Mermaids Ivan Kramskoy (1837-1887)

Description of Ivan Kramskoi’s painting "Mermaids" (May Night)

The painting "Mermaids" was painted by the Russian artist Ivan Nikolayevich Kramsky based on N.V. Gogol’s "May Night." The artist rather freely interpreted the dream of the main character Levko, focusing not on its subject, but on the image of a magical moonlit night in the Ukraine.

The viewer sees an overgrown and log-covered river bank, on which a picturesque group of drowned women sit peacefully. Their delicate figures are illuminated by the full moon, which makes them seem even more shaky and unreal. The girls’ faces are sad and dejected, all of them seized by a hopeless ennui.

An old manor house stands at the upper right in the background, while the dark, dense forest lies out of sight on the left. The coloring of the painting is soft and serene, and the splendidly painted moonlight that generously illuminates the scene softens some of the gloominess of the colors.

Kramsky was fascinated by the world of Ukrainian folk tales with devils, witches and mermaids, which is why he chose this subject. Kramsky was not interested in the accuracy of the picture he painted of Gogol’s work; he wanted to convey the beauty of the Ukrainian fairytale night, as well as his sympathy for the poor mermaid girls, simple peasant women, who tragically ended their earthly existence in such a tragic way.

In this picture Kramskoy decided to implement a rather difficult for the painter’s task - to depict the moonlight so that the picture looked like a real one. The artist worked on this picture for a long time, trying to properly, in his words, "catch the moon". And although he wasn’t completely satisfied with the final version of the painting, critics said Kramsky managed to convey the fantasy and fairytale nature of the subject and to capture a piece of moonlight in his work.