“The painting of a master”: Apollon Grigoriev on the work of Leo Tolstoy

The article describes A. A. Grigoriev’s attitude to L. N. Tolstoy’s early work. It is also noted that the critic acknowledges special artistic novelty associated with the writing style of Leo Tolstoy. The author shows the same position of A. A. Grigoriev and L. N. Tolstoy in assessing A. S. Pushkin’s artistic legacy in the context of disputes between various literary parties. A. A. Grigoriev and L. N. Tolstoy equally did not regard themselves as either Westerners or Slavophiles. A. A. Grigoriev, the critic, believed in the “organic” connection of true works of art with the era in which they were created, and with the historical process as a whole. According to A. A. Grigoriev, modern criticism has not been attentive enough to the work of L. N. Tolstoy, only stating certain aspects of his talent and not trying to present them in a system of historical and literary relationships. A. A. Grigoriev sees in L. N. Tolstoy, first of all, a national writer and considers fearless analysis, aimed at everything false and artificial in the inner life of a person, to be the main feature that characterizes his work.