"Memories of Pushkin" project, 2024
Anton RABOTNOV, Russia

Anton Rabotnov – "Memories of Pushkin"

“Pushkin's study was upstairs, and he would immediately invite us up. The poet’s study was tidy. On the large round table, in front of the sofa, there were papers and notebooks, often unbound, a simple inkwell, and pens; on a small table, there was a carafe of water, ice, and a jar of gooseberry jam, his favorite (he had grown accustomed to ‘dulceats’ [sweet dishes made from jam] in Kishinev). His hair was usually still wet from his morning bath and curled at the temples; books were scattered on the floor and shelves. In this simple room, without curtains, it was unbearably hot, but he liked it that way, sitting in his frock coat, without a tie. Here, he wrote, paced the room, drank water, chatted with us, stepped out onto the balcony, and told amusing tall tales about his neighbor, Countess Lambert. Sometimes he read us excerpts from his tales and asked for our opinions in all seriousness.”

— Alexandra Rosset-Smirnova, lady-in-waiting, memoirist, and friend of Pushkin

“Alexander's room was near the porch, with a window overlooking the yard, through which he saw me upon hearing the doorbell. Here, too, was his bed with a canopy, a writing desk, a bookshelf, and other things. Everything was in poetic disarray—scattered sheets of paper everywhere, chewed and burnt bits of quills lying around (he had always written with stubs of quills, barely held between his fingers since his time at the Lyceum). The entrance to his room was directly from the corridor; opposite his door was the door to his nanny’s room.”

— Ivan Pushchin, Pushkin’s Lyceum friend, Decembrist

The "Memories of Pushkin" Project

While creating these works, I thought about what memories of Pushkin his closest contemporaries might share with us, and ultimately, what Pushkin’s own memories of himself might have been. It’s a personal, family-like story conveyed through the images of people close to the poet. Imagining myself in that era, I created these works using materials such as metal, smalto, natural stone, and cement—portraits of his grandmother, mother, wife, nanny, uncle, and great-grandfather, as well as landscapes connected to the family estate and the place of Pushkin's death. My sources of inspiration were the works of artists I.I. Meller-Zakomelsky, S.F. Galaktionov, Xavier de Maistre, A. Bryullov, I. Ivanov, and the drawings of A.S. Pushkin.

---

Limited NFT collection, specially for ART UNITES THE WORLD. BOUNDLESS PUSHKIN.

International exhibition project within the framework of the BRICS cultural program | October – November, 2024 | Russia, Republic of Tatarstan, Kazan