THE CHARACTERS OF F.M. DOSTOEVSKY THROUGH THE SKETCHES OF COSTUMES AND SET DESIGNS (BASED ON THE EXAMPLE OF EXHIBITS OF A.A. BAKHRUSHIN STATE CENTRAL THEATRE MUSEUM)

Information about authors: Dmitrieva Anastasiya Borisovna, Researcher, Museum’s Decorative Materials Department, A.A. Bakhrushin State Central Theatre Museum (Moscow, Russian Federation). E-mail: dias17@yandex.ru

Annotation: Dostoevsky has never written a single work for the theater, but already in the XIX century his works began to be staged; novels, novellas and short stories provided the basis for dramas, operas and ballets. The stage directors frequently refer to the oeuvre of the writer during the late XIX-early XXI centuries, and the theatre artists help to embody the images of his works on stage. This study aims to identify the sketches of costumes, greasepaint, set design and staging in the Museum’s Decorative Materials Department and to see how the artist represents and embodies the Dostoevsky’s characters. We’ve selected the sketches from different periods, regions, artists and styles referring to the novels “The Idiot,” ”The Brothers Karamazov,” “The Insulted and Injured” and the novella “Uncle’s dream.” The article studies the creations of 20 artists who worked in 1920–1990s for the theater and the cinema. Quite often the artist conveys the nature of Dostoyevsky’s characters in costume and greasepaint sketches, combining the images of the actor and the hero. Not only the face but also the attitude and the charisma frequently express controversial and lively dispositions of literary characters. In their set designs, the artists do not simply reproduce the described landscapes and interiors but also create expressive images of locations and the atmosphere.

Keywords: literature, theatrical decorative art, costume sketches, set design, character, artist.

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