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PH1741
Photographs: PH1741
Title
Alexander Artyom as Firs
Subject
Artist
Date
1904
Dimensions
height: 14cm
width: 8.5cm
width: 8.5cm
Provenance
Presented by Michael Gaunt, September 2023.
Other number
E0146
This postcard depicts Alexander Artyom in the role of Firs in Anton Chekhov's play 'The Cherry Orchard'. Chekov wrote this part specially for Artyom.
Artyom was an early member 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 character of Firs is described as an 87-year-old loyal manservant who represents the old days before the liberation of Russian serfs. Artyom is dressed in a black formal suit with white shirt and waistcoat, he has thinning grey hair and beard. The moment depicted is the opening of Act III which sees him carrying a tray with a seltzer-water bottle across the room. He holds the tray with both hands and a black cane in his right.
The photo was taken by Karl Fischer, a prominent German-born Russian photographer who was the official photographer for Imperial Theatres between 1892-1915.
Artyom was an early member 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 character of Firs is described as an 87-year-old loyal manservant who represents the old days before the liberation of Russian serfs. Artyom is dressed in a black formal suit with white shirt and waistcoat, he has thinning grey hair and beard. The moment depicted is the opening of Act III which sees him carrying a tray with a seltzer-water bottle across the room. He holds the tray with both hands and a black cane in his right.
The photo was taken by Karl Fischer, a prominent German-born Russian photographer who was the official photographer for Imperial Theatres between 1892-1915.
