AN UNHAPPY, LOVELESS MARRIAGE: Vasily Pukirev's Painting 'The Unequal Marriage'

This is definitely not how a bride should look on her wedding day. Welcome back to About Art, and let's dive deeper into this Russian masterpiece. The Unequal Marriage by the Russian artist Vasily Pukhidev shows a young girl getting married to a much older man in the dark interior of an Orthodox church. The girl gazes downwards with heartbreaking sadness as she contemplates her fate. She timidly extends her right arm towards the priest before her, who is about to place the wedding band on her finger. Her red-rimmed eyes suggest that she has been crying a lot before the ceremony. The girl is the only figure in the painting bathed in a soft angelic light that enhances her youth, purity and innocence. She is but a mere child confined to an arranged marriage, and we sense that she has already resigned herself to her gloomy fate. Beside her, we see her soon-to-be husband standing tall and immobile, as stiff and vertical as the candle he holds before him. He is an embodiment of old age, entrapment and rigidity. While his head faces forwards, restricted by his high collar, his eyes are fixated on the bride as he watches her with curiosity. The cross at the second order of Saint Vladimir around his neck and the matching star on his suit are rewards for his civil and military services. And this suggests that he must be a highly respected man, but also a substantially wealthy man. There are a few legends concerning Pukhidev's inspiration behind this painting. From a 1907 pencil drawing by the artist Vladimir Sukhov, we learn that the bride is Plaskovia Matvievna Varentsova. Pukhidev was allegedly in love with Plaskovia, but when her family wanted the poor girl to marry an older prince for wealth, Pukhidev's artist's salary wasn't enough to salvage the situation. Others say that the painting was inspired by Pukhidev's friend, Sergei Varentsov, who experienced a similar situation. What is for certain is that with this painting, Pukhidev is boldly criticizing the social inequality and commercialism of 19th century Russian society, as well as the undeniable power of money. It was for this very reason that the life-size painting caused such a sensation and resonated so much with the contemporary public. Indeed, legend has it that the impact of this painting was so strong that after seeing it for themselves, elderly men refused to marry younger brides. To the very right, we see a man who looks suspiciously like Pukhidev himself. With his arms folded before him, he watches the groom with suspicion and the wedding in general with obvious disapproval. Beside him, we see another man who gazes outwards towards us, implicating us in the scene. But the most intriguing of all the attentive wedding guests are two elderly women who at first are hardly noticeable amidst the watchful, leering men. There is an elderly woman behind the groom's shoulder who watches the groom suspiciously. She wears a veil and garland of flowers identical to that of the young bride. Another similar looking woman can be seen to the very left of the painting. It has been suggested that these two women, both clad in funeral shrouds, are ghostly apparitions of the groom's deceased ex-wives who watch his new union with disapproval. Or perhaps they are shadowy premonitions of the young bride's miserable fate. Aside from these curious wedding guests, the real power of this painting lies in the bride's expression of defeated compliance, which tugs at our heartstrings. And we cannot help but wonder whether she will be confined to the unhappy union for the rest of her life. Well, the painting by Sukhov sheds some light on the outcome of her life. 44 years after Pukhidev finished this painting, Praskovya was living in a Moscow poorhouse. She did not die a rich heiress. Thank you so much for watching. If you enjoyed this video, please make sure to like, comment and subscribe to help my content rise to the top. My name is Tatiana and you've been watching About Art.