A. N. Wilson, 'Tolstoy', 1988:
On the pictures above of Pierre, Tolstoy comments on April 4, 1866:
All pictures by M. S. Bashilov (1821-1870)
"...Tolstoy's many letters to Bashilov make fascinating reading,
emphasising not merely how much he cared about the finished book, but also how
vividly he saw each scene and each character in his mind’s eye. If Bashilov
sent a sketch which displeased Tolstoy, he got a quick letter back telling him
what was wrong. They are not angry offensive letters, but they have an eye for
everything:...The advice pours out, revealing that all the characters in War
and Peace are just as real to Tolstoy- more real, really- than characters in
real life.
..."
War and Peace miniseries on BBC seems to have become a major
hit. This has led to a lot of interest in the book and its author all over again.
One of the most interesting things I recently learned about Tolstoy was how deeply he cared
about the illustrations that went into the book. (This is in sharp contrast to most Marathi writers, who at best are indifferent to how their work is illustrated.)
"In the summer of 1866, as Leo Tolstoy prepared for his
serialized novel War and Peace to be published as a single volume, he wrote to
illustrator Mikhail Bashilov (M. S. Bashilov), hoping to commission drawings
for the new edition of the novel, which he referred to by its original title,
1805. When Bashilov questioned a detail of historical verisimilitude—shouldn’t
the turn-of-the-nineteenth century officers be wearing powdered wigs?—Tolstoy
responded:
When I first began writing 1805, I discovered somewhere that
powder had been done away with at the beginning of [Czar] Alexander’s reign,
and I wrote on that basis; I later came across evidence, as you did, that it
was still used in 1805. I didn’t know what to do. … Decide for yourself,
whatever is most agreeable and convenient for you. In favor of drawing people
wearing powder is the reason that if there is positive proof that powder was in
use in 1805, I can correct the new edition and allude to powder and uniform. In
fact it’s probably necessary to draw people wearing powder and in historically
accurate uniform, to which I shall try to be faithful in the new
edition...."
Now, see how Tolstoy gets the exact thing he is looking for,
in the illustration of Pierre Bezukhov, from Bashilov.
On the pictures above of Pierre, Tolstoy comments on April 4, 1866:
"His face is good (if only there could be more of a
tendency to philosophizing in his forehead – little wrinkles or bumps over his
eyebrows), but his body is small – it should be wider and stouter and more
massive."....
and suggests...
"Pierre might be portrayed lying on a couch and reading
a book, or, having torn himself away from his book, gazing distractedly and
thoughtfully ahead through his glasses – he’d have leaned on one arm with the
other tucked between his legs – actually, this is really better than him
standing, though you, of course, know best."
All pictures by M. S. Bashilov (1821-1870)
And after seeing the result, he writes:
"This picture is as good as a perfect work of art may
possibly be; that is, it cannot be any better."
(courtesy:
http://sites.utoronto.ca/…/tolstoy-and…/works/war/pierre.htm)
