Famous works of art dedicated to children . Great Works of Art Destroyed by Stupid Accident (7 Photos)

Volcanoes are considered one of the most impressive and scary natural phenomena. The eruptions of some of them, the most significant, have inspired many artists to create great works.

Canvas "The Last Day of Pompeii"

The most famous work of art about volcanoes was the painting "The Last Day of Pompeii". Its author is Karl Bryullov. It was written in the first half of the 19th century. Here the artist captured the eruption of one of the most powerful Italian volcanoes - Vesuvius. It happened in the summer of 79 AD. Its consequence was the complete destruction of three nearby cities, which were covered from above with a thick layer of volcanic ash and lava.

These cities were:

• Pompeii.
• Herculaneum.
• Stabiae.

The largest of them is Pompeii. It was a prosperous city where mostly wealthy Romans lived. There were summer estates of the nobility and the rich.

The eruption of Vesuvius has been described by many Roman historians. They testify that due to the dust raised during the eruption and the fiery rockfall, the ships could not approach Pompeii. Therefore, the inhabitants of the city simply could not escape, and most of them died.

In the 18th century, Pompeii was unexpectedly discovered, and archaeological excavations began. Today there is a museum under open sky A that has a unique value. Many objects and houses here were buried under a layer of ash in an unchanged form and give a clear picture of the life of the Romans in that era.

Other works of art dedicated to volcanoes

In addition to Bryullov's painting, volcanic eruptions are the following works arts:

• The poem "Vesuvius Zev opened", the author - A.S. Pushkin.
• The poem "Volcanoes", author - B. Akhmadulina.
• The Last Day of Pompeii by Edward Bulwer-Lytton.
• Novella "Arria Marcellus", author - Theophile Gauthier.

All of them also describe the eruption of Vesuvius and the death of the city of Pompeii. Other similar incidents in art are practically not affected, perhaps because they did not have such a wide scale and number of victims.

Sometimes it happens that priceless works of art are destroyed due to human stupidity. That is why in museums and other places where there are these relics, we are forbidden to touch them. Next, let's remember 7 great works of art that were destroyed by man.

Qing dynasty vases

Rule number one for visiting any place that has priceless works of art: always tie your shoelaces. In February 2006, Nick Flynn was climbing the stairs inside the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, England, when he suddenly stepped on his untied shoelace and lost his balance. Involuntarily waving his arms and trying to grab onto something (and there were no railings on the stairs), he caught three vases from the Qing Dynasty of 1600-1700. Flynn escaped unscathed, but the vases, worth about £500,000, shattered into small pieces. Flynn, who was banned from the museum for life, called the incident an ordinary accident. As a result, in August 2006, the vases were glued together from 113 parts into which they broke.

Statue of Hercules

Hercules could have the power of the gods, but, unfortunately, this property was not transferred to the sculptures that were erected in his honor. A year ago, two tourists while visiting the Loggia dei Militi palace in Cremona, Italy, damaged the 300-year-old Statua dei due Ercole (statue of two Hercules) when they climbed on it to take a selfie. Tourists managed to break off a piece of the crown from one of the two marble figures, after which they were charged with vandalism.

Statue of King Sebastian

A 24-year-old visitor to the Portuguese capital of Lisbon climbed a 125-year-old statue on the facade of the Rossio station on May 3 to take a selfie. A statue that depicted the "child king" Sebastian, who ruled Portugal in the 16th century, toppled to the ground and shattered. The tourist who tried to escape was caught by the police and will eventually face trial. Plans for restoring the statue are not yet known.

Xie man

Perhaps the most famous and hilarious attempt to "restore" an art object in history was the attempt by 80-year-old parishioner Cecilia Jimenez to restore an early 20th-century fresco with an evangelical story" Ecce Homo” (“Behold the man”), which was located in the Temple of Mercy in the Spanish city of Borja. As a result, her work was recognized as the worst restoration in history and became famous on the Internet under the name "Fluffy Jesus".
This is not surprising, since the image on the fresco has become similar not to the original, but to some kind of fluffy monkey. Although the church originally planned to hire professional art restorers to fix the fresco, by 2014 they changed their minds. Jimenez's work has become a major tourist attraction, bringing 150,000 visitors from all over the world to Borja to see the unusual mural for $1.25.

Statue of the Virgin Mary

In 2013, an American tourist from Missouri visited the Opera del Duomo Museum in Florence, Italy on a guided tour. There he approached the 600-year-old statue of the Virgin Mary by Giovanni d'Ambrogio and for some reason tried to compare her little finger with his own. As a result, the finger of the sculpture broke off, but fortunately it turned out to be plaster.

Drunken Satyr

The good news is that this statue in Milan, which lost its left leg to unknown selfie enthusiasts in 2014, was just a replica of another statue that dates back to 220 BC. The bad news is that the replica was very valuable and quite old (1800s work). Security cameras in this section of the Milan Academy fine arts The Brera have not been identified, but witnesses saw a student tourist climb onto the statue and sit on its lap to take a picture. The student obviously did not understand that the copy of the statue was made of terracotta and plaster and was assembled in pieces, so the leg fell off and broke.

Painting "Actor" Picasso

The almost 2-meter painting "Actor" by Picasso is quite difficult to miss. But one of the visitors to the Metropolitan Museum in New York in January 2010 took this statement too literally. During the tour, she lost her balance and fell into the painting, making a 15-centimeter hole in the 1904 work of art. The restoration process took three months.

People love to rank everything, making up a kind of "charts" in the most unexpected categories. Even such a subtle matter as art did not escape this fate, although to compare works of art very hard. The BBC News Channel has assessed various paintings, identifying ten of the most prominent of them. Of course, this rating is very controversial, and the reader may have a question, where, in fact, Surikov, Levitan, Repin or Chagall, for example. Alas, the British do not like to recall Russian achievements, including in the field visual arts. However, such a bias does not prevent us from admiring these wonderful pictures. So:

Leonardo da Vinci, The Last Supper, (late 1490s)

The plot reproduces the most dramatic moment of Holy Week, when Jesus, having dinner with his disciples, informs them that soon one of them will betray him, and the other will renounce his beliefs. Judas, sitting at the table fourth from the left, shows embarrassment with his whole pose, the rest of the apostles express surprise and indignation. The picture was painted on the wall of the monastery refectory and, unfortunately, has undergone many damages, as a result of which it has lost its most original author's letter.

Giovanni Bellini, Feast of the Gods (1514)

Banquet is a common theme Italian painting XVI century, many works are dedicated to him renaissance. For example, the artist Andrea del Sarto even depicted a church made of sausage and Parmesan cheese. Basically, the picture was painted by Bellini, but he was helped by the young Titian, who at that time was his student. This masterpiece is made in the mythological genre. The characters were the fertility god Priapus, nymphs, Jupiter and other deities drinking wine. An innovation in technology was Chinese blue-and-white porcelain, recently brought to Europe.

Paolo Veronese, Marriage at Cana (1563)

This bright and colorful scene mass holiday hangs in the Italian wing of the Louvre directly across from the Mona Lisa, which unfortunately contributes to its reputation as one of the most overlooked masterpieces in all of Western art. The wedding at which Christ had just turned water into wine was moved from Cana to contemporary author Venice. The smartly dressed guests seem to be busy with dessert, but if you look closely, you can see that none of them are eating. This is due to the fact that the picture depicts representatives of the upper class, who, unlike commoners, considered it not very decent to be interested in treats.

Diego Velázquez, The Triumph of Bacchus (1628)

White-skinned, crowned with ivy leaves, the god of wine sits in cheerful company. As befits his status, he is drunk. Next to him are tanned workers in Spanish brown coats, looking much more sober. The artist depicted a mythological scene, quite rare in his work. Velazquez moved away from the traditional image of Bacchic fun, which is usually attended by nymphs, and turned to a more naturalistic style, typical of genre scenes (bodegones).

Peter Paul Rubens, Herod's Feast (1635-38)

The lid of the dish rises, and under it is the head of John the Baptist. The magnificent gloomy painting by Rubens shows the moment when Salome, having danced for her stepfather Herod, receives the death of the saint as a reward. The human head is served on festive table along with lobster and game. Herodias, Salome's mother, pokes John's tongue with a fork while her husband is terrified.

Jan Steen, "The Dissolute House" (1663-64)

If in an era High Renaissance artists depicted gods or aristocrats, then Dutch painters The 17th century turned to everyday scenes, sometimes saturated with moral and satirical meaning. It can be seen that these revelers sin habitually and routinely. The man in black is trying to seduce the maid, and the woman in the foreground is so engrossed in drinking that she doesn't notice the Bible under her feet. A large ham, which has obviously become the center of this holiday, is forgotten on the floor, and the cat is already looking at it with interest.

John Martin, Belshazzar's Feast, (1821)

John Martin was one of the strangest English artists XIX century. His manner is characterized by apocalyptic visions, but excessive pathos sometimes turns into outright kitsch. In this painting, he depicts a scene from the Book of Daniel in which the king of Babylon receives a bad omen. Grandiose colonnades ad infinitum, terrible lightnings in the sky and all that stuff…

Édouard Manet, Luncheon on the Grass (1862)

The painting entered the history of Western art as rejected by the Paris Salon and by Napoleon III himself, it violated all the rules of perspective and iconography. It is also unclear why the men are dressed in a modern dress, the woman is naked, and at the same time people do not look at each other. However, it is possible that Manet did not write a picnic at all, despite the fruits and buns that rolled out of the basket onto the grass. Most likely, there is no hint of meaningful philosophy, morality or mythology, the artist simply depicted some fact from modern life.

James Ensor, Starving Banquet (1915)

When German troops occupied Belgium at the start of World War I, Ensor wrote this bitter parody of " Last Supper". There is a miserable dinner on the table, consisting of two carrots and onions, insects crawling all over this. The walls are adorned with horrible pictures, and the people are outrageous. The horrors of war are manifested not only on the battlefields, but in everyday life, which is what this painting tells about.

Judy Chicago, Dinner (1974-79)

You had to be a big fan of American feminist art to put this painting in the top ten list. the best works all times and peoples. It depicts table setting for three dozen great women whose names mean nothing to our compatriots (with the possible exception of Virginia Woolf). In the center of the composition is not food, but lids. Chicago completed this work with the help of 400 volunteers.

But not all theories about the meaning of works are clearly so delusional. Some manage to be both very convincing and downright mind-blowing at the same time.

1The Satyr Weeping For A Nymph Really Shows A Brutal Murder

The painting was painted by Piero di Cosimo in 1495 and supposedly depicts a scene from Ovid's Metamorphoses. In this story, Procris was accidentally killed in the forest by her husband, the hunter Cephalus, who mistook his wife for a wild beast and speared her.

This is a typical scene choice for a renaissance artist, but there is one problem. A careful study shows that the Procris depicted in the painting by Cosimo could not have been killed by accident.

According to British professor Michael Baum, all signs indicate that the canvas depicts a brutal murder. Procris has deep lacerations on her arm, as if she was trying to repel knife attacks. Finally, there is also a wound on the neck.

Instead of depicting a scene from the novel, Cosimo's painting shows us the aftermath of a violent knife attack. It probably wasn't done on purpose. Professor Baum suspects that Cosimo asked the local mortuary to lend him a corpse in order to sketch the murder victim.

2 Diego Rivera Testified That JD Rockefeller Jr. Had Syphilis

The work of Diego Rivera "The Man Controlling the Universe" is one of the notable creations in the Mexican art of painting. The mural was originally commissioned for Rockefeller Center but later remodeled in Mexico City after Nelson Rockefeller destroyed the mural.

He did not like that Lenin was depicted on it. The restoration of the image was also a monumental act of revenge. The mural claims that Nelson Rockefeller's father had syphilis.

One of the key elements of the mural was the episodes of the last scientific discoveries. Galaxies, exploding stars, lots of bacteria floating above the heads of men and women...

After Nelson Rockefeller destroyed original version, Rivera drew his father, J. D. Rockefeller, Jr., surrounded by bacteria that cause syphilis.

That's not all. Despite the fact that J. D. Rockefeller Jr. was a teetotaler throughout his life, Rivera painted him with a martini in his hand and women who looked like prostitutes. To enhance the effect, he placed Lenin in the foreground.

3. In the painting "Isabella" a man hides his erection

One of the luminaries of the Pre-Raphaelite movement, John Everett Millais, is probably best known today for the painting Ophelia. At least that was the case until 2012, when researchers discovered something unexpected in his painting Isabella. It depicts a scene from Boccaccio's Decameron, and the shadow of an erect penis is clearly visible on the banquet table.

The Decameron is one of the most erotic books, ever written, and the picture is full of references to sexuality. The character's outstretched leg is a phallic symbol, and a pile of spilled salt near the shadow of a penis probably symbolizes a seed. It looks obscene, but at the same time it is not at all like ordinary pornography.

4. La Primavera expresses love for gardening

This is one of the most famous works Botticelli in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. La Primavera is also one of the most mysterious paintings Botticelli. Due to the fact that it depicts a group of women who walk through the sky as if through a meadow, experts still argue that the picture has an allegorical meaning.

But there is one theory that stands out from all the rest for its evidence and strangeness, who claims the painting is about gardening.

This version looks plausible because of the breathtaking scrupulousness with which the author prescribes each plant. According to official estimates, the painting depicts at least 500 carefully rendered different plants from almost 200 different species.

Some believe that these were all plants that grew in 15th century Florence and bloomed from March to May. Others claim that Botticelli invented these plants himself, especially for this picture.

5. "Music Lesson" is filled with sexuality

Created by Johannes Vermeer in the 1660s, The Music Lesson is considered one of the greatest paintings depicting Dutch life in the 17th century. A young girl is taught to play the harpsichord by a handsome tutor.

This is a photorealistic depiction of a typical day. high society during the time of Vermeer. At least that's the standard explanation. Some believe that the picture is permeated with sex and hidden passion.

According to this theory, the painting is filled with little clues to understanding the sexual tension between the girl and her mentor. It is not surprising that the image of a girl is associated with virginity, but the mirror over the harpsichord shows that the girl is actually looking at the teacher while playing.

The wine jug is an aphrodisiac, while the tool on the floor is interpreted as a huge phallic symbol. If we consider the picture from this point of view, then it is even possible to assume that the viewer is a voyeur.

And it's not just the case with this picture. Some art historians argue that the presence of music in Vermeer's paintings always symbolizes sexuality, which makes his work very strange.

6. Cafe Terrace at Night is reminiscent of The Last Supper

Painted in 1888, "Night Café Terrace" is one of the most important works Van Gogh, fully revealing the special style of the artist. She is also one of his favorites. But some argue that it has a much deeper subtext. A recent theory is that Café Terrace at Night refers to The Last Supper.

FROM early age Van Gogh was extremely religious. His father was a Protestant priest, and influential art critics claim that the artist's paintings are filled with Christian imagery.

In the case of the “Night Café Terrace”, this imagery is manifested in the form of Jesus coming to eat with his disciples. If you look closely at the diners, you can see that there are twelve of them and they are sitting around the central figure with long hair.

Tellingly, there are even a number of crosses hidden in the picture, including one directly above the figure of Christ. There is other evidence to support this theory.

When Van Gogh wrote to his brother about painting, he claimed that the world was in "great need" for religion. He was also deeply fascinated by Rembrandt and expressed a desire to revive his style with fine Christian symbols. Café Terrace by Night may well be proof that, in the end, he succeeded.

7. "Allegory with Venus and Cupid" warns of syphilis

A picture that shows Venus and Cupid about to have sex with a bald man in the background always stirs the imagination. Even by the standards of its time, Agnolo Bronzino's painting "Allegory with Venus and Cupid" is a bit dark.

Despite rave reviews about the work as an erotic painting of "special beauty", there is a lot of evidence that this is indeed a warning about syphilis. This is evidenced by the screaming figure on the left side of the picture.

Although in classic description the picture is said to be a metaphor for jealousy or despair, a close examination reveals that she is actually very ill. The fingers of the figure are swollen, like those of patients with syphilis, they lack nails, and the hair has signs of syphilitic alopecia. Toothless gums suggest mercury poisoning, which was used to treat syphilis in Renaissance Italy.

One of the characters has a rose thorn in his leg, but he does not notice it. This lack of sensation will be the direct result of syphilitic myelopathy. In other words, the picture depicts the suffering that awaits in the future those who follow the passions.

8. El Autobus talks about a terrible accident

Painting Mexican artist Frida Kahlo's El Autobus, written in 1929, shows the life of the Mexican community. A housewife, a worker, an Indian mother, and a wealthy gringo businessman, despite social differences, are waiting for a bus next to a girl who probably means Frida herself. All the characters in this picture do not know that a terrible accident awaits them.

In 1925, Kahlo was riding a bus that crashed into a tram. The collision was so strong that Kahlo's body was pierced through with a metal handrail.

Her over later works this accident is often referenced, implying that it is a miracle that she survived the crash. El Autobus is also no exception. There is speculation that the worker in the painting is the same person who saved Kahlo's life by removing the broken handrail from her body.

9. Pictures of the Dutch school of painting - pictures in pictures

The Dutch golden age of painting is second only to Italian Renaissance. As in other eras, this time also had its own quirks in fashion and painting, one of which was that artists painted "pictures within pictures".

These "pictures within pictures" were painted not only by Vermeer and his comrades in the brush. Some believe that such paintings contain a special character code. One example of this style is the painting "Slippers" by Samuel van Hoogstraten.

At first glance, the painting shows an empty hall with two pairs of slippers lying in the middle of it. On the wall of the hall hangs a painting by Caspar Netscher "A father reprimands his daughter."

At first glance, nothing out of the ordinary. But modern connoisseurs Dutch art it is known that Netsher's painting was painted in a brothel. Apparently, these slippers belong to a man and a woman, but since the hall is empty, they may have gone to have sex.

In other cases, the code was thinner. In the paintings "Man Writing a Letter" and "Woman Reading a Letter" (pictured), Gabriel Metsu depicted young man, writing a letter his beloved, and his reading.

In the second picture, the image of a ship in a stormy sea symbolizes the stormy nature of their further connection. In the picture " Love letter» Vermeer's ship under ominous clouds inspires the thought of possible bad news.

You can find hundreds of examples of these Dutch paintings"inside the picture", which subtly change the meaning of the main image.

10. The works of L. S. Lowry are full of hidden suffering.

This mid-20th century artist is known for his paintings depicting the North West of England. L. Lowry often painted huge urban scenes with crowds of "swindlers". Although he was popular, the art world did not recognize his paintings for a long time, considering them trivial. In fact, Lowry's paintings are filled with hidden human suffering.

On the canvas of 1926 "Accident" a crowd of people who have gathered near the lake and look at it is drawn. In fact, the artist was inspired by the suicide scene in this place, and the crowd gathered to gawk at the corpse of the drowned man.

Other Lowry paintings show characters watching fisticuffs, unfortunates being evicted from their homes, or simply people looking out of windows in a depressed mood.

Tragedy never sticks out in any picture. All other people continue to live their own everyday life unaware of the suffering of their neighbors. In this world, we are completely alone, and our pain means nothing to others. And this is probably the most terrible hidden message.

Daria Zolotykh 11.10.2015

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TALES OF CATHERINE II

Catherine II can hardly be called a good mother: her complicated relationship with his only son Paul (future Paul I) - famous historical fact. The boy grew up away from his mother, rarely saw her. Catherine II arbitrarily removed her son from power when his father died during a coup d'état, Peter III. All his life Pavel suspected his mother of involvement in the death of his father and could not forgive her for this. But grandmother Catherine II was caring and sensitive.

She expected to directly transfer the reins of government to her grandson Alexander, so she was engaged in his upbringing and education herself. As a warning to her grandson, the Empress wrote The Tale of Tsarevich Chlorus (a story about a young man who overcame all sorts of obstacles in search of magic rose without thorns) and "The Tale of Prince Thebes", dedicated to the rules of conduct for the heir to the throne.

Literary critics consider the works of Catherine II the first literary tales in the history of national culture.

The prince replied:

We're looking for a rose without thorns that won't prick.

I heard, - said the young man, - from our teacher about a rose without thorns, that it does not prick. This flower is nothing but virtue. Some think to reach it by crooked paths, but only a straight road leads to it. Here is the mountain you have in mind, on which grows a rose without thorns that does not prick; but the road is steep and rocky.

Catherine II, "The Tale of Tsarevich Chlorus"

PORTRAITS OF ILYA REPIN

The family life of Ilya Repin with his first wife Vera was very difficult. But problems in relations with his wife did not affect the artist's feelings for children - Repin loved them very much. His eldest daughter Vera often became the heroine of his paintings, for example, the works "Portrait of Vera Repina" (1878), "Dragonfly" (1884), "Autumn Bouquet" (1892). Repin also painted his second daughter Nadia no less often - she is also depicted in the paintings “Portrait of Nadia Repina” (1881), “In the Sun” (1900). Repin's only son Yuri, who later became an artist himself, posed for his father for his child portrait in 1882.

PORTRAITS OF KONSTANTIN MAKOVSKY

Konstantin Makovsky was married three times. His first marriage was short-lived - Makovsky was widowed shortly after the wedding. But with his second wife, Yulia Letkova, he lived for more than 20 happy years. In this marriage, they had three children, who became the artist's favorite models. On the "Family Portrait" he depicted his wife with their son Sergei and daughter Elena. Young Sergei became the hero of other paintings, such as "The Little Thief" (1881), "The Little Antiquarian", "Portrait of a Son in a Sailor Suit".

Already at a venerable age, Makovsky met his third wife, for whom he left his former family. Four children from this marriage (Konstantin, Olga, Marina and Nikolai) Makovsky wrote as often as the older ones.

PORTRAITS OF VALENTIN SEROV

Valentin Serov was the father big family- his wife Olga Trubnikova bore the artist six children, whom Serov often painted. Among the famous children's portraits of the artist are the sea portrait "Children (Sasha and Yura Serov)", the portrait of "Misha Serov", the watercolor sketch "Sasha Serov", the painting "Children of the Artist Olga and Antosha Serov". The life of Valentin Serov's children turned out differently: the eldest daughter Olga became an artist, her son Yuri became a film actor, and Alexander Serov, a shipbuilder and military pilot, emigrated to Lebanon, where he was engaged in road construction.

PORTRAITS OF ZINAIDA SEREBRIAKOVA

Before the revolution, Zinaida Serebryakova lived happily with her husband Boris Serebryakov and four children: Evgeny, Alexander, Tatyana and Ekaterina. Children happily posed for portraits of the artist. Serebryakova depicted three babies in the painting “At Lunch”, separately - the sleeping son Zhenya in a 1908 sketch and daughters in the portrait “Tata and Katya”. In 1919, the life of the family changed - Serebryakova's husband passed away. Then the artist began to paint her children even more often, looking for solace in them. The post-revolutionary period of Serebryakova's work includes the paintings "House of Cards", "On the Terrace in Kharkov", as well as numerous portraits of her daughters. In 1924, Zinaida Serebryakova was forced to leave for France and leave her children in the USSR. A few years later, Alexander and Ekaterina were able to go to her, and Tatyana Serebryakova was able to see only 36 years later.

Poems by Marina Tsvetaeva

Tsvetaeva often and in detail wrote about her children - Ariadne, Irina and Georgy - in her diaries, dedicated numerous poems to them. Her main muse was Ariadne. She wrote to her, for example, "Poems for her daughter" and "Ale." Tsvetaeva was very upset by the forced separation from eldest daughter when she had to send Ariadne to an orphanage, which was reflected in her poem "Little domestic spirit, my domestic genius." No less tragic poem "Under the roar of civil storms" Tsvetaeva dedicated to Irina, who died at the age of three.

Under the roar of civil storms,
In a bad time
I give you a name - the world,
In heritage - azure.

Get away, get away, Enemy!
Save, Triune,
Heiress of eternal blessings
Baby Irina!

Marina Tsvetaeva

POEMS BY BORIS PASTERNAK

In the 1920s and 30s, for many poets, children's poems were the only way publish without fear of reprisal. It was at this time individual publications two "children's" poems by Pasternak were published, written, however, not so much to earn money, but to read them little son Evgeny. These were the books "Menagerie" with illustrations by Nikolai Kupreyanov and "Carousel" with drawings by Nikolai Tyrsa. These poems have since been reprinted only once, in 2016. Pasternak himself, as a child, inspired his father-artist Leonid Pasternak to create several children's portraits (“Portrait of Boris Pasternak against the backdrop of the Baltic Sea”, graphic “Boris Pasternak at the Piano”, “Sleeping Gymnasium Student”).

...Distant growl of cougars
Merges into a discordant noise.
A growl rolls through the park
And the sky gets hot
But there's not a cloud in sight
In the zoological garden.
Like good neighbors
Bears talk to children
And the slabs echoing muffle
Bare heels of cubs.
Running along the tiled gangways
Coming down in one underwear
Three white bears
In one family pond.
Boris Pasternak, "The Menagerie"

TALES OF BULAT OKUJAVA

When Bulat Okudzhava lived in Yalta in the late 1960s, he wrote letters to his son fairy tales and draw funny pictures for them. He did not even think about publishing until Bella Akhmadulina saw this correspondence. On her advice, Okudzhava combined disparate tales into one story. This is how the book "Charming Adventures" appeared - a story about exotic creatures Craig the Kooteney ram, the Good Snake and the Sea Gridig. It was published in the USSR in 1971 and came out with illustrations by the author. Soon the book was translated into several foreign languages.

“Here is what Craig the Kootenay Sheep had to say.

Once I was walking in the Kooteney mountains. Suddenly I see: the Lonely Insidious Wolf is sneaking up on me. I decided to play a joke on him. After all, I am also very cunning. I didn’t want to fight him, and he would remember my joke for a long time.

I screamed and ran like the wind. The wolf ran after me.

Aha! he shouted. - You won't leave me! Now I'll eat you!

He almost caught up with me when I headed for a deep abyss.

Aha! shouted the Wolf.

And then I jumped. I very easily flew over the abyss: after all, I am very dexterous, and the Lonely Cunning Wolf fell down.

He ran along the bottom of the abyss, but could not get out. Then he shouted:

Save me! I will never again. I will only eat grass.

I dropped the rope for him. He quickly climbed up it and, when he got out, laughed and said:

And you believed me, fool ... Did you really decide that I would eat grass? I really need your stupid weed! I love meat! And I'll eat you now!

He was about to attack me again, but I'm very dexterous. I jumped and found myself on the other side of the abyss.

Bulat Okudzhava, "Charming Adventures"