The Literary Portrait from Pushkin to Dostoevsky

The article explores the peculiarities of literary portraits and studies the interconnections and contrasts between painted and written portraits. The recognizability of a portrait in pictorial art is attained not only through physical resemblance but also through “artistic deformations” that the au...

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Main Author:	Elena V. Stepanian-Rumyantseva
Format:	article
Language:	EN RU
Published:	Russian Academy of Sciences. A.M. Gorky Institute of World Literature 2020
Subjects:	portrait literary portrait suggestive portrait dostoevsky pushkin schiller dynamic principle grace statics Slavic languages. Baltic languages. Albanian languages PG1-9665
Online Access:	https://doaj.org/article/44c6c97dbfcb49c481749b39d73fa2a0
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id	oai:doaj.org-article:44c6c97dbfcb49c481749b39d73fa2a0
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:44c6c97dbfcb49c481749b39d73fa2a02021-12-02T19:48:16ZThe Literary Portrait from Pushkin to Dostoevsky10.22455/2619-0311-2020-4-86-1042619-03112712-8512https://doaj.org/article/44c6c97dbfcb49c481749b39d73fa2a02020-12-01T00:00:00Zhttp://dostmirkult.ru/images/2020-4/02_Stepanian-Rumyantseva_86-104.pdfhttps://doaj.org/toc/2619-0311https://doaj.org/toc/2712-8512The article explores the peculiarities of literary portraits and studies the interconnections and contrasts between painted and written portraits. The recognizability of a portrait in pictorial art is attained not only through physical resemblance but also through “artistic deformations” that the author introduces to the appearance of the portrayed. In a literary portrait, identification is achieved both by verbal and plastic detailing and by addressing the reader’s inner experience and imagination. Traditionally, the literary portrait in the Russian literature of the 19th century is based mostly on plastic characteristics, comparisons, and color accents, and because of this, it is often defined as “pictorial”. However, portraits by Pushkin and Dostoevsky stand out as exceptionally original, as if created from a different material. Pushkin avoids detailing, instead, he presents a “suggestive” portrait, i.e., a dynamic outline of the personality. The reader’s imagination is influenced not by details, but rather by the dynamic nature of Pushkin’s characters. Dostoevsky does not inherit Pushkin’s methods, though he also turns to a dynamic principle in describing the heroes of his novels. When they first appear, he presents them as if from different angles of vision, and their features may often be in discord, which makes the reader sense a contradictory impact of their personalities, as well as of their portraits. This kind of portrait is a dynamic message, where the reader follows the hero along unexpected and contrasting paths that the author previously mapped for him. From the beginning to the very end of their works, these two classics of Russian literature present the human personality as a being in a state of life-long development, always changing and always free in its existential choice.Elena V. Stepanian-RumyantsevaRussian Academy of Sciences. A.M. Gorky Institute of World Literaturearticleportraitliterary portraitsuggestive portraitdostoevskypushkinschillerdynamic principlegracestaticsSlavic languages. Baltic languages. Albanian languagesPG1-9665ENRUДостоевский и мировая культура: Филологический журнал, Iss 4, Pp 86-104 (2020)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN RU
topic	portrait literary portrait suggestive portrait dostoevsky pushkin schiller dynamic principle grace statics Slavic languages. Baltic languages. Albanian languages PG1-9665
spellingShingle	portrait literary portrait suggestive portrait dostoevsky pushkin schiller dynamic principle grace statics Slavic languages. Baltic languages. Albanian languages PG1-9665 Elena V. Stepanian-Rumyantseva The Literary Portrait from Pushkin to Dostoevsky
description	The article explores the peculiarities of literary portraits and studies the interconnections and contrasts between painted and written portraits. The recognizability of a portrait in pictorial art is attained not only through physical resemblance but also through “artistic deformations” that the author introduces to the appearance of the portrayed. In a literary portrait, identification is achieved both by verbal and plastic detailing and by addressing the reader’s inner experience and imagination. Traditionally, the literary portrait in the Russian literature of the 19th century is based mostly on plastic characteristics, comparisons, and color accents, and because of this, it is often defined as “pictorial”. However, portraits by Pushkin and Dostoevsky stand out as exceptionally original, as if created from a different material. Pushkin avoids detailing, instead, he presents a “suggestive” portrait, i.e., a dynamic outline of the personality. The reader’s imagination is influenced not by details, but rather by the dynamic nature of Pushkin’s characters. Dostoevsky does not inherit Pushkin’s methods, though he also turns to a dynamic principle in describing the heroes of his novels. When they first appear, he presents them as if from different angles of vision, and their features may often be in discord, which makes the reader sense a contradictory impact of their personalities, as well as of their portraits. This kind of portrait is a dynamic message, where the reader follows the hero along unexpected and contrasting paths that the author previously mapped for him. From the beginning to the very end of their works, these two classics of Russian literature present the human personality as a being in a state of life-long development, always changing and always free in its existential choice.
format	article
author	Elena V. Stepanian-Rumyantseva
author_facet	Elena V. Stepanian-Rumyantseva
author_sort	Elena V. Stepanian-Rumyantseva
title	The Literary Portrait from Pushkin to Dostoevsky
title_short	The Literary Portrait from Pushkin to Dostoevsky
title_full	The Literary Portrait from Pushkin to Dostoevsky
title_fullStr	The Literary Portrait from Pushkin to Dostoevsky
title_full_unstemmed	The Literary Portrait from Pushkin to Dostoevsky
title_sort	literary portrait from pushkin to dostoevsky
publisher	Russian Academy of Sciences. A.M. Gorky Institute of World Literature
publishDate	2020
url	https://doaj.org/article/44c6c97dbfcb49c481749b39d73fa2a0
work_keys_str_mv	AT elenavstepanianrumyantseva theliteraryportraitfrompushkintodostoevsky AT elenavstepanianrumyantseva literaryportraitfrompushkintodostoevsky
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The Literary Portrait from Pushkin to Dostoevsky

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