Tree. Etude
Taras Shevchenko. Tree. Etude song to "Narcissus and the nymph Echo". Plants. Etudes. [1840 – 1841, the summer months. St. Petersburg]. Paper, pencil. 17,7 × 26,3 cm. Taras Shevchenko National Museum, № g – 772.
On the back -"The mother washes the child". "Abraham's Sacrifice". "Multifigured composition". Drawing and sketches.
On the left upper corner is marked in pencil: 16; below: 178 × 265, above right were washed away during restoration of inscription: 551 and Number 50 (last – the number for a description by G.M. Chestahivsky).
In description by G.M. Chestahivsky pictures that were in Shevchenko's academic workshops, made 1861, sheet listed in the section "Pictures by Sternberg" at number 50 [Department of manuscripts and textology Institute of Literature. T.H. Shevchenko National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, fund 1, № 459].
Under "V.I. Sternberg. The album, composed from 18 pencil drawings" introduced in 1900 for scientific use [Catalog of V. Tarnowski's Museum of Ukrainian antiquity / arranged by B.D. Grinchenko. – Chernigov, 1900. – T. 2. – p. 4. – № 21].
For the first time included in the PZT, reproduced and commented with the name of "Narcissus", but referred to the «Dubia» [T. Shevchenko Complete Works: in 10 volumes. – K., 1961. – Vol. 7, bk. 2. – p. 47. – № 339; collection of pictures by V.I. Sternberg: Ibid. – K., 1963. – T. 10. – p. 76 – 77. – № 168 – 190]. However, the manner of drawing the branches, trunk wood, weeds, plants close to the Shevchenko's images in 1840 – 1841's, have suggested its author, and studies based on autobiographical material for assuming that their performance at the Smolensk cemetery.
Dated approximately by summer months of 1840 or 1841 based on time of another sketch on the topic "Narcissus and the nymph Echo", performed on the same page with sketches "Recessed", "Boy with a dog", and given that the studies were from nature.
Storage areas: from April 1861 – property of M.M.Lazarevsky, later purchased by St. Petersburg's Ukrainian community, not earlier than July 1861 – A.O. Kozachkovsky, not later than 1875 came to V.P. Kakhovski; from 1891 – in Kakhovski family, not later than 1893 transferred to S.D. Brazol; since 1898 – a collection of V. Tarnowskі; from 1899 – V. Tarnowski's Chernihiv museum of ukrainian antiquities, 1925 – Chernihiv Historical Museum, from 1932 – Gallery of pictures by T.H. Shevchenko (Kharkiv), from 1948 – State Museum of T.H. Shevchenko (Kyiv).
Exhibition: 1974. Kyiv. Works from the collection of Taras Shevchenko [Artworks in own collection of Taras Shevchenko: Exhibition Catalogue. – K., 1974. – p. 5].
I.M. Verykivska
After publication: T.H. Shevchenko Complete Works in 12 volumes. – K.: Naukova Dumka, 2003, v. 7, p. 240 – 241 (image), p. 432 (notes).