Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks depicts a supposedly historical tableau, set in 1676, and based on the legend of Cossacks sending a reply to an ultimatum of the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, Mehmed IV. The original reply, if it ever existed, has not survived; however, in the 1870s an amateur ethnographer from Yekaterinoslav, Ya. Novitsky, found a copy made in the 18th century. He gave it to historian Dmytro Yavornytsky, who by chance read it to his guests, among whom was the painter Ilya Repin. Repin became curious about the story and in 1880 started the first of his studies. According to the story, the Zaporozhian Cossacks, inhabiting the lands around the lower Dnieper River in Ukraine, had defeated Ottoman Empire forces in battle. However, Mehmed demanded that the Cossacks submit to Ottoman rule. The Cossacks, led by Ivan Sirko, replied in an uncharacteristic manner: they wrote a letter, replete with insults and profanities. The painting exhibits the Cossacks' pleasure at striving to come up with ever more base vulgarities. During Repin's time, the Cossacks enjoyed great popular sympathy. Repin also admired them: "All that Gogol wrote about them is true! A holy people! No one in the world held so deeply freedom, equality, and fraternity." , Ottoman Sultan 1648–1687 The Cossacks' reply came as a stream of invective and vulgar rhymes: While working on the original version, Repin in 1889 began work on a second version. This work remained unfinished. The artist tried to make the second version of The Cossacks more "historically authentic". In 1932 it was transferred by the Tretyakov Gallery to the M. F. Sumtsov Kharkiv Historical Museum. In 1935, it was moved to the, where it is now stored. This canvas is slightly smaller than the original version. Vladimir Gilyarovsky, a popular journalist of partial Cossack descent, was one of the models who posed for Repin.
Cultural references
The French poet Guillaume Apollinaire wrote a versified version of the letter as part of his poem "La Chanson du mal-aimé" in his collection of poems Alcools.
Art critic Clement Greenberg selected Repin's painting as a bad example of "kitsch" in his influential essay Avant-Garde and Kitsch.
The writing of the letter is depicted in the film Taras Bulba.
A trailer for the "Cossacks" expansion to the video gameEuropa Universalis IV includes an altered version of the reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks.
The game has the central detail of the picture in its logo.
Reproductions
Several full-size copies of the Repin painting exist, including a famous reproduction by Pavel Porfirov, currently held by the Cincinnati Art Museum.
Book references
Dmytro I. Yavornytsky History of the Zaporogian Cossacks, Vol. 2, pp. 517–518. St. Petersburg.
Myron B. Kuropas The Saga of Ukraine: An Outline History. MUN Enterprises
Саєнко В.М. "Лист до турецького султана" та деякі міфологічні відповідності // Нові дослідження пам’яток козацької доби в Україні. – Вип.13. – К. – С. 418–420.
