Saint Nicholas of Myra saves three innocents from death is a painting by Russian artist Ilya Repin (1844–1930), completed in 1888. It is held at the Russian Museum in St. Petersburg (Inventory Zh-4001). The dimensions of the painting are 215 × 196 cm. The narrative of the painting is linked to one of the deeds of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker (of Myra), whose courageous and principled actions helped to prevent the execution of three innocent people. The relevance of this theme was linked to Leo Tolstoy's moral teachings and the debate surrounding the abolition of the death penalty.
The canvas was presented at the 17th exhibition of the Society for Travelling Art Exhibitions ("Peredvizhniki"), which opened in February 1889 in St Petersburg. The critical response to the painting was mixed. The writer Mitrofan Remezov praised Repin's Saint Nicholas as the best of all the paintings presented at the exhibition "both in idea and execution", while Leo Tolstoy noted that the content of the canvas was "not artistic, not new, not dear to the author", "the whole picture is without focus, and all the figures crawl apart". The painting was purchased by Emperor Alexander III, and the decision to establish the Russian Museum was subsequently attributed to this purchase on numerous occasions.
According to art historian Nikolai Mashkovtsev, Nicholas of Myra should not be considered an icon or a religious work - "Repin was carried away to the point of self-forgetfulness by the expression of the actors, especially the convicts", and he shows "the initial, the strongest moment of mental impetus". Art historian Nonna Yakovleva noted that Repin "as if calling on the favourite holy wonderworker to stop the flow of blood in Russia, puts the audience in the face of one of his miracles".
History
Background and creation In 1884, Ilya Repin was commissioned by a nunnery near Kharkiv to create an image of Saint Nicholas of Myra. As the writer and historian Dmytro Yavornytsky recalled in a conversation with him, Repin mentioned that the person who commissioned the image of Nicholas the Wonderworker was the hegumen of the Nicholas Convent in the village of Strilecha, Kharkovsky Uyezd. This was the same convent where he had come to visit his cousin, who was a nun there. The artist's relative's name was Emilia, in monasticism Eupraxia, and Repin referred to her as Olympiada. According to some sources, she was Repin's paternal cousin and her surname was Borisova. Apparently, the order was timed to coincide with the 800th anniversary of the translation of the relics of Saint Nicholas from Myra to Bari, which was expected to be celebrated in 1887.
Initially, Repin produced a pencil sketch in the style of icon painting. However, he subsequently became increasingly fascinated by this theme, which, as in the painting Ivan the Terrible and His Son Ivan, was associated with the moral preaching of Leo Tolstoy and the question of the abolition of the death penalty. In order to gather material, Repin appealed to art critic Vladimir Stasov, writing to him in a letter dated 30 September 1886:The Julian calendar ("old style") is used to date events that took place in the Russian Empire. "Do not forget, please, if you find anything about Nicholas the Wonderworker, put it aside for me. I promised to one backwater convent in my homeland to write them an image in the church". It transpired that Repin commenced work on a large canvas, which he continued throughout the winter of 1886/1887 and the entirety of 1888. For the St Nicholas Convent, the artist was to create an author's reproduction of the painting, incorporating certain alterations.
During a trip to Western Europe in 1887, Repin visited Vienna and examined the art collection at the Belvedere Palace. In a letter to Vladimir Stasov dated 30 May 1887, the artist provided a detailed account of his impressions, particularly highlighting the works of Peter Paul Rubens, including Miracle of Saint Ignatius of Loyola and Miracles of St. Francis Xavier. According to art historian Tatiana Yudenkova, "the perception of these paintings reveals that Repin at that moment was looking for some "clues" in European art to solve the composition of Saint Nicholas of Myra saves three innocents from death".
Following his visit to Vienna, Repin proceeded to Italy, where he planned to visit Bari in particular. In a letter to Vladimir Chertkov dated 24 May 1887, the artist wrote about this: "In Italy I will now find a lot of material for my ventures. I am even thinking of visiting Bari, if there is something about Nicholas the Wonderworker...". In a letter to Pavel Tretyakov dated 17 August 1887 (after his return to St Petersburg), Repin wrote about the results of his trip: "Mainly I thought in Bari to find something for his St. Nicholas - there was nothing, but I do not regret the trip there, a lot of interesting was."
17th travelling exhibition and subsequent events The painting Saint Nicholas of Myra saves three innocents from death was completed in 1888. It was exhibited at the 17th exhibition of the Society for Travelling Art Exhibitions (Peredvizhniki), which opened on 26 February 1889 in St Petersburg and subsequently moved to Moscow in April of the same year. The part of the exhibition held in St Petersburg was hosted by Botkina at her residence on Sergievskaya Street (now Tchaikovsky Street). The Moscow part of the exhibition was held at the premises of the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. The painting was catalogued in the exhibition catalogue under the title Saint Nicholas. (Saint Nicholas spares from the death penalty three innocently convicted in the city of Mirah-Likia). Additionally, three further paintings by Repin were exhibited at the same event - portraits of the actor M.S. Schepkin and the composers A.K. Glazunov and A.P. Borodin.
According to the "legend," which has been repeatedly referenced in publications pertaining to the history of the Russian Museum, the final decision of Emperor Alexander III to establish the museum was influenced by the acquisition of the painting Saint Nicholas of Myra saves three innocents from death from the 17th exhibition of the Peredvizhniki. Prince Vladimir Meshchersky wrote in his memoirs: "The Emperor was very enthusiastic about the idea of the Museum and at this exhibition bought eight paintings, repeatedly saying that it's for the future Museum. After standing at one of the travelling exhibitions in front of Repin's painting Saint Nicholas Stopping an Unjust Execution, the Sovereign said: "Here is a beautiful thing for the Museum," and the painting was purchased."
In 1891, two of Repin's paintings, Nicholas of Myra and Seeing off the recruit, were exhibited at an international exhibition in Berlin, dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the Berlin Academy of Arts, where other works by Russian artists were displayed as well. Repin's paintings were well received by the public and critics alike. In particular, one of the reviewers observed that "never before has Russian art been represented in Germany by so many works, and none of them was received as [well as] Repin's St Nicholas of Myra." The art reviewer of the Berlin newspaper National-Zeitung, Georg Voß, wrote that the canvas St Nicholas is "full of such an amazing power of colour, which is found only maybe in Böcklin himself."
In 1897, the painting was transferred from the Winter Palace to the then emerging Russian Museum of Emperor Alexander III (now the Russian Museum), where it remains today. As Alexander III himself was no longer alive in 1897 (he died in 1894), the painting is considered to have been a gift from his son Nicholas II (the catalogue states that it came from the Winter Palace). The painting is currently on display in Hall 34 of the Mikhailovsky Palace, where it is exhibited alongside other renowned works by Repin, including Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks, Seeing off the recruit and portraits of V.V. Stasov, A.G. Rubinstein and I.R. Tarkhanov.
The painting Saint Nicholas of Myra saves three innocents from death was exhibited at Repin's personal exhibition held in 1936 at the State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow. Additionally, the painting was exhibited at the 175th anniversary of Repin's birth, held from March to August 2019 at the New Tretyakov Gallery on Krymsky Val, and then, from October 2019 to March 2020, at the Benois Building of the State Russian Museum in St Petersburg.
Subject and description
The painting's narrative is based on one of the deeds of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker (approximate dates of life - 270-345 AD), which he performed while serving as bishop in Myra, a city located in Lycia (present-day Turkey, specifically the Turkish province of Antalya). The famous nickname of St Nicholas - "Myrrh of Myra" - is linked to the name of this town.
While he was away, Nicholas of Myra heard that the governor of Myra, Eustathius, had condemned three innocent people to death after being bribed by their ill-wishers. Anxious to stop this injustice, Nicholas hurried back to Myra and arrived at the Dioscurov field where the execution was to take place, just as the executioner was about to begin.
In his work, The Life and Works of our Holy Father Nicholas the Wonderworker, the 10th-century Byzantine writer Symeon the Metaphrast offers the following account of the story: "When the saint saw this, and turned his eyes to the sad spectacle, he balanced his severity with gentleness, said neither a bold nor a harsh word, but neither did he show any apprehension or timidity; as much as his strength reached he ran to the executioner, boldly snatched the sword from his hands, and, fearing nothing, threw it to the ground, and set the condemned free from their chains. No one prevented his autocratic act...".
The painting depicts the moment when Nicholas the Wonderworker intervenes to halt the executioner's blade as it is about to strike the first of the condemned. The painting presents a stark contrast between the unwavering conviction of Nicholas of Myra, confident in his righteousness, the bewilderment of the executioner, the frightened and flattered expression on the face of the town governor ("Byzantine kingmaker"), and the figures and faces of the condemned, who had lost all hope of salvation - "one submissive, another bewildered and a third in a burst of mad hope".
The painting depicts a crowd of people at the rear of the scene, their expressions indicating a tense observation of the events unfolding in the foreground. Above the heads of the people in the crowd is the figure of a child who has been lifted up by someone so that he can see better and remember "all the details of the great feat of humanity". One of the girls in the crowd is trying not to lose sight of the young convict (he could be her brother or fiancé). Mentioning this girl in one of his letters to his pupil, the artist Vera Veryovkina, Repin wrote: "But what struck me: the girl is a perfect portrait of you!" According to Veryovkina's recollections, Repin deliberately took her to the Russian Museum of Alexander III to introduce her to her "double".
Although the prototype of Nicholas of Myra appears to have been Leo Tolstoy, with whom Repin talked quite a lot during that period, the face of St Nicholas was painted from the poet Apollon Maykov. Repin wrote the executioner from the artist Nikolai Kuznetsov. The image of the kneeling condemned to death was created from the writer Ieronim Yasinsky, and the puny young death row inmate awaiting his turn was created from the Symbolist writer Dmitry Merezhkovsky.
Sketches, studies and repetitions
Variations