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PH1761
Photographs: PH1761
Title
Nadezhda Butova, Vladimir Gribunin, and Alexander Artyom in 'The Power of Darkness'
Subject
Date
1902
Dimensions
height: 9cm
width: 14cm
width: 14cm
Provenance
Presented by Michael Gaunt, September 2023.
Other number
E0146
This postcard depicts Nadezhda Butova in the role of Anisya, Vladimir Gribunin as Nikita and Alexander Artyom as Akim in Leo Tolstoy's play 'The Power of Darkness'.
Butova, Gribunin, and Artyom were 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. Leo Tolstoy wrote ‘The Power of Darkness’ in 1886 and it was staged by MAT on 5th December 1902. It was the first of two plays by Tolstoy that the company produced.
The play follows the story of Nikita, a peasant, and Anisya, the wife of his employer. Together they choose a path of greed and lust which eventually leads to adultery, murder and infanticide. The scene depicted is Act III Scene XVII: Nikita's father Akim, attempts to persuade Nikita to give up his sinful life. Akim’s full line from the play is: 'Come to your senses, Nikíta! It's the soul that God wants!' after which he exits.
Butova, Gribunin and Artyom are depicted full-length inside a wooden dwelling. Next to them is a table with bread, wine and a traditional Russian Samovar (metal container used to heat water). Butova, seated on the far left, wears a long-sleeved dress with white petticoat and white headscarf. Gribunin, standing in the middle, wears a jacket, tunic, trousers, and Lapti shoes made from the inner plant fibres of tree bark and commonly worn by Russian peasants. Artyom, standing on the far right, wears a long coat wrapped with a belt, and in his left hand holds a hat and wooden staff.
Butova, Gribunin, and Artyom were 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. Leo Tolstoy wrote ‘The Power of Darkness’ in 1886 and it was staged by MAT on 5th December 1902. It was the first of two plays by Tolstoy that the company produced.
The play follows the story of Nikita, a peasant, and Anisya, the wife of his employer. Together they choose a path of greed and lust which eventually leads to adultery, murder and infanticide. The scene depicted is Act III Scene XVII: Nikita's father Akim, attempts to persuade Nikita to give up his sinful life. Akim’s full line from the play is: 'Come to your senses, Nikíta! It's the soul that God wants!' after which he exits.
Butova, Gribunin and Artyom are depicted full-length inside a wooden dwelling. Next to them is a table with bread, wine and a traditional Russian Samovar (metal container used to heat water). Butova, seated on the far left, wears a long-sleeved dress with white petticoat and white headscarf. Gribunin, standing in the middle, wears a jacket, tunic, trousers, and Lapti shoes made from the inner plant fibres of tree bark and commonly worn by Russian peasants. Artyom, standing on the far right, wears a long coat wrapped with a belt, and in his left hand holds a hat and wooden staff.
