Balashov in Tretyakov gallery aimed at the damaging Iliya Repin’s painting
“Ivan the Terrible and His Son Ivan on 14 November 1581”. We compared two
acts of Russian vandals who attacked the canvas on 1913 and on 2018. There is
considerable difference between Igor Podporin’s reckless ideological action and
Balashov’s actions which were carefully planned. Balashov was an icon painter,
but wanted to be a painter. Like M. Voloshin we insist that his mental disorder
is caused by provocative Repin’s painting. The shocking effect of this artwork
caused a similar reaction of Russian viewers on 1885 disgusted and amazed by naturalism and expression of the painting. Repin’s work was inspired by his
own bleeding trauma experienced in childhood, by the European paintings of
the bleeding Christ, by Russian antimonarchist radicalism, by N. Karamsin’s
gothic version of tsar Ivan activity, finally by «le genre féroce» of the modern
French painting. Repin added to visual look of Ivan the Terrible some demonic
features and to his son figure some Christ features. Balashov belonged to subculture of Russian Old Believers in turn was inspired by hagiography of Old
Believer martyr Morozova and by icon like painting “Boiarynia Morozova”
of Surikov. Balashov’s vandal act is a typical Russian «fool for Christ» gesture.
Probably he followed the tradition of damaging devil's faces in books and
on icons.
The article deals with semiotics of the vandal action of Abram
Balashov in Tretyakov gallery aimed at the damaging Iliya Repin’s painting
“Ivan the Terrible and His Son Ivan on 14 November 1581”. We compared two
acts of Russian vandals who attacked the canvas on 1913 and on 2018. There is
considerable difference between Igor Podporin’s reckless ideological action and
Balashov’s actions which were carefully planned. Balashov was an icon painter,
but wanted to be a painter. Like M. Voloshin we insist that his mental disorder
is caused by provocative Repin’s painting. The shocking effect of this artwork
caused a similar reaction of Russian viewers on 1885 disgusted and amazed by naturalism and expression of the painting. Repin’s work was inspired by his
own bleeding trauma experienced in childhood, by the European paintings of
the bleeding Christ, by Russian antimonarchist radicalism, by N. Karamsin’s
gothic version of tsar Ivan activity, finally by «le genre féroce» of the modern
French painting. Repin added to visual look of Ivan the Terrible some demonic
features and to his son figure some Christ features. Balashov belonged to subculture of Russian Old Believers in turn was inspired by hagiography of Old
Believer martyr Morozova and by icon like painting “Boiarynia Morozova”
of Surikov. Balashov’s vandal act is a typical Russian «fool for Christ» gesture.
Probably he followed the tradition of damaging devil's faces in books and
on icons.
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With an Icon and a Knife: About the Semio-Aesthetic Causes of
А. Balashov’s Vandalism С. 279–291. DOI 10.25205/2307-1737-2020-1-279-291