What is really going on in the painting ‘The Aristocrat's Breakfast’?

Style is nothing, fashion is everything

The plot of the painting was born from an article by writer Ivan Goncharov in the ‘Sovermennik’ magazine. In 1848, on its pages, his article ‘Letters of a Metropolitan Friend to a Provincial Groom’ was published anonymously, in which he criticized the fashionistas of the time. “In order to put on trousers of a famous color with stripes, which were only brought today the day before... he would agree to eat a bad dinner for two months,” the author grinned and asked his addressee if he had tried, without warning, “to come to such people’s homes and take them by surprise?” What could happen as a result is exactly what Fedotov depicted. 

The hero of the picture is really dressed in a fashionable "oriental look" - he is wearing a cap with an oriental pattern, a silk robe with tassels, trousers and pointed Turkish shoes. He looks as if he’s stepped out of the pages of a fashion magazine - not a single irrelevant item - and lives surrounded by elegant trinkets. There are pictures of ballerinas on the walls and a bust of Franz Liszt above the table. Theater posters hang on the back of a chair. Even the trash can under the table is in the form of an ancient Greek amphora.

A poodle like the emperor's

Fedotov's character tries to follow all the trends at once: in the ashtray lies a forgotten cigarette butt, which was in great demand at the time. His pet is also of the then fashionable breed - a poodle, like Emperor Nicholas I's.

Almost metropolitan gloss

The hero himself had just jumped up from an upholstered armchair - a fashionable furniture of that time, the frame of which is completely covered with fabric. On the floor is a rich carpet with oriental ornaments, but it has seen better days. And, if you look closely, these are the only items with "luxurious furnishings". The rest of the furniture is old-fashioned, probably left over from previous tenants. The whole life of a socialite fits into one room, which serves as his study, bedroom and dining room. Such inexpensive housing was often chosen by the sons of landowners of small wealth, who had come to conquer the capital.

Or maybe it's all about the cards lying under the table and Fedotov's hero spent the money for a luxurious life on gambling? There is no doubt that his wallet is empty - it lies inside out on the table. Perhaps, for the same reason, the character in the picture will have to open the door himself; the bell for calling the servant is still on the table.

An uninvited guest

The unknown visitor came at an unreasonable time, catching the hero during breakfast, consisting of a piece of bread. With his mouth full, he hides it under a book - such a menu clearly does not fit the image of an "aristocrat", who has an advertisement for oysters on his chair.

Who could have come this morning, uninvited? A creditor, perhaps? The artist left this question unanswered. It is only clear that everything happens in the morning or afternoon, since the guest is wearing pale gloves. In the evening he would have worn white ones.

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