Chief Procurator of the Synod K. Pobedonostsev 1906

Editor: So this is Boris Kustodiev's 1906 pen and pencil drawing of Konstantin Pobedonostsev. There’s something haunting about it… almost like a caricature, reducing him to just angles and lines. What symbols do you see at play here? Curator: Well, first notice how Pobedonostsev is rigidly upright, almost skeletal in form, isn’t he? Kustodiev presents the Procurator, a powerful figure of the Russian Orthodox Church, with stark simplicity. He is the embodiment of autocratic authority. What emotions are conveyed by the dark and light balance within this artwork? Editor: There is the sense of almost brittle power about to break, suggested in particular by how dark the robe appears in contrast to his very gaunt and strikingly white features. Do you see that related to the Russian Avant Garde style and symbolic intention here? Curator: The Russian Avant-Garde embraced abstraction, rejecting the sentimentality of earlier art. Think about the rod, the robes and his posture – all icons and images representative of both authority and high office in the Synod. Does he strike you as warm, welcoming, or empathetic? Editor: Not at all! But that answers my earlier question about how Kustodiev has caricatured his power as an autocrat! He becomes a symbol _of_ the state apparatus and a target for its failings. Curator: Precisely. And that understanding gives us a window into the turbulent cultural memory of early 20th-century Russia, wouldn't you say? Editor: Yes. Seeing him as a symbol of repression really unlocks a deeper understanding. I'll never look at another portrait the same way again! Curator: Nor will I. Let’s look for symbols next time with an eye for emotional context as well as symbolic weight.