Western Prototypes of Ivan Krylov Iconography

Abstract

The article focuses on selected examples of the 19th century iconography of Ivan Krylov. Depictions of the poet are considered within the representational tradition that originated in the age of Enlightenment and reflected the transformation of writers into public figures and celebrities. This tradition highlighted the growing social influence of writers, as well as the growing power of society, which, regardless of the will of monarchs and state institutions, dictated literary reputations and chose idols for itself. Western prototypes most significant to Krylov’s iconography were the sculptural and pictorial representations of Voltaire acquired by Catherine II, and statues of Walter Scott installed in Scotland shortly after the novelist’s death. The article argues that Nicholas I paid special attention to these latest Scottish monuments when choosing among different concepts for the first monument to Krylov. The portrayals of famous writers evolved in the context of ideas of “great man” and “national poet”. The article examines the semantic variations with which the term “national poet” was used in Russia under Nicholas I. Representations of Krylov are analyzed not only as evidence of his personal literary reputation and public success, but also as markers of social influence that writers as a community were gaining at the time. In Russia, this process was, paradoxically, under the close and effective control of the state and of the tsar personally.