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 | 60 Velyka Perspektyvna St., 25006, Kropyvnytskyi, Ukraine |
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The Bloody Sunday of W. Kossak
The painting Bloody Sunday in Petersburg (9th of January 1905) of the original polish painter Wojciech Horacy Kossak (1856-1942) - is a true unique, makeable, epochal and priceless painting from a historical point of view, it impresses with its dramatic effect, psychological and emotional tension, panoramic, the number of actors, and the main is the honest reflection of the real historical event, however painter was neither participator nor witness of it.
What is important, that the painting, which was created almost 110 years ago, is still urgent, getting peculiar meaning in conditions of modern Ukraine because of the events which were the beginning of the revolution of dignity and Patriotic war in 2014. Shooting of peaceful protest in Petersburg of 9th 1905 has astonish similarity with brutal beating of students’ peaceful protest in 30th November 2013. Inadequate behavior of authority in both cases logically continued as the revolution, from the historical point of view. It gives grounds to claim that bloody Saturday took turns from Bloody Sunday, proving the irreversibility of objective history laws.
The author of this unique artwork was Wojciech Horacy Kossak (1856 – 1942) and the son of painter Juliusz Kossak (1824-1899), who was born in Ukraine and dedicated it lots of his works. It should be mentioned that Kossaks family made a markeable contribution to the history of polish culture: Wojciech's son Jerzy Kossak (1886–1955) was also a painter, Wojciech's daughter Maria Pawlikowska-Jasnorzewska (1891–1945) was a prominent poetess. Wojciech Kossak himself had literary talent and left a book of memories after himself.
The future master of paintbrush was born in Paris. At first he studied in Krakow school of Fine Arts, then in Munich and Paris in famous masters of art as A. Kapabel, L. Bonn and Ernest Meissonier.
The priority of military theme in works of painter is not accidental. The young Kossak entered to Krakow regiment in 1876-1877. The military period was an important one in life of the painter and had a big influence on forming of his art interests as a battle-scene painter. Portraits of travelers, field training, cavalry , scenes from regiment history these are the images which took their roots from military surrounding, they were the first models of the painter.
Later Kossak created the whole series of works with military theme, paying tribute to national liberation competition of polish people and war in 1812, when polish people were fighting at the side of Napol?on Bonaparte.
One of the leading themes of painter’s works was hunting. It should be mentioned that most of painter’s works has natural compositions with a small number of figures, while bloody Sunday painting can be considered as the achievement of Kossak as a painter of monumental works.
The material for creating the painting were Tragic events of 9th of January 1905 in Petersburg, which came into history as the “Bloody Sunday” and marked the beginning of the first Russian revolution in 1905-1907.
The Master of battle-scene painting could not only honestly reflect all the events on Palace Square but also reproduce the emotional atmosphere and variety of feelings of characters in the picture. As a result of a great panoramic construction of the picture a contemplator may unintentionally become a participant of this event.
One of the main characters of this unique artwork is priest Gapon (Georgiy Apollonovich,1873-1906), who was fated to play decisive part in events that are shown in the painting. Standing in a full length and holding the crucifix, as if trying to stop the horsemen, he immediately attracts the attention of the viewers.
Gapon was born in Poltava province. He studied in Saint Petersburg Theological Academy. In 1904 he became the priest in a prison and the Department of the Police gave him a permission to head a new Assembly of Russian Factory and Mill Workers of St. Petersburg to inform about moods among the workers and change the danger of armed rising in peaceful way. He was a great public speaker and a person who could lead thousand of people.
He was the organizer and, in fact, the manager the peaceful manifestation, which took place on 9th of January 1905 and around 140 000 people took part in it. People were in their best clothes and lots of them held icons in hand. It was planed to gather on the square of the winter palace and pass the petition to Emperor Nicholas II, in which was said about mass “persecution, misery and distress” which Russian people suffered from. The document had spirit of “na?ve monarchism” and eloquently assured about people’s confidence in that Father the Tsar did not know about problems of the people because of his faithless subordinate people, who deceived him. So the petition was aimed to show the truth to Emperor and ask about defense and help.
The Emperor’s answer is well known for everybody. Workers were met with shootings and cavalry, which hashed and trampled people who were unarmed. According to some sources, around 1200 people were killed and almost 5 000 were injured. 9th of January 1905 became the epochal event and in world history is known as “Bloody Sunday”. It was a fatal hit on “na?ve monarchism”. It were not the workers who opened the Emperor his eyes, it were the Emperor who opened eyes his workers, who screamed : “we have no Tsar anymore”, when they were falling down shootings and strokes.
As for the organization of this venture, he ran away abroad and he was in emigration until October 1905, what eloquently proved his connection with police. Later he returned to Petersburg and in March 1906 he was found killed. According to one of the versions, Gapon was trying to get into the SR Combat Organization, but he was unmasked as a police agent and was hanged by workers.
Very strong psychological element of the picture are cavalry who move one by one to scared people. Faces of military people impress with theirs cruelty and wild power (it looks as the “Berkut”, isn’t it?!). picture has one more interesting detail, which has symbolic meaning. The meeting of crucifix, which Gapon holds and a cavalry sword of one of the army man symbolizes conflict between spiritual and dispiriting.
In general, every character has its own symbolic loading, creating unique psychological and emotional atmosphere, which has everything as pain, anger, disappointing, misunderstanding of what is happening, appetite for revenge and so on.
Interesting is that the author painted the picture Bloody Sunday in Petersburg (9th of January 1905) in Vienna for an impressively short period - only three months. He worked on with viennese painter Hans Temple, but he refused from it and did not pretend to be an author of it.
On 1st of may 1905 the picture was exposed in the capital of Austria with a great success, and in Noovember it was removed to London. Interesting is that in Great Britain the picture had another name as “The Vladimir day”. The Tsar’s ankle Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich Romanov, after whom was renamed the painting, he was at the same time the president of the art academy and military governor of St Peterburg and was involved in shooting of the participants of the peaceful manifestation. During the next years, the painting was exposed in paris and USA (1907), Krakow (1904), Lviv and Warsaw (1917).
Beyond any doubts that tsar’s authority prohibited the exposition of the polish painter’s picture in Russia. Bellegarde, the head of the main publishing administration, from 15th of June 1905 in his special circular letter ordered censorship comities and separate censors, who deals with inner censorship not to allow publishing photos of this painting or articles about it.
Despite such strict measures, the legal Bolshevist publishing house “Vpered” (1906-1907) published the post-card with the reproduction of the picture Kossak’s “Bloody Sunday”, which revolutionaries widely used for agitation.
The painting was in Poland till 1947, and than it was presented to the government of Soviet Union. On 15th of December 1947 it became a part of fund collection of The State Tretyakov Gallery, and in 1948 it took place in its exposition. In 1955 the painting also was expositedMuseum of revolution in exhibition which was dedicated to 50 years of the first Russian revolution (1905-1907).
According to the order of the USSR minister of the culture from 09.02.1962 the painting was removed in Kirovograd regional ethnography museum, and since 1965 it was exposed in its affiliated branch – KirovogradArtGallery.
In June 2013 – 2014 the painting was restored by the specialists from the national research and restoration centre of Ukraine as Bychko T. A. - honoured worker of culture, substitute of general, , art conservation of higher range, Beskrovnyi A. P. - honoured worker of culture, manager of research and restoration work of oil art, restorer of easel and oil art of higher range, Sapiehina I. B. restorer of easel art works of higher range and Biloshytskyi M. O. restorer of oil artworks of the 1st range.
Today this painting is the pearl of the collection of the Kirovograd regional art museum, and finally the true fans of Kirovograd fine art and those who are not indifferent to history have a possibility to see it.
 | Mon -Thu: from 9 a.m. to 6.15 p.m. |
 | 60 Velyka Perspektyvna St., 25006, Kropyvnytskyi, Ukraine |