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Secondary sourcePainting1902

Under a Lamp (Lev Tolstoy in the Family Circle)

Leonid Pasternak · 1902

A painting by Leonid Pasternak showing Tolstoy relaxing with his family in a lamplit room.

Shows Tolstoy at home with his family, painted by an artist who personally knew him.

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Impressionist-style painting of an interior room in soft blue and warm lamplight. A woman in dark clothing sits at left beside a lamp with a fringed shade, a stack of books on a small table. A woman in a white dress sits in the center near a window, and a bearded older man in dark clothes reclines on the right in a bentwood chair, eyes closed. A pale bust stands in the background.
Leonid Pasternak, Under a Lamp (Lev Tolstoy in the Family Circle), 1902.

About this source

What it is

This is a painting made in 1902 by the artist Leonid Pasternak, who knew Tolstoy personally. It shows an interior scene with two women, a lamp, and an older bearded man resting in a chair.

Why it matters

Pasternak painted many scenes of Russian life and portraits of notable figures, including Tolstoy. This image gives a glimpse of Tolstoy away from his writing desk, at home with his family, suggesting the private side of a man known publicly as a famous author and moral thinker.

Look closer

  • What mood does the lamplight and the closed eyes of the man create?
  • Why might the artist have chosen a quiet domestic scene rather than a formal portrait?
  • What does the painting leave out about Tolstoy's life and ideas?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Leo Tolstoy on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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