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PH1740
Photographs: PH1740
Title
Ivan Mikhailovich Moskvin and Margarita Georgiyevna Savitskaya
Subject
Savitskaya, Margarita Georgiyevna
Moskvin, Ivan Mikhailovich
Moskvin, Ivan Mikhailovich
Artist
Date
1904
Dimensions
height: 8.5cm
width: 14cm
width: 14cm
Provenance
Presented by Michael Gaunt, September 2023.
Other number
E0146
This postcard depicts Ivan Mikhailovich Moskvin in the role of Yepikhodov and Margarita Georgiyevna Savitskaya as Varya in Anton Chekhov's play 'The Cherry Orchard'.
Moskvin and Savitskaya were early members of the Moscow Art Theatre (MAT), which was formed in 1898. The actor Konstantin Stanislavski and his co-founder, the writer and drama teacher, Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko, wanted to break away from the state-run theatres, bring back high standards and professionalism in acting, and strive towards emotional truth and realism in their performances. Anton Chekhov was one of several contemporary playwrights that began an artistic partnership with the company. ‘The Cherry Orchard’ opened on 17 January 1904, five months before Chekhov’s death on 15 July 1904, and was the fourth of five plays by the writer to be performed by MAT.
The play follows aristocratic Russian landowner Madame Ranevskaya, who after living in France, returns to her family estate which includes a large, well-known cherry orchard and has been put up for auction to pay the mortgage. She doesn't respond to any offers to save the estate, instead she sells it to the son of a former serf, Yermolai Alexeievitch Lopakhin, who then cuts down the cherry orchard.
The postcard likely depicts a scene at the beginning of Act III, when Varya, the landowner's adopted daughter and manager of the estate, becomes angry when she sees that Yepikhodov, a post office clerk, has broken a billiards cue.
The actors are shown wearing contemporary dress of the time. Moskvin is depicted holding the broken billiards cue, looking at Savitskaya with a sheepish expression. Savitskaya on the right, looks at Yepikhodov with a stern expression.
The photo was taken by Karl Fischer, a prominent German-born Russian photographer who was the official photographer for Imperial Theatres between 1892-1915.
Moskvin and Savitskaya were early members of the Moscow Art Theatre (MAT), which was formed in 1898. The actor Konstantin Stanislavski and his co-founder, the writer and drama teacher, Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko, wanted to break away from the state-run theatres, bring back high standards and professionalism in acting, and strive towards emotional truth and realism in their performances. Anton Chekhov was one of several contemporary playwrights that began an artistic partnership with the company. ‘The Cherry Orchard’ opened on 17 January 1904, five months before Chekhov’s death on 15 July 1904, and was the fourth of five plays by the writer to be performed by MAT.
The play follows aristocratic Russian landowner Madame Ranevskaya, who after living in France, returns to her family estate which includes a large, well-known cherry orchard and has been put up for auction to pay the mortgage. She doesn't respond to any offers to save the estate, instead she sells it to the son of a former serf, Yermolai Alexeievitch Lopakhin, who then cuts down the cherry orchard.
The postcard likely depicts a scene at the beginning of Act III, when Varya, the landowner's adopted daughter and manager of the estate, becomes angry when she sees that Yepikhodov, a post office clerk, has broken a billiards cue.
The actors are shown wearing contemporary dress of the time. Moskvin is depicted holding the broken billiards cue, looking at Savitskaya with a sheepish expression. Savitskaya on the right, looks at Yepikhodov with a stern expression.
The photo was taken by Karl Fischer, a prominent German-born Russian photographer who was the official photographer for Imperial Theatres between 1892-1915.
