visuals:
# ── SUBJECT 1: Posrednik first-edition covers ──────────────────────────────
- id: posrednik-covers-chelovek
type: cover
subject: >
First-edition Posrednik kopeck-booklet covers for the five main folk tales
(Чем люди живы, Два старика, Где любовь там и Бог, Свечка,
Упустишь огонь — не потушишь), printed by Sytin 1885–86
holding: >
Российская государственная библиотека (RGB); Государственный музей
Л. Н. Толстого, Москва
access: not-found-in-commons
rights: PD
licence: PD
usable: with-clearance
url:
source: >
No Commons category «Посредник (издательство)» returned results.
RGB digital catalogue: https://search.rsl.ru — search «Посредник» + year range 1884–1886.
Tolstoy Museum digital: https://tolstoy.ru/life/museum/
direct: null
localPath: null
note: >
The illustrated kopeck-booklets are physically held in the RGB and the
Tolstoy State Museum Moscow. No scans surfaced on Wikimedia Commons
(the category page 404s) or in the local primary-sources tree.
Goskatalog.ru (web.goskatalog.ru) is the recommended next channel:
search object type «книга» + publisher «Посредник» / «Т-во И. Д. Сытина».
PSS Tom 25 (vol. 25 PDF on Commons) contains the literary texts but no
cover facsimiles.
# ── SUBJECT 2a: Repin illustrations for the folk tales ────────────────────
- id: repin-angel-shoemaker-1881
type: illustration
subject: >
I. E. Repin, «Встреча ангела с сапожником Семёном» (second variant),
1881 — illustration for Чем люди живы (What Men Live By)
holding: Wikimedia Commons
access: open
rights: PD
licence: PD
usable: yes
url:
source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1881%D0%A0%D0%B5%D0%BF%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%92%D1%81%D1%82%D1%80%D0%B5%D1%87%D0%B0%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B3%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%B0%D1%81%D1%81%D0%B0%D0%BF%D0%BE%D0%B6%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%BC.JPG
direct: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d9/1881%D0%A0%D0%B5%D0%BF%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%92%D1%81%D1%80%D0%B5%D1%87%D0%B0%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B3%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%B0%D1%81%D1%81%D0%B0%D0%BF%D0%BE%D0%B6%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%BC.JPG
localPath: docs/research/stories-for-the-people/visuals/commons-repin-angel-shoemaker-1881.jpg
note: >
The key Repin drawing for Чем люди живы — the angel meets Semyon
the cobbler. Categories on Commons: «Drawings by Ilya Yefimovich Repin»
+ «Illustrations to Leo Tolstoy's works». Second variant (a first
variant also exists in private/museum hands; not on Commons).
KEYSTONE CANDIDATE — this is the most directly Posrednik-linked image
in the sweep.
- id: repin-nikita-repentance-1893
type: illustration
subject: >
I. E. Repin, «Покаяние Никиты», 1893 — illustration for
Власть тьмы (Power of Darkness drama, not a folk tale proper)
holding: Wikimedia Commons
access: open
rights: PD
licence: PD
usable: yes
url:
source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1893%D0%A0%D0%B5%D0%BF%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%9F%D0%BE%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%8F%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B5%D0%9D%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B8%D1%82%D1%8B.JPG
direct: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8e/1893%D0%A0%D0%B5%D0%BF%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%9F%D0%BE%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%8F%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B5%D0%9D%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B8%D1%82%D1%8B.JPG
localPath: null
note: >
Repin illustration for Power of Darkness, not a folk tale. Relevant as
context for Repin's Tolstoy collaboration. Not downloaded (lower priority).
- id: repin-vrazhye-lepko
type: illustration
subject: >
I. E. Repin illustrations for Вражье лепко / Два брата и золото —
Posrednik folk-tale series
holding: unknown / museum
access: not-found-in-commons
rights: PD
licence: PD
usable: with-clearance
url:
source: null
direct: null
localPath: null
note: >
No Commons hits for these specific tale titles. The Repin drawings for
Вражье лепко and Два брата и золото are documented in scholarship but
no digital scan surfaced. Tolstoy Museum or RGB would be the next stop.
# ── SUBJECT 2b: Ge's album for Чем люди живы ──────────────────────────────
- id: ge-last-supper-1863
type: painting
subject: >
N. N. Ge, «Тайная вечеря», 1863, oil on canvas, 283×382 cm —
the painting that made Ge famous and catalysed his friendship with Tolstoy
holding: State Russian Museum, Saint Petersburg (acc. Ж-4141)
access: open
rights: PD
licence: PD
usable: yes
url:
source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ge_The_last_supper_1863.jpg
direct: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1e/Ge_The_last_supper_1863.jpg
localPath: docs/research/stories-for-the-people/visuals/commons-ge-last-supper-1863.jpg
note: >
The 1863 painting is the biographical anchor for Ge's later work with
Tolstoy; it is not itself a folk-tale illustration. Ge's 12-drawing album
specifically for Чем люди живы (1886) did not surface on Commons — it is
held in Russian museum collections and has not been digitised to an open
repository accessible via this sweep.
- id: ge-folk-tale-album-1886
type: illustration
subject: >
N. N. Ge, 12-drawing album for Чем люди живы, 1886 (Posrednik edition)
holding: >
Государственная Третьяковская галерея / Государственный музей Л. Н. Толстого
access: not-found-in-commons
rights: PD
licence: PD
usable: with-clearance
url:
source: null
direct: null
localPath: null
note: >
Not found on Commons or in any local mirror. The album is documented in
N. N. Ge: письма, статьи, критика, воспоминания современников (1978).
Tretyakov / Tolstoy Museum are the holding institutions; goskatalog.ru
may have photographs of individual sheets.
# ── SUBJECT 2c: Savitsky / Kivshenko Posrednik pictures ───────────────────
- id: kivshenko-war-and-peace-rostopchine
type: illustration
subject: >
A. D. Kivshenko, watercolour «Ростопчин и сын купца Верещагин»,
illustration for War and Peace — not a folk tale but confirms
Kivshenko's Tolstoy illustration work
holding: Wikimedia Commons
access: open
rights: PD
licence: PD
usable: yes
url:
source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%D0%A0%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%BF%D1%87%D0%B8%D0%BD_%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B2%D1%88%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%BA%D0%BE.jpeg
direct: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/96/%D0%A0%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%BF%D1%87%D0%B8%D0%BD_%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B2%D1%88%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%BA%D0%BE.jpeg
localPath: null
note: >
Kivshenko's Posrednik folk-tale illustrations specifically did not surface.
War and Peace watercolours are the only Kivshenko-Tolstoy items on Commons.
Not downloaded (not directly relevant to the folk-tale series).
- id: savitsky-posrednik
type: illustration
subject: K. A. Savitsky illustrations for Posrednik folk-tale series
holding: unknown
access: not-found-in-commons
rights: PD
licence: PD
usable: with-clearance
url:
source: null
direct: null
localPath: null
note: >
K. A. Savitsky is documented as a Posrednik illustrator but no
folk-tale drawings surfaced on Commons. A Georgy Savitsky (different
artist, 1887–1949) result appeared — not the same person.
# ── SUBJECT 3: Portraits ───────────────────────────────────────────────────
- id: chertkov-portrait-repin-c1890
type: photo
subject: >
V. G. Chertkov, portrait by I. E. Repin, oil on canvas 61×52 cm,
c. 1890
holding: Wikimedia Commons
access: open
rights: PD
licence: PD
usable: yes
url:
source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chertkov_by_Repin.jpg
direct: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ed/Chertkov_by_Repin.jpg
localPath: docs/research/stories-for-the-people/visuals/commons-repin-chertkov-portrait-c1890.jpg
note: >
Dated c. 1890 (not 1880s). The closest period portrait by a named
artist. Oval bust composition. Repin also knew Chertkov through the
Tolstoy circle — this is the strongest single portrait item.
- id: chertkov-portrait-kramskoy
type: photo
subject: >
V. G. Chertkov, portrait by I. N. Kramskoy
holding: Wikimedia Commons
access: open
rights: PD
licence: PD
usable: yes
url:
source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chertkov_by_Kramskoy.jpg
direct: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/Chertkov_by_Kramskoy.jpg
localPath: docs/research/stories-for-the-people/visuals/commons-chertkov-portrait-kramskoy.jpg
note: >
Kramskoy (1837–1887) portrait — likely earlier than the Repin, so
possibly 1880s. Good backup or companion to the Repin.
- id: sytin-portrait-moravov-1908
type: photo
subject: >
I. D. Sytin, portrait by Aleksandr Moravov (1878–1951), oil on canvas,
1908
holding: Wikimedia Commons (sourced from rulex.ru)
access: open
rights: PD
licence: PD
usable: yes
url:
source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sytin_Ivan_Dmitrievich.jpg
direct: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8b/Sytin_Ivan_Dmitrievich.jpg
localPath: docs/research/stories-for-the-people/visuals/commons-sytin-portrait-moravov-1908.jpg
note: >
Painted 1908, so post-Posrednik period — but this is the canonical
Commons portrait of Sytin. 36 KiB (small scan).
- id: biryukov-portrait
type: photo
subject: P. I. Biryukov portrait photograph
holding: Wikimedia Commons (indirect — only book-page crops found)
access: metadata-only
rights: PD
licence: PD
usable: with-clearance
url:
source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Biriukov_-_L%C3%A9on_Tolsto%C3%AF%2C_vie_et_oeuvre_1_%28page_63_crop%29.jpg
direct: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/21/Biriukov_-_L%C3%A9on_Tolsto%C3%AF%2C_vie_et_oeuvre_2_%28page_21_crop%29.jpg
localPath: null
note: >
Commons search returned crops from the French biography volumes (4th ed.)
rather than a standalone portrait photograph. The djvu volumes themselves
likely contain a photographic frontispiece — worth extracting from
Biriukov - Léon Tolstoï, vie et oeuvre 1.djvu (page 1 area).
Not downloaded; lower priority for this dive.
- id: kalmykova-portrait
type: photo
subject: A. M. Kalmykova portrait photograph
holding: Wikimedia Commons
access: metadata-only
rights: PD
licence: PD
usable: with-clearance
url:
source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%D0%9A%D0%B0%D0%BB%D1%8C%D0%BC%D1%8B%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B0_%D0%90%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BA%D1%81%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B4%D1%80%D0%B0_%D0%9C%D0%B8%D1%85%D0%B0%D0%B9%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%BD%D0%B0.jpg
direct: null
localPath: null
note: >
File confirmed in Commons search (filename Кальмыкова Александра
Михайловна.jpg, described as educator/publisher). Direct upload URL
returned 404 — likely a filename encoding mismatch in the API response.
Access via the Commons source page above. Not downloaded.
- id: shchegolonok-photo-1908pub
type: photo
subject: >
V. P. Shchegolonok (Щёголёнок), photograph reproduced in
Алферов «Допетровская литература и народная поэзия» (1908)
holding: Wikimedia Commons
access: open
rights: PD
licence: PD
usable: yes
url:
source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Schegolenok_VP.jpg
direct: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/Schegolenok_VP.jpg
localPath: docs/research/stories-for-the-people/visuals/commons-shchegolonok-photo-1908.jpg
note: >
The photographic reproduction of the bylina singer from the 1908 book.
Shows an elderly peasant man — consistent with Shchegolonok's appearance
when Tolstoy knew him (late 1870s). Artist unknown.
- id: shchegolonok-by-repin
type: photo
subject: >
V. P. Shchegolonok, portrait painting by I. E. Repin
holding: Wikimedia Commons
access: open
rights: PD
licence: PD
usable: yes
url:
source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Shchegolenok_by_Repin.jpg
direct: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4a/Shchegolenok_by_Repin.jpg
localPath: docs/research/stories-for-the-people/visuals/commons-shchegolonok-by-repin-portrait.jpg
note: >
Repin painted the bylina singer — the same Repin who illustrated Чем люди
живы. The portrait ties the folk oral tradition directly to the visual
Posrednik circle. Strong supporting item.
- id: shchegolonok-drawing-polenov
type: illustration
subject: >
V. P. Shchegolonok, drawing by V. D. Polenov
holding: Wikimedia Commons
access: metadata-only
rights: PD
licence: PD
usable: with-clearance
url:
source: >
Commons search hit: «Василий Петрович Щёголёнок — Рисунок В. Поленова»
— exact file URL not resolved (filename encoding mismatch in API)
direct: null
localPath: null
note: >
File exists in Commons per search result but direct URL returned 404.
Access via Commons search for «Щёголёнок Поленов». Not downloaded.
- id: gorbunov-posadov-with-tolstoy
type: photo
subject: >
I. I. Gorbunov-Posadov seated with Tolstoy and sculptor P. Troubetzkoy
(photograph)
holding: Wikimedia Commons
access: open
rights: PD
licence: PD
usable: yes
url:
source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:P._Troubetzkoy,_L._Tolstoy,_I._Gorbunov.JPG
direct: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/P._Troubetzkoy%2C_L._Tolstoy%2C_I._Gorbunov.JPG
localPath: docs/research/stories-for-the-people/visuals/commons-gorbunov-posadov-with-tolstoy.jpg
note: >
Group photograph: Troubetzkoy poses Tolstoy for a sculpture session;
Gorbunov-Posadov sits alongside. Date not confirmed — likely ~1900.
The only Commons image linking Gorbunov-Posadov visually to Tolstoy.
A standalone portrait of Gorbunov-Posadov did not surface.
# ── SUBJECT 4: Sytin lubok contrast sheet ─────────────────────────────────
- id: sytin-lubok-koltsov-1906-1914
type: lubok
subject: >
Sytin press lubok collage sheet after verses by A. V. Koltsov,
Moscow, 1906–1914 — illustrates the visual language of Sytin's
popular-print business (the same press that produced Posrednik)
holding: Wikimedia Commons
access: open
rights: PD
licence: PD
usable: yes
url:
source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%D0%9A%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%B6-%D0%BB%D1%83%D0%B1%D0%BE%D0%BA_%D0%BF%D0%BE_%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B8%D1%85%D0%B0%D0%BC_%D0%90.%D0%92._%D0%9A%D0%BE%D0%BB%D1%8C%D1%86%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B0._1906~1914%D0%B3%D0%B3_%D0%A1%D1%8B%D1%82%D0%B8%D0%BD,%D0%9C%D0%BE%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B2%D0%B0.e1cr.jpg
direct: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/25/%D0%9A%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%B6-%D0%BB%D1%83%D0%B1%D0%BE%D0%BA_%D0%BF%D0%BE_%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B8%D1%85%D0%B0%D0%BC_%D0%90.%D0%92._%D0%9A%D0%BE%D0%BB%D1%8C%D1%86%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B0._1906~1914%D0%B3%D0%B3_%D0%A1%D1%8B%D1%82%D0%B8%D0%BD,%D0%9C%D0%BE%D1%85%D0%BA%D0%B2%D0%B0.e1cr.jpg
localPath: docs/research/stories-for-the-people/visuals/commons-sytin-lubok-koltsov-1906-1914.jpg
note: >
Post-1885 (1906–1914) and therefore not contemporary with the Posrednik
launch, but it shows the Sytin lubok visual idiom — dense collage of
vignettes, popular verse, woodcut-like illustration — that Chertkov and
Tolstoy were deliberately contrasting with the Posrednik clean-design
approach. Best available proxy for the «typical Sytin lubok sheet»
requested. An 1880s sheet would need RGB or the Shchusev Museum digital
collection.
Summary by subject
Subject 1 — Posrednik first-edition covers
Nothing found. The five kopeck-booklet covers (1885–86) have not been digitised to Wikimedia Commons and are not in the local primary-sources tree. Best next channel: goskatalog.ru (search «Посредник» + «книга» + 1884–1886) and the RGB digital catalogue (search.rsl.ru). The Tolstoy State Museum Moscow holds physical copies.
Subject 2a — Repin illustrations for the folk tales
Best result of the whole sweep. The 1881 drawing «Встреча ангела с сапожником Семёном» for Чем люди живы is on Commons, high-resolution (974 KiB), fully PD, downloaded. This is the illustration Repin produced before Posrednik existed — it circulated with early editions and is the canonical Repin–Tolstoy folk-tale image. His drawings for Вражье лепко and Два брата и золото did not surface; museum channels needed.
Subject 2b — Ge’s 12-drawing album (1886)
Not found. The album is documented in scholarship but not digitised to any open repository accessible here. Ge’s 1863 painting «Тайная вечеря» is downloaded as a biographical anchor — it is the work that drew Ge and Tolstoy together and precedes Posrednik by two decades.
Subject 2c — Savitsky / Kivshenko Posrednik pictures
Not found as folk-tale illustrations. Kivshenko’s War and Peace watercolours confirm his Tolstoy illustration work; Savitsky returned no usable results. Both artists’ Posrednik-specific drawings are in museum collections only.
Subject 3 — Portraits
Good coverage for the Chertkov / Shchegolonok cluster: - Chertkov: two paintings downloaded (Repin c. 1890; Kramskoy, earlier — possibly 1880s). Neither is a photograph. - Sytin: 1908 oil portrait by Moravov, downloaded (small scan). - Shchegolonok: two items downloaded — the 1908 book photograph and a Repin portrait painting. An additional Polenov drawing exists on Commons but URL resolution failed. - Kalmykova: confirmed on Commons but URL resolution failed; accessible via source page. - Biryukov: only book-page crops found; standalone portrait photograph not on Commons. - Gorbunov-Posadov: group photo with Tolstoy downloaded; no standalone portrait found.
Subject 4 — Sytin lubok contrast sheet
A Sytin press lubok sheet (1906–1914, Koltsov verses) was found and downloaded (2 MiB, high-resolution). It post-dates the Posrednik launch by 20 years but faithfully represents the Sytin lubok visual idiom. An authentic 1880s Sytin lubok sheet was not found on Commons; RGB / the Shchusev Museum digital collection (bvahan.com) would be the next channel.
Keystone image
commons-repin-angel-shoemaker-1881.jpg — Repin’s 1881 drawing for Чем люди живы. It is the only item in this sweep that directly illustrates a named Posrednik folk tale, is high-resolution, fully PD, and ties the tale’s central narrative image (the angel encountered by the cobbler) to the specific Repin–Tolstoy collaboration that Chertkov later institutionalised through Posrednik. It is also the chronologically earliest visual artefact in the set.