Peasant's court

Taras Shevchenko. Peasant's court. Paper, etching 19 × 26,1; 26,1 × 32,1; (42,5 × 63,5) cm. [St. Petersburg]. [III – 6 – 7.V] 1844. Taras Shevchenko National Museum, inv. number g – 375.

In the left image – the date and signature of the author: 1844. Shevchenko. At middle – name: Peasant's court. To the left of it explanatory text of Shevchenko etching:

Ataman (chairman) gathers in the village society, when something unusual happens to the council and the court, near the tavern or on the square, community, consulting, and reasoned as follows and gave the peace for enemies, or penalty, are divergent, having drunk a glass of vodka.

Right from the name – the same text repeated in French:

En cas urgents l’otamane (le chef de l’endroit) rassemblait le peuple sur une place publique ou bien pres de la taverne: c’est là que les representants du peuple et toute l’assemblée déliberaient sur l’affaire et prononçaient l’arrêt: ensuite, après avoir ènfligè une punition ou bien rètabli la paix, tout le monde s’en allait et les parties opposèes de-vaient boir une rasade en guise de rèconciliation.

Date of etching refined based on a Shevchenko's letter to O. M. Bodjans'ky of 6 – 7. May 1844.

Etude for composition "Peasant's court" see in album of 1839 – 1843.

In 1911 exposed at exhibition of works of art Shevchenko in Kiev (catalog, № 72); in 1929 – the exhibition of works of T. Shevchenko Chernihiv (Catalogue, p. 17, № 1); in 1939 – on the Republican Jubilee Shevchenko's exhibition in Kiev (catalog, № 147).

Storage areas of described instance: State Hermitage, Ukrainian Historical Museum (Kyiv), Shevchenko Institute, Kharkov, Gallery pictures Shevchenko, Kharkiv.

Etching board stored in the National museum of Taras Shevchenko.

L.I. Vnuchkova

After publication: Taras Shevchenko Complete works in 10 volumes. – Kyiv: ed. Academy of sciences of UkrSSR, 1961, Vol. 7, part 1, № 93 (picture), p. 38 (note).