It is impossible to imagine Russian poetry without Tyutchev. Without his sincerely touching lines about the last love, which is “bliss and hopelessness”, subtle psychological sketches of the emotional state of the human soul, landscape paintings that are filled with the energy of thought, movement, own life. And Tyutchev’s words about sympathy and grace - how often we repeat them in moments of anxiety and sadness!
Diplomat, philosopher, writer
The first impressionist poet in our literature, Fedor Ivanovich, had the ingenious ability to catch and convey instantly impressions and changes in the mood of a person and nature, the subtlest states of the soul in a precisely found word. Love and philosophical lyrics - these are the topics in which Tyutchev found the most complete expression of himself. His portraits are far from the image of romance that readers are mentally creating for themselves. Bald patches, disheveled hair, glasses ...
Thin, not at all beautiful, if you follow the generally accepted canons. However, such an impression arises only at first glance. And if you look closely, the great Tyutchev appears before us completely different. Portraits well convey the magnificence of the high forehead of the poet - the forehead of the thinker, philosopher; and wise sorrow in the eyes; and a slight, barely perceptible ironic grin in the corners of the mouth. We involuntarily fall under the enormous charm of the personality of this amazing person. And it is forgotten, external impassability ceases to be noticed. It is worth picking up the treasured volume and reading through your favorite lines - and it seems that Tyutchev personally talks to us. His portraits are images of a serious, life-wise man who has seen a lot, experienced the ups of great happiness and the most bitter misfortunes, but has not lost his taste for life, nor his desire to live, love, create.
Opinions of contemporaries
The poet A. Pletnev called the personality out of the ordinary. What was Tyutchev? His portraits, according to Pletnev, convey intelligence and irony, seriousness and kindness, spiritual complexity and originality of the artist, multiplied by the versatility and inconsistency of the era in which he created. This remark refers to watercolors made from Tyutchev in 1838. The diplomat and then still little-known poet is 35 years old. Much has already been written by him, but ahead are even better poems that made his name immortal.
Another contemporary artist, writer and public figure Meshchersky, emphasized that each portrait of Fyodor Tyutchev reflected some negligence to external attributes, combined with the refinement of the internal appearance. “A powerful spirit with physical weakness,” is a review of the poet of his biographer Aksakov. Any society revived, it was worth to appear there Fedor Ivanovich. His brilliant, apt, witty phrases were picked up and repeated in different salons. Tyutchev's word captivated, bewitched, encouraged, comforted, pleased. After all, he was a poet not only in literature, but also in life.
Tyutchev iconography
Speaking about the external appearance of the poet, through which his inner world is so clearly visible , we can rely not only on the works of artists who captured him, but also on photographs. The very first portrait of Fyodor Ivanovich Tyutchev is for children. A rosy baby, more like an angel than an ordinary child, can tell us little about the bright future of this person. Drawn for a family chronicle, this portrait is not of particular interest to us.
Another thing is the work of unprofessional artist Rehberg. A young man still without the usual glasses looks at us tenaciously and with some irony. It is clear that first of all Tyutchev positions himself as a diplomat, rather than as a poet. He emphasizes his official status as a representative of Russia, the Russian state, considering this status primary. As a poet, Tyutchev thought himself secondarily.
From diplomat to writer
The photographic portraits of Fyodor Ivanovich of the 1850-1860s, made by the master Levitsky, give us an idea of a respectable, secular,
successful person. The later bear the obvious seal of suffering associated with the death of E. Denisyeva, Tyutchev's last lover.
Above is the work of the artist Alexandrovsky. Instead of the usual strict black suit and white shirt, we see a different look: an unbuttoned frock coat, a plaid over his shoulder. The bloom of romanticism and poetry is clearly felt. By right, this is one of the best images of the poet, although it was written after the death of Tyutchev.