Interrupted rendezvous

Taras Shevchenko. Interrupted rendezvous. A copy of the picture by K.P. Briullov.
[1839 – 1840, no later than October. St. Petersburg].
Watercolour. 23 × 18,5 cm
Taras Shevchenko National Museum, № g – 801.

On the mat (stored separately) with a pencil inscription: Shevchenko. Interrupted rendezvous and printed in bronze paint: Carolus Bruloff. Copia. The same inscription is on the mat of "Dream of grandmother and granddaughter" picture.

Figure by K.P. Briullov (1827 – 1830. Cardboard, watercolor, graphite pencil. 23 × 18,7 cm. The State Tretyakov Gallery (Moscow), № 3171), with the name "Interrupted rendezvous" ("Water is running above"), was the property of V.A. Vladyslavlyev, then transferred to a count P.K. Ferzen [Somov A.K. Briullov and its importance for the russian art. – SPb., 1876. – p. 35; Atsarkyna J.E. Carl Briullov: Life and Works. – M., 1963. – p. 455]. Prints of Briullov's watercolors "Interrupted rendezvous" and "Dream of grandmother and granddaughter" in 1841 were presented on inset to the anthology "Morning Dawn" [Morning Dawn. – SPb., 1841. – Between the p. 320 – 321, 322 – 323], which published by V.A. Vladyslavlyev in 1839 – 1843.

Probably Shevchenko executed copies of these Briullov's watercolors by order of almanac publisher, that need to send them abroad for engraving. The prints were engraved by English engraver John–Henry Robinson, and the original owners probably did not want to transfer them to London [Vladych A. Shevchenko and russian illustrated books of 40–ies of XIX century. // Proceedings of fifteenth Shevchenko scientific conference. – K., 1968. – p. 201].

Copy is dated approximately 1839 – not later than October 1840, when censorship permission to print almanac was obtained.

Second copy from this figure Shevchenko performed for V.A. Zhukovsky [Matsapura M. New in Shevchenko's heritage // Ukraine. – 1951. – № 8. – p. 30]. Perhaps one of the copies Shevchenko named "Italian at fountain" in February 1888 was exhibited at the Exhibition for the benefit of architects' widows and orphans in the Academy of Arts [Gorlenko V. Pictures and prints of Shevchenko // Kievan antiquity. – 1888. – № 6. – p. 82]. With this or similar name it has entered the literature. K.V. Shyrotsky calls it "Italian in wells" [Shyrotsky K. C.Briullov and T. Shevchenko // Ukrainian life. – 1913. – № 12. – p. 54-59]. In catalogs of Russian Museum funds (St. Petersburg) registered with the name "Scene in wells". Such discrepancies in titles caused to researchers who did not know that there are two copies of a Briullov's watercolor, consider their as various works [Eisenstok I. Shevchenko's literary legacy fate // Literary legacy. – 1935. – № 19/21. – p. 483; Raevsky S.E. Life and art of Taras Shevchenko. – X., 1939. – p. 43; Vladimirski G.D. Predecessors of Russian realist painters // Imaginary art. – 1939. – № 2 / 3. – p. 17.].

This copy was published for the first time I. Eisenstok [Eisenstok I. Fate of T.H. Shevchenko's literary legacy. – p. 435, 483].

Copies of Shevchenko "Interrupted rendezvous" and "Dream of grandmother and granddaughter", his original watercolor paintings "Maria" and "Gypsy fortune-teller" kept the V.A. Vladyslavlyev's album among the works of other artists, prints of some of them been published in his book. Then the album got acquainted Shevchenko publisher and collector K.T. Soldatenkov (1818 – 1901). Next from N.G. Soldatenkova, the wife of his nephew V.I. Soldatenkov, the only heir of the collector, in 1925 came to the State Museum of Fine Arts (Moscow). The list of works attached to the album, named four drawings referred Shevchenko [Sudak V.A. Pages of T.H. Shevchenko illustrator // Folk art and ethnography. – 1989. – № 1. – p. 4].

Storage areas: from 1938 – Gallery of pictures by T.H. Shevchenko (Kharkiv), from 1948 – State Museum of T.H. Shevchenko (Kyiv).

Exhibition: 1984. Kyiv. Shevchenko – artist. To 170–th birthday [Shevchenko – artist: Exhibition Catalogue. – K., 1986. – p. 8].

V.O. Sudak

After publication: T.H. Shevchenko Complete Works in 12 volumes. – K.: Naukova Dumka, 2003, v. 7, p. 58 – 59 (image), p. 374 – 375 (notes).