The Fall of Novgorod

1937, purchased in U.S.S.R. [now Russia] by Joseph E. Davies [ambassador to U.S.S.R.] (Washington, DC); 1937, gifted to University of Wisconsin – Madison; 1967, transferred to Elvehjem Art Center [now called Chazen Museum of Art]

• Bowlt, John E. "Soviet Paintings in the Joseph E. Davies Collection." Elvehjem Museum of Art Bulletin, 1976-1977. Elvehjem Museum of Art (1977): 34-42.
• Alumni Association of the University of Wisconsin of the City of New York. "The Joseph E. Davies Collection of Russian Paintings and Icons Presented to The University of Wisconsin." New York: Alumni Association of the University of Wisconsin of the City of New York, 1938. pp. 44-45, 48, no. 74; pl. 74
• Elvehjem Museum of Art. "Handbook of the Collection." Elvehjem Museum of Art, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Madison, 1990. no. 99
• Chazen Museum of Art. "Artscene." Vol. 22, No. 2, Special Edition, May 2005. back cover
• Elvehjem Art Center. Elvehjem Art Center Annual Report. "Bulletin 1975-1976". Madison, WI: Elvehjem Art Center, 1976 p. 2
• Bordwell, David. "The Cinema of Eisenstein." Cambridge, MA.: Harvard University Press, 1993. 209, fig. 6.20

• Russian Paintings from the Joseph E. Davies Collection: Elvehjem Museum of Art, 2/7/1987–3/8/1987
• Selections from the Joseph E. Davies Collection of Russian and Soviet Paintings: Elvehjem Museum of Art, 8/1/1981–9/27/1981
• Art of Russia, 1800-1850, The: University of Minnesota, University Gallery, 3/21/1979–5/6/1979
• Joseph E. Davies Collection of Russian Paintings and Icons Presented to the University of Wisconsin: Memorial Union, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 6/1/1938–6/30/1938

This large-scale oil painting depicts a scene of citizen resistance members captured by soldiers in the snowy city of Novgorod. In the foreground, several figures, their feet bound with rope, sit or lie in the snow, their eyes and postures expressing dismay and anguish. Near the center, an older, bearded figure raises their right hand while clutching their left hand to their chest. Beside them, a youthful figure in a red coat and brown leather boots sits in the snow, staring in horror at a lifeless body on the ground nearby. A soldier kneels over this body that lies on their back with open eyes. Just right of center, a figure wearing a headscarf and a long red cloak stands stoically, facing the viewer, with an expression of silent outrage. Behind these figures, a soldier sits on a large metal bell tied to a wooden palette. In the background, a large crowd of soldiers and onlookers fills the street, and tall buildings with snow-covered rooftops fade into the bleak, gray sky.

• Europe
• Paintings
• Joseph E. Davies Collection
• Alt Text Accessible

The Chazen Museum of Art welcomes comments or inquiries about works in our collection. Please allow two–three weeks for a response. Chazen staff is not able to provide valuations or authentications and such inquiries cannot be answered.