Marriage is unequal

Vassili Biokerev is one of the most important painters who laid the  foundation for the realist school in Russian painting, which dealt with  criticism of some negative aspects of life, such as outdated customs and  harsh social traditions.
His painting here is considered the most famous and best works. In which the wedding ceremony of his two parties depicts an elderly  man who has just retired from military service and a young girl who  seems unhappy with the marriage.
The  painting reveals the cruelty of social traditions and corruption of  bureaucracy, and reflects the struggle of society for reform in Russia. The artist's goal seems to be to awaken the conscience of society and to push for social change.
Unequal marriage was common in Russia at the time. There  are folkloric songs full of sorrow and mourning that speak of the  terrible injustice that women have because of such marriages. This phenomenon has also been addressed by many writers, including poet Pushkin, who has referred to it in more than one poem.
The idea moved to drawing long after it was addressed in literature,  to emphasize what this type of marriage brings to the tragedies and  suffering.
In the painting the painter takes us to the story theater, a church bowl with dim lights. The ceiling is decorated with bronze chandeliers. The dim light emitted from the left corner illuminates the darkness and is reflected on the faces of the attendees. To the right stands the little bride, to her right is the bridegroom and then the priest who blesses the bride.
The groom looks heartless. His side look is strong and intense. While the bride stands an errant mind, sad and desperate.
It is said that the incident is real, and that the painter saw it himself a year before the painting. The girl loved a young man of the same class, but her family forced  her to marry the old man because he was rich and did business.
The artist painted the husband with blunt and harsh features, while making the bride look innocent like a child. On the man's collar there is something like a medal, while he puts a star on his chest. He is clearly aware of his importance and social status. Although he sees the girl's tears and misery, he does not show much  interest in what is going on and just moves his eyes sideways.
The skill of the painter is manifested in the way he depicts the innocence of the girl. Her  eyes are swollen from crying, and she does not look at the priest, who  is preparing to wear her ring, and looks as if she is losing her  strength slowly. Even the candle she holds in her left hand tells the viewer that she is about to fall. This marriage seems to be a bargain or a swap rather than a human relationship.
The skill of the painter is clear in showing the details of the  clothes and representing them accurately, especially the priest's robe  of gold and silver flowers, and the bridal dress woven with satin.
Another facet of the artist's creativity is his handling of the  priest's position in the painting, making him bend to allow other people  to appear in the background.
Bioceref Department of characters into two groups: Bridegroom Group and Bride Group.
The first group, to the left of the painting, gave it negative features. They look cold and indifferent. The old woman behind the groom, who only shows a part of her face,  seems to be the one who arranged for him to marry and chose the bride.
The second group are the bride sympathizers group. The young man at the right end of the painting may be an old friend of the girl and may have one of her acquaintances. His face is in him, and the nobility and the nobility are unmistakable. It is not difficult to read facial expressions. It is clear that his looks show some resentment and dissatisfaction.
This plate is mature and complete, and the message you are trying to convey is clear and straightforward. The painter calls on the recipient to be part of the actors and to participate in the scene. In order not to distance the receiver from the main subject, the painter was limited to a limited number of participants. However, each has an active and important role. Their presence and the nature of their interrelations enrich the content of the story.
Painter Vasily Biokerev was born in Moscow in June 1832 to a peasant  family and studied painting at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture  and Architecture.
Some of his paintings are portraits of people, others deal with social and historical themes. His paintings are distributed today to a number of the most famous museums in Russia and abroad. Painter died in Moscow in 1890 for 58 years 

  img by :    Marriage is unequal By the Russian artist Vasily Biokerev, 1862