The Mysterious Portrait by Nicolai Gogol | A Wicked Story about the Social Greed of a Young Painter | The Cave of Apelles

What happens when a young painter, on the brink of economic ruin, comes into a lot of money?
Bork Nerdrum and Jan-Ove Tuv sit down to review Nicolai Gogol’s short story “The Mysterious Portrait”.

Topics from the conversation:

  • Tchartkoff stumbling upon the portrait in a picture shop
  • Discovering thousand gold coins in the back of the frame
  • Giving up the craft to become a high society portrait painter
  • Realizing he wasted his talent, he starts destroying other people’s work
  • “The Devil” — a usurer destroying the life of all his clients
  • Has his portrait commissioned by a religious painter to be “kept alive”
  • The painter becomes envious and starts painting evil expressions
  • The portrait ruins anyone who possesses it
  • “The Devil” is the lack of interest in your work
  • People who are afraid are easily tempted by the Devil
  • Are you integrated and can you stand on your own feet?

 

▶ Full video: https://www.patreon.com/caveofapelles
🎵 Full audio: http://caveofapelles.com/podcast

The conversation was produced by Bork S. Nerdrum and assisted by Cassander Straumsgaard and Kristine Onsrud.
The centerpiece was a 19th century reproduction of G. F. Watts’ Hope.

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  • Apelles was asked why he touched and retouched his pictures with so much care, to which he replied:
    "I paint for eternity"