Grief
Nikolai Bogdanov-Belsky
1909
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Whose untimely death is being mourned here? Is it a beloved wife and mother? Or is it a little son or daughter carried away by a childhood disease? Or is it the news of a son who isn’t going to return from the army because he fell on a foreign field? One doesn’t know… However, one thing is certain, no matter if the family is humble, of the middle classes, or of the nobility, the emotion felt is the same… exactly the same.
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Nikolai Bogdanov-Belsky. A Wedding. 1904
Tags: Church, Classical Realism, couple, Eastern Orthodox Church, fine art, Impressionism, marriage, men, Nikolai Bogdanov-Belsky, Orthodox, Orthodox Christian, Orthodoxy, Painting, Peredvizhniki, priest, Russia, Russian, Russian Orthodox Church, social commentary, wedding, women
A Wedding
Nikolai Bogdanov-Belsky
1904
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This is a peasant wedding in a humble village church portrayed without any sentimentality or gloss. Remember, at that time, glass was an expensive luxury, so, many village churches were rather dark. It appears that two couples are being married at one time, no doubt, to save on the fees paid to the priest for his services.
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