sign in sign up
<<
Home , Cossacks, Ilya Repin, Ivan Sirko, Zaporozhian Cossacks

Reply of the Zaporozhian - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Page 1

Reply of the From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks to Sultan Mehmed IV of the , also known as Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks to Cossacks of Saporog Are Drafting a Manifesto (Russian: Запорожцы пишут письмо турецкому Sultan Mehmed IV of the Ottoman султану; author's title: Запорожцы), is a by Russian artist . The 2.03 m (6.66 ft) Empire by 3.58 m (11.74 ft) canvas was started in 1880 and finished in 1891. Repin recorded the years of work along the lower edge of the canvas. Alexander III bought the painting for 35,000 rubles, at the time the greatest sum ever paid for a Russian painting. Since then, the canvas has been exhibited in the State in . Vladimir Gilyarovsky, a popular journalist, was one of the models posing for Repin.

Contents

1 Context Artist Ilya Repin 2 Reproductions 1880–1891 3 References Year 4 External links Type Oil on canvas Dimensions 203 cm × 358 cm (80 in × 141 in) Location State Russian Museum, Saint Context Petersburg

Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks is a historical tableau, set in 1676, exploiting the legend of the reply that sent the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, Mehmed IV. The Cossacks of the Zaporozhian Host (from 'beyond the rapids', za porohamy), inhabiting the lands around the lower River in , had defeated Ottoman Turkish forces in battle. However, Mehmed demanded that the Cossacks submit to Turkish rule. The Cossacks, led by , replied in an uncharacteristic manner: they wrote a letter, replete with insults and profanities. The painting exhibits the Cossacks' pleasure at striving to come up with ever more base vulgarities. During Repin's time, the Cossacks enjoyed great popular sympathy. Repin also admired them: "All that Gogol wrote about them is true! A holy people! No one in the world held so deeply freedom, equality, and fraternity."

The text of the Sultan's letter to the Cossacks:

As the Sultan; son of Muhammad; brother of the Sun and Moon; grandson and viceroy of God; ruler of the kingdoms of Macedonia, Babylon, , Upper and Lower Egypt; emperor of emperors; sovereign of sovereigns; extraordinary , never defeated; steadfast guardian of the tomb of Jesus Christ; trustee chosen by God himself; the hope and comfort of ; confounder and great defender of —I command you, the Zaporozhian Cossacks, to submit to me voluntarily and without any resistance, and to desist from troubling me with your attacks.

—Turkish Sultan Mehmed IV

The reply was a stream of invective and vulgar rhymes, parodying the Sultan's titles:

Zaporozhian Cossacks to the Turkish Sultan!

Thou art a turkish imp, the damned devil's brother and friend, and a secretary to Lucifer himself. What the devil kind of knight art thou that cannot slay a hedgehog with your naked ass? The devil shits, and your army eats. Thou son of a bitch wilt not ever make subjects of Christian sons; we have no fear of your army, by land and by sea we will battle with thee, fuck thy mother.

Thou art the Babylonian scullion, Macedonian wheelwright, brewer of Jerusalem, goat-fucker of Alexandria, swineherd of Greater and Lesser Egypt, Armenian pig, Podolian villain, catamite of , hangman of Kamyanets, and fool of all the world and underworld, a fool before our God, a grandson of the Serpent, and the crick in our dick. Pig's snout, mare's arse, slaughterhouse cur, unchristened brow, screw thine own mother!

So the Zaporozhians declare, you lowlife. Thou wilt not even be herding Christian pigs. Now we shall conclude, for we 't know the date and don't have a calendar; the moon's in the sky, the year in the book, the day's the same over here as it is over there; for this kiss our ass!

Koshovyi Otaman Ivan Sirko, with the whole Zaporozhian Host. Reproductions

Several full size copies of the Repin painting exist, including a famous reproduction by Paul Porfirov (Repin's student), currently held by the Cincinnati Art Museum. References http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reply_of_the_Zaporozhian_Cossacks 19/01/2012 8:49:51 PM Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Page 2

References

Dmytro I. Yavornytsky (1895) History of the Zaporogian Cossacks, Vol. 2, pp. 517-518. St. Petersburg. Myron B. Kuropas (1961) The Saga of Ukraine: An Outline History. MUN Enterprises External links

The Cossack Letter (http://www.infoukes.com/history/cossack_letter/) Friedman, Victor A. (1978), "The Zaporozhian Letter to the Turkish Sultan: Historical Commentary and Linguistic Analysis" (http:// slavic.uchicago.edu/archived/papers/Friedman-Zaporozhci.pdf) , Slavica Hierosolymitana (Magnes Press) 2: 25–38, http:// slavic.uchicago.edu/archived/papers/Friedman-Zaporozhci.pdf. A detailed analysis of the letter and its different variants. History of the painting (http://bubelo.in.ua/essay/) (Russian) Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks (http://www.culture.mincult.ru/formp.asp?ID=60&full) . Outstanding . St. Peterburg, 1966. p. 271 (Russian)

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Reply_of_the_Zaporozhian_Cossacks&oldid=462777656" Categories: 1891 paintings Collections of the Russian Museum Ilya Repin paintings Ukrainian Cossacks

This page was last modified on 27 November 2011 at 19:20. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. See Terms of use for details. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reply_of_the_Zaporozhian_Cossacks 19/01/2012 8:49:51 PM