“Unequal marriage” almost destroyed the friendship

“She exchanged me for a rich manufacturer!” – sobbing, explaining the reason for parting with her beloved Sophia Rybnikova, friend of the young artist Vasily Pukirev, merchant Sergey Varentsov. And while the abandoned bridegroom tried to understand that the 24-year-old favorite found this “old man” (although his rival named Karzinkin was only 37 years old), the artist took and used this plot for the picture “Unequal Marriage”. True, the difference in the age of the newlyweds in the picture seems to be much larger, and the manufacturer was drawn generals shoulder straps.
There was a place on the canvas and the retired bridegroom – he is looking out from behind the bride’s shoulder with a mute reproach. He, by the way, at the time was 30 years old.
Seeing the picture at the presentation, it was the Academic Exhibition of 1863, – Varentsov threw a scandal to a friend. Pukirev had to change the image of Varentsov in the picture. Continue reading →