ridicule and epigrams of A.S. Pushkin. But Bulgarin is also a writer. He became famous for his book about Ivan Vyzhigin. The hero of the novel, Ivan Vyzhigin, is something like Ostap Bender, a rogue, a rogue, a servant of the authorities and a servant of people in power. By adjusting to their superiors, such people snatch a piece of happiness for themselves. Bulgarin's novel was very popular at one time, all segments of the population read it, from small employees to high-ranking nobles.

By placing an expanded book in the picture, Fedotov makes it clear about the ways of obtaining the order, that is, Bulgarin's novel was a kind of guide to action for the future order bearer, which, as we see, was a success.

The Fresh Cavalier has a goal in life: to become noticeable. To do this, he uses different methods, even his appearance: early in the morning he shaves, curls and is well-groomed (hair curlers, hair curlers, a magnifying mirror for plucking hairs from his nose). He is not yet dressed, but is already active, full of enthusiasm from the received award and wants approval and praise from those present. To do this, he stands in the pose of an ancient hero, even in front of a maid, sticks out his lip for importance and points his finger at the order on his robe - look, here I am! And although the maid does not share his triumph and shows him a prosaic boot with worn soles, this does not shame the gentleman, because happiness is not in the boot, but in the assessment of his service zeal. Finally he succeeded!

In addition, no one will see the worn sole of the boot, and the order - here it is, in plain sight. To heighten the pleasure, even suspenders were ordered to match the sash, and the badge "15 years of impeccable service" on the service uniform was polished to a shine! In addition, awarding the Order of Stanislav of any degree provided the right of hereditary nobility - is this not a joy!

How old is the fresh gentleman? In appearance, about 30 years old, so was Fedotov himself when he painted the picture. The age of a mature person does not prevent the Fresh Cavalier from rejoicing like a child and from the bottom of his heart to be proud of the award. The order for him is not only an assessment of his work, but self-respect and an incentive for further promotion (the motto of the order is "rewarding, encouraging").

After all, in the same way, Pavel Andreevich Fedotov was proud of receiving his first rank in the service, a diamond ring from the hand of Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich for the watercolor "Meeting the Grand Duke." There is nothing reprehensible and accusatory in this. These are the natural joys of any person.

In addition, according to the statute, the holders of the Order of St. Stanislav of the 3rd degree were entitled to a pension of 86 rubles, and the acquisition of a noble title gave a number of advantages, such as, for example, exemption from personal taxes, recruitment duty, obtaining the right to preferential loans from a bank and etc. Many order-bearers received an annual monetary reward, the so-called cavalier's pensions, as well as lump-sum allowances.

Since the "Rinoceros" Fresh Cavalier should not rejoice if the order improves his financial situation and facilitates his existence!

At the autumn academic exhibition of 1849, Fedotov presented three paintings: "Major's Courtship", "Choiceous Bride" and "Fresh Cavalier". The exhibition featured 400 paintings, but only in front of Fedotov's paintings was a crowd. Opinions, as always, were divided, some admired, others were indignant.

In articles about the art exhibition, the young but already well-known poet Apollon Maikov spoke of Fedotov as the best Russian genre painter:
"By the richness of thought, the dramatic nature of the situation, the thoughtfulness of the details, the fidelity and liveliness of the types. By the extraordinary clarity of presentation and true humor, the first place should belong to Mr. Fedotov ... To tell in more detail the content of these three paintings would mean writing three stories, and moreover with a pen Gogol!"

I saw the paintings of Fedotov and the 24-year-old critic Stasov. What did he think in that 1849 about the painting "The Fresh Cavalier"? Did he echo Maikov, saying that Fedotov's paintings are "a purely Gogolian creation in terms of talent, humor and strength"? Or did he say, "how surprised he would be, I think, if someone then told him that it was only with him that real Russian art would begin"?

Three decades later, having reached the peak of his critical activity, Stasov became sharper in his opinion about the painting "The Fresh Cavalier" (see Stasov's quote above).

According to the mature Stasov, "The Fresh Cavalier" is no longer a scene from the everyday life of a petty official, but a formidable denunciation of the existing system, which poor Pavel Andreevich did not even think about.

The heyday of Stasov's critical activity dates back to 1870-1880. During this time, he enjoyed the greatest public recognition and influence. His judgments about artists and musicians still serve as a priority point in creative disputes and discussions. And no one allows a shadow of doubt in his statements, although they are just a private opinion. Boldly expressed, and even printed and repeatedly repeated, Stasov's personal opinion became the opinion of many who do not know how to think independently.

Supporters of high art spoke negatively about Fedotov's paintings and called him "the main representative of a dangerous trend in art." ("Is a dangerous rebel worse than Pugachev?") Of course, neither the Academy of Arts nor the Russian Department of the Hermitage bought Fedotov's paintings after the exhibition.
At the moment, the painting "Fresh Cavalier" is in the collection of the State Tretyakov Gallery.

In conclusion, I will quote from the same Stasov: Fedotov "died, having brought into the world barely a small grain of the wealth with which his nature was gifted. But this grain was pure gold and later bore great fruits."

Pavel Andreevich Fedotov (1815-1852) A fresh cavalier (or "Morning of an official who received the first cross", or "The consequences of a feast"). 1846 Oil on canvas. 48.2 × 42.5 cm Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow

In the picture "Fresh Cavalier"- a squandered nobleman who received a third-class order. But what an abyss of importance! In the morning, with his hair curled on a newspaper, not really sleeping well after drinking, he puts on the order on a greasy robe and, boasting to the maid, pouts like a turkey! The maid is not inclined to admire them. She mockingly gives the "nobility" the boots thrown by him outside the door, and under the table - yesterday's drinking buddy of the owner wakes up with agony.

Fedotov sent the picture "Fresh Cavalier" to his idol Karl Pavlovich Bryullov for trial. A few days later he was invited to him.

Sick, pale, gloomy Bryullov sat in a Voltaire chair.

- Why haven't you been seen for a long time? was his first question.

I didn't dare bother...

“On the contrary, your picture gave me great pleasure, and, therefore, relief. And congratulations, you beat me! Why didn't you show anything?

– I haven’t studied much yet, I haven’t copied anyone yet…

- This is something that was not copied, and your happiness! You have opened a new direction in painting - social satire; Russian art did not know such works before you.

Appeal to completely new topics, a critical attitude to reality, a new creative method - Fedotov raised genre painting to the level of social significance! The Council of the Academy of Arts unanimously recognized Fedotov as an academician.

Nina Pavlovna Boyko. Stories of famous canvases: essays on Russian painting. Perm, 2012

*****

Morning after the feast on the occasion of the received order. The new cavalier could not stand it: than the world put on his new clothes on his dressing gown and proudly reminds the cook of his significance, but she mockingly shows him the only, but even then worn and perforated boots, which she carried to clean.

Pavel Andreevich Fedotov (1815-1852) Fresh cavalier, 1846 Fragment

Leftovers and fragments of yesterday's feast are scattered on the floor, and under the background table one can see a cavalier awakening, probably left on the battlefield, but one of those who pester visitors with passports. The waist of the cook does not give the owner the right to have guests of the best tone.

E. Kuznetsov

(Morning of the official who received the first cross)

Pavel Fedotov. fresh cavalier

Pavel Fedotov spied on his hero at a shameful moment and did everything to make shamefulness visible: the little man found himself someone even smaller, over whom he could rise, the slave found himself a slave, the trampled yearned to trample.

Well, Fedotov himself was a small man, he himself patiently rose and slowly rose, and each milestone of the path traveled was imprinted firmly in his heart: now he was accepted into the cadet corps, here is the “first role” at the graduation act (childish joy, but he remembered that he told about her in his autobiography, albeit slightly ironically), here is the first rank, here is the next, here is a diamond ring from Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich ...

In the film "The Fresh Cavalier" he denied not only from his hero, but also a little from himself - with mockery, squeamish alienation. Never before has he been and never will be so mercilessly caustic as he is here.

The disorder reigning in the room is fantastic - the most unbridled revelry could not produce it: everything is scattered, broken, turned upside down. Not only is the smoking pipe broken, but the strings of the guitar are broken, and the chair is mutilated,

and herring tails are lying on the floor next to the bottles, with shards from a crushed plate,

Fedotov gave a certain share of his sympathy to the cook. A not bad-looking, neat woman, with a pleasantly round, common people's face, with all her appearance showing the opposite of the disheveled owner and his behavior, looks at him from the position of an outside and unsullied observer.

The owner, on the other hand, has decisively lost what allows him to be treated with any kindness.

“Debauchery in Russia is not deep at all, it is more wild, salen, noisy and rude, disheveled and shameless, than deep ...” - it seems that these words of Herzen were written directly about him. He was filled with swagger and anger, bristled. The ambition of the boor, who wants to put the cook in his place, rushes out of him, disfiguring, really, quite good features of his face.

Fedotov, on the other hand, is completely alien to the spirit of accusation - he, not only accidentally, but most likely unconsciously, touched a secret - a sore spot, and touched it so unexpectedly that he was not even correctly understood.

Who is really the unbridled boor depicted by him? This is not at all the soulless careerist official that the audience wanted to see, including such a sophisticated viewer as V. Stasov, who wrote after a considerable time, that is, having fully established himself in the initial perception:
“... before you is a smart, stiff nature, a corrupt bribe-taker, a soulless slave of his boss, who no longer thinks about anything, except that he will give him money and a cross in his buttonhole. He is ferocious and ruthless, he will drown anyone and whatever he wants, and not a single wrinkle on his face made of rhinocers (that is, rhinoceros. - E.K.) skin will not flinch. Anger, arrogance, callousness, idolization of the order as the highest and peremptory argument, life completely vulgarized.

It is written, as always with Stasov, strongly, but about a completely different person. The hero of Fedotov is a small fry. The artist himself persistently rested on this, calling him a "poor official" and even a "hard worker" "with a small content", experiencing "constant scarcity and deprivation." This is too frankly clear from the picture itself - from the variegated furniture, mostly "white wood", from the plank floor, a tattered dressing gown and mercilessly worn boots.

It is clear that he has only one room - and a bedroom, and an office, and a dining room; it is clear that the cook is not his own, but the master's.

Well, he is not one of the last, not Bashmachkin or Poprishchin, not some kind of rag - so he snatched off the order and went bankrupt at a feast, but still he is poor and miserable.

This is a small man, all the ambitions of which are only enough to show off in front of the cook.

Stasov's mistake in assessing Fedotov's unfortunate hero was not his personal and instructive in its way. Poverty, the insignificance of an official, of course, was seen, but not perceived, missed: it did not fit into the usual stereotype.

With the light hand of Gogol, the official became the central figure of Russian literature of the 1830s-1850s, almost the only theme for vaudeville, comedies, stories, satirical scenes, and so on. The official was sympathetic. Yes, sometimes they made fun of him, but the note of sympathy for the little man, tormented by the powerful of this world, remained unchanged.

The miserable official stands in the pose of an ancient hero, with the gesture of an orator, bringing his right hand to his chest (to the place where the ill-fated order hangs), and his left, resting on his side, deftly picking up the folds of a spacious robe, as if it were not a robe, but a toga.

There is something classical, Greco-Roman in his very pose with the support of the body on one leg, in the position of the head slowly turned towards us in profile and proudly thrown back, in his bare feet protruding from under the dressing gown, and even shreds of papillots stick out of his hair is like a laurel wreath.

One must think that the official felt himself just so victorious, majestic and proud to the point of arrogance.

But the ancient hero, ascended among broken chairs, empty bottles and shards, could only be ridiculous, and humiliatingly ridiculous - all the squalor of his ambitions crawled out.

Of course, the painter's brush often turns out to be wiser than his thoughts or, at least, overtakes them, but did Fedotov's parody of an academic painting really involuntarily arise? After all, he had shown a tendency to joke about the venerable arsenal of classical art before. That comic effect, which arose by itself in some of his sepia, Fedotov used this time quite deliberately, for the purpose of ironic ridicule. Debunking his hero, Fedotov simultaneously debunked academic art with its ossified antics and gimmicks. In his first picture, Russian painting, laughing, parted with academicism.

Based on the book by E. Kuznetsov

Pavel Andreevich Fedotov (June 22, 1815, Moscow - November 14, 1852, St. Petersburg) - Russian painter and graphic artist, academician of painting, one of the largest representatives of Russian romanticism, the founder of critical realism in Russian painting.

Pavel FEDOTOV
FRESH CAVALIER
(Morning of an official who received the first cross the day before)
1846. State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow

C a gentleman”, or “Morning of an official who received the first cross” - a picture in which Fedotov first turned to oil technique. Perhaps that is why the work on it was carried out for quite a long time, although the idea was formed a long time ago, back in the sepia series. The new technique contributed to the emergence of a new impression - the complete realism, materiality of the depicted world. Fedotov worked on the painting as if he were painting a miniature, paying attention to the smallest details, leaving not a single fragment of space unfilled (critics later reproached him for this).

The action takes place in a cramped little room, crammed to capacity with broken furniture, broken dishes and empty bottles. Fedotov uses every detail to describe the character and habits of the person living here, right down to the title of the novel he is reading (“Ivan Vyzhigin” by F. Bulgarin - quite popular at that time, but a low-quality book). The remains of yesterday's "ceremonial" dinner eloquently flaunt on the table - a decanter of vodka, pieces of sausage, a candle end with tongs mixed with toiletries.

Under one table, a dog sleeps serenely, and under another - no less serene - one of the participants in yesterday's feast, sleepily watching the scene unfolding in front of him. In the midst of this chaos, the figure of a newly-made order bearer proudly rises. Apparently, in his dreams, “he ascended higher as the head of the recalcitrant Pillar of Alexandria”, draped himself in a greasy robe, as in an antique toga, and imagines himself to be nothing less than the greatest hero of antiquity. A leg protruding forward, an arrogant look, a proudly raised head ... He is downright puffed up with pride and swagger, and he is not at all embarrassed that his appearance - in papillottes and a stale dressing gown - somewhat does not correspond to the traditional idea of ​​\u200b\u200bthe ancient hero.

And the cook demonstrates her leaky soles to her master, not at all paying attention to the new order. She knows his price, and it is she who is the true mistress in this house. “Where there is a bad connection, there is dirt on a great holiday ...” - this is how Fedotov begins a poetic explanation for his picture, hinting at the “hazing” of an official and a servant.

Morning of an official who received the first cross the day before.
Sketch. 1844. State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow

The famous critic Vladimir Stasov saw a tragic and even scary content in the comic scene: “He is fierce and ruthless,” he writes about the main character, “he will drown anyone and whatever he wants, and not a single wrinkle on his face will flinch. Anger, swagger, completely vulgar life - all this is present in this face, in this pose and the figure of an inveterate official in a dressing gown and barefoot, in hairpins and with an order on his chest.

However, Fedotov himself was still not so unambiguous about his work. Yes, he sharply ridicules his hero, but at the same time justifies and pities him in some way. In any case, Fedotov’s letter to Count Musin-Pushkin has been preserved: “... isn’t it natural that where there is constant scarcity and deprivation, there the expression of the joy of the reward will come to childishness to rush around with it day and night.”

Perhaps one should believe the opinion of Benois, who believed that, in essence, Fedotov was always at the same time with his heroes ...

The Fresh Cavalier (Morning of the official who received the first cross) is the first oil painting he painted in his life, the first finished painting.
Many, including the art critic Stasov, saw in the depicted official a despot, a bloodsucker and a bribe taker. But the hero of Fedotov is a small fry. The artist himself persistently rested on this, calling him a "poor official" and even a "hard worker" "with a small content", experiencing "constant scarcity and deprivation." This is too frankly clear from the picture itself - from a variegated piece of furniture, mostly "white wood", from a plank floor, a tattered dressing gown and mercilessly worn boots. It is clear that he has only one room - and a bedroom, and an office, and a dining room; it is clear that the cook is not his own, but the master's. But he is not one of the last - so he snatched off the order, and went bankrupt at a feast, but still he is poor and miserable. This is a small man, all the ambitions of which are only enough to show off in front of the cook.
Fedotov gave a certain share of his sympathy to the cook. A not bad-looking, neat woman, with a pleasantly round, common people's face, with all her appearance showing the opposite of the disheveled owner and his behavior, looks at him from the position of an outside and unsullied observer. The cook is not afraid of the owner, looks at him with a mockery and hands him a tattered boot.
"Where a bad connection is made, there is dirt on the great holiday," Fedotov wrote about this picture, apparently alluding to the cook's pregnancy, whose waist is suspiciously rounded.
The owner, on the other hand, has decisively lost what allows him to be treated with any kindness. He was filled with swagger and anger, bristled. The ambition of the boor, who wants to put the cook in his place, rushes out of him, disfiguring, really, quite good features of his face.
The miserable official stands in the pose of an ancient hero, with the gesture of an orator, bringing his right hand to his chest (to the place where the ill-fated order hangs), and his left, resting on his side, deftly picking up the folds of a spacious robe, as if it were not a robe, but a toga. There is something classical, Greco-Roman in his very pose with the support of the body on one leg, in the position of the head slowly turned towards us in profile and proudly thrown back, in his bare feet protruding from under the dressing gown, and even shreds of papillots stick out of his hair is like a laurel wreath.
One must think that the official felt himself just so victorious, majestic and proud to the point of arrogance. But the ancient hero, ascended among broken chairs, empty bottles and shards, could only be ridiculous, and humiliatingly ridiculous - all the squalor of his ambitions crawled out.
The disorder reigning in the room is fantastic - the most unbridled revelry could not produce it: everything is scattered, broken, turned upside down. Not only is the smoking pipe broken, but the strings of the guitar are broken, and the chair is mutilated, and herring tails are lying on the floor next to the bottles, with shards from a crushed plate, with an open book (the name of the author, Faddey Bulgarin, diligently written out on the first page, - another reproach to the owner).