“Pictures from the history of the service of the Siberian Cossack Army”: to the question of authorship, history of creation, “loss” and finding a valuable source

The article is devoted to the history of creating N. N. Karazin's watercolors «Pictures from the history of the service of the Siberian Cossack Army». The author notes that these paintings are not sufficiently appreciated as a unique historical source and are not widely known to Russian researchers, and the history of their creation is little studied. The main task of the research is to find out the place and role of the famous public and scientific figure, historian of the Siberian Cossacks G. E. Katanaev in the creation of watercolors. The author of the article manages to consistently trace and show the history of the idea and creation, as well as the «loss» and finding of a valuable source on the history of the Siberian Cossacks. Comparative analysis of the list preserved in the Russian State Library (RSL, Moscow) of aquarelle works and the list of photocopies from the collections from the Omsk State Museum of Local Lore (OSMOLL) allows the author to establish the name (and story content) of all 27 watercolors, the original album, long considered lost. Analysis of the few articles directly or indirectly devoted to «Pictures from the history of the service of the Siberian Cossack Army» and previously unpublished documents preserved in the personal Fund of G. E. Katanaev leads the author to the following conclusions: - The album of watercolors is interesting not only from an artistic point of view, but also as a valuable historical source; - The idea of creating paintings from the life of the Cossacks, as one of the components of the plan of G. E. Katanaev to write a «Historical sketch of the service of the Siberian Cossacks«, was first expressed by him in a letter addressed to the Steppe Governor-General G. A. Kolpakovsky on September 25, 1888.; - Initially, «pictures from life» were conceived by G. E. Katanaev in order to popularise the historical past of the Siberian Cossacks among ordinary Cossacks; It is necessary to recognize the «primacy» of texts in relation to watercolors; - «Paintings from the history of the service of the Siberian Cossack Army» are based not on the artist's imagination, but on a documentary historical truth. In conclusion, the author emphasizes that the watercolors of N. N. Karazin and the texts to them by G. E. Katanaev are a unique source on the history of not only the Siberian Cossacks and Siberian «foreigners», but also of all Siberia and the Steppe Region as a whole. The album of watercolors belongs to the visual type of historical sources, its value is primarily in clarity and documentality. Watercolors carry not only historical knowledge, but also a deep educational meaning, instilling a sense of pride and patriotism. The author declares no conflicts of interests.

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