What's happening in the painting ‘The Trial of Yan Usmar's Strength’?
After seeing the painting by artist Grigory Ugryumov, members of the St. Petersburg Academy whispered in admiration: “As if there was Hercules!” There was a reason to be amazed – for the first time, the artist had depicted a folk hero, a ‘bogatyr’ aka strongman.
A story from the ‘Tale of Bygone Years’
The story of an unusual duel is recorded in the 12th century chronicle ‘Tale of Bygone Years’. In the year 992, the Pechenegs stopped on the banks of the Trubezh River and offered Prince Vladimir to choose a bogatyr to fight their strongman. If he lost, the Pechenegs would plunder the princely lands for three more years. If he won, the nomads would cease to fight for the same number of years.
Luckily, a bogatyr was found – the youngest son of a Kiev ‘kozhemyaka’ (i.e., a leathersmith) named Yan Usmar. Since childhood, no one had been able to defeat him. But, Prince Vladimir decided to test him first and offered to fight with a ferocious bull. He was not frightened, stopped the animal, tearing out his ribs and a piece of hide with his bare hands. Not knowing how strong Yan Usmar was, the Pechenegs began to laugh at him, believing that a short opponent would not be able to withstand their fighter. But, Yan strangled the Pechenegian strongman and then threw him to the ground. Russian warriors rushed to attack the enemy and they fled.
The first Russian bogatyr
Grigory Ugryumov studied painting from the age of six. First – at the Educational School and then at the Imperial Academy of Arts itself. After receiving a small gold medal, he spent several years on an internship in Italy. And, when he returned, he began teaching historical painting. In 1795, he received an assignment for the title of academician: to paint a picture on the subject of Yan Usmar. And, two years later, his colleagues admired his painting.
There was a reason for the admiration. Firstly, the main character was a folk hero, a bogatyr. Until then, they had hardly appeared in paintings. Secondly, he gave the subject of Old Russian history an almost antique “sound”. The painting seems to be imbued with the spirit of Rubens. A huge bull is being chased by an old man with a pitchfork, while another one of the warriors has fallen nearby, apparently hit by the bull.
Yan Usmar with his rolling muscles and standing firmly on the ground, resembles Hercules, the ancient Greek hero who tamed a monstrous bull in Crete. Prince Vladimir, sitting on a throne, is dressed in yellow and red clothes, with a crown shining on his head. A soldier standing on the right has his arm out in front, as if wanting to protect the prince from the enraged bull. The background depicts a camp and warriors sitting by a tent.
Master of historical paintings
Grigory Ugryumov became famous as a master of the historical genre. He was appreciated by monarchs. Catherine II commissioned the artist to paint ‘Alexander Nevsky's Ceremonial Entry into the Town of Pskov after his victory over the Germans’ for the Trinity Cathedral of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. Ugryumov painted two canvases for Paul I – ‘The capture of Kazan by Ivan the Terrible October 2, 1552’ and ‘The Calling of Mikhail Fyodorovich Romanov to the Tsardom on March 14, 1613’. They were placed by the emperor in the Mikhailovsky Castle.
The painting ‘Trial of Strength by Yan Usmar’ was, for a long time, in the Academy of Arts and, in the 1920s, it was transferred to the Russian Museum in St. Petersburg, where it is still kept.
