The Appearance of Christ Before the People

The Appearance of Christ Before the People

Artist	Alexander Andreyevich Ivanov
Year	1837–1857
Type	Oil on canvas
Dimensions	540 cm × 750 cm (210 in × 300 in)
Location	Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia

The Apparition of Christ Before the People or The Apparition of the Messiah (Russian: Явление Христа народу) is an oil painting on canvas, measuring 540 х 750 cm, by the Russian painter Alexander Andreyevich Ivanov (1806-1858).^[1]

The painting has been called his magnum opus, and it took 20 years to complete (1837 - 1857). The narrative of the painting is based on the third chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, also described in the first chapter of the Gospel according to John.^[2][3]

Artist

Painting displayed in Moscow

Alexander Ivanov was born on 28 July 1806 to a family of artists. He was only eleven years old when he entered as a student in the Imperial Academy of Arts, where he studied under the guidance of his father, Andrei Ivanovich Ivanov, a professor of painting. Ivanov was awarded two silver medals, and received in 1824 a gold medal.^[4][5][6][7]

Painting

The painting alludes to several stories in the Bible. In the center of the painting John the Baptist, wearing an animal skin, is standing on the banks of the River Jordan. He points towards a figure in the distance, approaching the scene. To the left stands the young John the Apostle, behind him St. Peter, and further on Andrew the Apostle and Nathaniel. In the foreground we see people who watch the scene unfold but are undecided what to do, both young and old men. In the center there is a wealthy man who was too rich to follow Christ and a slave, about whom Ivanov remarked that he meant to depict people who experienced, after a life in despair and suffering, "joy for the first time." To the right there is a figure, that stands nearest to Jesus, who was depicted as the painter's good friend, the writer Gogol. Before the wanderer with a staff seated not far from John, is a figure seated with a red headgear. The figure is a self-portrait; the artist has captured his own features on the canvas.^{[8] [9]}

• Studies
• 

  Study of the head of John the Baptist

• 

  Ivanov Head of Christ

• 

  Head of a man

• 

  Initial first sketches

References

1. "Alexander Andreyevich Ivanov". russia-ic.com.
2. "The Apparition of Christ to the People". www.google.com/culturalinstitute. Retrieved 2015.
3. "Aleksandr+Andreevich+Ivanov". encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com.
4. "The Tretyakov gallery - Image". www.tretyakovgallery.ru.
5. "The Appearance of Christ before the People - Art and the Bible". www.artbible.info. Retrieved 2015.
6. "Painting Russian romanticism". www.dartmouth.edu. Retrieved 2015.
7. "AA Ivanov's Picture "The Appearance of Christ Before People". elib.sfu-kras.ru. Retrieved 2015.
8. "Alexander Ivanov. The Appearance of Christ to the People (The phenomenon of the Messiah)". www.tanais.info. Retrieved 2015.
9. "Alexander Andreyevich Ivanov". www.tretyakovgallery.ru. Retrieved 2015.

External links

• The Appearance of Christ Before the People