N.L Tolstoy’s House-Museum(Yasnaya Polyana)

Realism painting of the residence where L.N. Tolstoy was born and grew up
(Article draft printed in the Bulletin of Japanese Tolstoy Association “Green Stick” No.9, March 12, 2016, which was somewhat revised as of June 30, 2021)

　I worked in Moscow about 4 years from 1989 as a representative of my company engaged in international logistics. It is just because of perestroika that my company could get the approval for the representative office in Moscow at first as a Japanese company dealing with container land-bridge transportation business through Siberian railway from Japan to Europe and Central Asia and vice versa, taking responsibility to the cargo owner for the accepted transportation from start till finish. This lucky situation was not only restricted to it, but also was applicable to such a case that I could gain insight into Soviet, Russian society through a friendly contact with Russian ordinary people, with whom I used to meet at the time after I was set free from the representative work, or I could have a deep interest in appreciation as well as collection of oil paintings as one of my small number of hobbies. Each of them was also thanks to the perestroika.

　Incidentally, let me allow to mention my private inner life. This appointment order to work in Moscow was a first experience in my life for long stay works out of Japan. If looking back on the past, it turned out to be a turning point to change my view of life.

　One of the reasons that urged me to change this view was like that: I have been engaged in a domestic distribution works for a long time and although I have gotten the resutl of the considerable amout of orders for shippers in comparison with a long period of my experience, I did often feel alienation as if I had made a mistake in my whereabouts without finding the way to adjust myself to a peculiar society in company’s organization. Whereas I was sent to Moscow for a long stay as a representative of one-man office, when I did feel myself as if I were stationed outside the company’s organization and so my alienation disappeared instantly to realize that I was carrying out my own duties very effectively through this overseas assignment just like a fish having gotten the water. From this experience I as an individualist reconfirmed, as if I saw it for the first time, that I had surely belonged to a type of man to exert own ability in case of working as a lone wolf, that is by far better than working as one of staff members in company’s community.

　The second reason for it: The people of the Soviet Union, with whom I came to usually make contact in Moscow, was ordinary people as well as a ruled class and all of them were, so to speak, the groups who fell behind in society, but in spite of the situation where the law and social system had drastically changed and hyperinflation was going on, they lived their own lives in tough and strong way, changing their difficult hardship of life into humor and anecdote to draw laughter without losiing their simplehearted and friendly personality, which was a fresh surprise and great shock for me. Of course, a social system of the Soviet Union differed greatly from ours and I could not adopt their way of life directly, but taking a cue from the way of their living, I learned a lot about the meaning of how I should live my own life to make best use of my individuality.

　And lastly the third reason: I was unexpectedly attracted into a new inner life of a hobby to appreciate and collect oil paintings, which became a source of my energy for carrying out my duties as the representative office in vigorous way. Incidentally if I look back to my young days, it occurred to me several times that I instantly felt the painting work which I happened to come across while visiting some private exhibition was very good one. From this fact I think I have had by nature an artistic sensibility of oil paintings in my own way and I suppose frequent visit to appreciate oil paintings in Moscow made me polish up such sensibility. Therefore I supporse that's why I made a pleasant discovery at first in my life that I could grasp the authentic quality of a work even to the degree to see through the author's creative plot. However, it depended on the painting because such a sensibility of mine is restricted only to good paintings. Anyhow from such frequent experiences I learned what kind of job was suitable for me and what I should do, though it was too late. These two kinds of recognition about myself by dint of afore-mentioned new experience combined together as one after a while, which decided the future course of my life.

　This valuable experience of my representative works, which brought me to the deffinite realization of aforementioned merits of myself, was connected with my lifework to risk the remaining days of my life to form an important meaning for me. Hoswever, it occurred to me as a natural consequence from the feeling that I had no choice but to take action in several years after I finally returned from Moscow to Japan. Namely, it took place 18 years ago after I firmly decided to take activities to make the very excellence of Russian contemporary paintings widely known in Japan, availing myself of my collection. Since then, spending a great amount of time, I have steadily continued my challenge to overcoming an extremely difficult situation from the viewpoint of enhancing the interest of audience in realism paintings. Why did I say like that? It is because my activities for increasing art lovers to understand Russian realism paintings are still on the way and my whole plan is not yet realized, but on the other hand the essence of painting art is understandable only in case of appreciating the original works, therefore, by way of making my collection open to the public, I myself from the outset longed for my dream to share the pleasure of appreciating the original ones together with art lovers, in other words, having made a detailed plan for a long period, I do somehow yarn for the creation of art museum here in Tokyo to display the high-quality permanent exhibits of contemporary Russian paintings.

　Anyway, in this concern, I wrote up the book, "Consideration of Contemporary Russian Paintings" (Toshoshinbun 2005), the particular of which is mentioned in detail in this book or in its revised edition now opened to my homepage. That’s why its explanation is hereby omitted. URL of my homepage: https://www.ishii-gallery.com/

　Sorry for my too long introduction, but now, extracting the text exactly as it is from the afore-said revised edition of my book, I would like to introduce the painting work, the main subject of which is about L.N.Tolstoy, therefore it shall bring about the possibility to have a connection tie with Japanese Tolstoy Association. And also, if you appreciate the original of this painting carefully, then, just in the same way as the author of this painting had felt, you shall perceive that the great writer had strong ties with Yasnaya Polyana to such a degree that you cannot understand Tolstoy in reality without taking his connection with Yasnaya Polyana into your account. By the way, the author of this painting, just like almost all other painters in my collection, nowadays is proved to be a high-level painter in the whole of art history from 18th century till now. And just because he depicted by his remarkable creative plot and skills the residence of Yasnaya Polyana where Tolstoy had lived since when he was born and grew up and wrote up a lot of immortal masterpieces, we can really feel that the aura of Tolstoy’s personality is exuding from this painting work.

　It goes without saying that the house depicted in L.N. Tolstoy’s House-Museum(Yasnaya Polyana) (Illustration 12) is the premises in Yasnaya Polyana where Tolstoywas born and spent the half part of his 82 years life altogether, writing his great works,such as “War and Peace”, “Anna Karenina” and others. The premises are about 190 km south of Moscow, and I wanted to visit them during my time in Moscow, but I ended up without fulfilling this desire. It is strange to say so, but instead I was able to obtain this wonderful painting, and the regret that I could not actually go there is somewhat eased.

　Viewing this piece, we can feel that the auther depicted the old tree, which was sustained with a prop, with all his strength imposingly and realistically, as if it were the the center of this piece. This seems to symbolize the tree rings of the time to preserve the residence and its surroundings in the background without changing them at all since Tolstoy lived there. In comparison to this tree, the residence is painted in an opposit way with modest tone from a side making a storeroom notisable and the autumn birches behind it are also depicted in inconspicuous dull gold. Such deliverate composition and way of painting do reflect his understanding of Tolstoy.

　The house that Tolstoy lived in for 40 years altogether has a modest, calm appearance, which is quite suitable so that visitors would recall his personality, indulging themselves in the special feeling that he lived there, thought, suffered and created immortal works which hold a solid position in the history of the world’s literature. In the carefully tended garden a bunch of red flowers is blooming, and under the eaves of the storeroom attached to the house red flowers twining around like vines are also painted with a vague brushwork. These red tones make the work more attractive overall with a rich color balance and the leaves fallen from the old tree in the garden enhancing the quiet mood.

　I obtained this piece at a gallery by the name of the Center of Fine Arts, which I will detail in a later chapter. I recall that when I purchased it, the older woman working there, as if she was reluctant to let it out of her hands, said repeatedly and regretfully, “This is a good painting. Indeed, a good one.” Now I understand her feelings only too well. For me too, this piece is one of the works that I want to always have nearby, and view without ever getting tired of them.

　Incidentally, in June 2003, just before the end of my second period of residence in Moscow, I was finally able to realize my desire visiting Yasnaya Polyana and thanks to this visit, I learned some new things that I’d like to mention here.

　The building attached to the house is not a storeroom, but a veranda, where Tolstoy and his family often took breakfast in summer. Moreover, *the old tree in front of the house was already gone, and since I couldn’t see any stump, I wonder that it was a creation of the artist. Modestly depicting the house just as in the actual scene would produce a painting that causes a weak impression without a point of emphasis overall. Perhaps, with the intent to avoid this, the artist adopted the composition contrasting strength with weakness and intentionally portrayed the old tree having a strong presence in the foreground, thus making the house behind it inconspicuous. I thought, “He is quite right, indeed. I have never imagined such way of depiction.” Visiting Yasnaya Polyana, I came to understand for the first time the outstanding ideas of the artist for such a composition that made this painting quite excellent.

Afterwards some readers kindly pointed out that this tree had actually existed. It was an old elm, called “the Tree of the Poor”, and had stood there around the depicted place, where neighboring farmers, worried students etc. often waited for Tolstoy to come out of the house, and asked for his advice on the various questions about the life. The tree was named after these people. However, because it died, it was taken out by the root in 1971, and a young tree of the same kind was planted in its place.

There exists an oil painting called "the Tree of the Poor" by People’s Artist of the USSR Boris Sherbakov (1916-1990), which depicts a large tree with dense foliage just suitable for the title. Judging from the position of the tree in this work by Sherbakov, the actual position of the tree seems to have been a little more behind than the position of the old tree in L.N. Tolstoy’s House-Museum. This is likely the reason why I didn’t notice the young tree at the time of my visit.

In any case, the old tree had already gone at that time when the artist painted this piece, so it would be most natural to think that the author made use of the tree that had formerly stood there for his composition contrasting strength with weakness.

Furthermore, availing myself of this opportunity, I would like to remark that in case of Russian paintings it is quite important to pay due attention to the title of a picture for correctly understanding the creative plot of the painter, which I always mention in every possible occasion. If someone appreciates a work only by the impression without recourse to the title, then he or she will conclude “the Tree of the Poor” is depicted there. In a sense to prevent such a misunderstanding this work is an appropriate example. That’s why I dare to herewith repeat that it is quite indispensable point to attach importance to the title.