Dostoevsky’s Drawings: a New Perspective on his Literary Creation (Presentation of Konstantin Barsht’s Book The Drawings and Calligraphy of Fyodor Dostoevsky)

Abstract More than 200 sheets of Dostoevsky’s manuscripts contain drawings, among them mainly portraits, sketches of Gothic windows and arches and calligrams. Dostoevsky’s graphic work is basically auto-communicative, not intended for a public. The graphics are not an illustration of the corresponding novels but express associations often of a highly private nature and have a meaning for the work that is often only very indirect and difficult to grasp. Dostoevsky’s graphics thus require hermeneutic effort, which has been achieved by Professor Konstantin Barsht of St. Petersburg in an impressive book, published in three separate editions in Russian, English and Italian. The decoding of Dostoevsky’s drawings is a most valuable contribution to Dostoevsky scholarship. It will serve to support new readings of Dostoevsky’s works or readings already in existence which have not received a favorable reception because of existing preconceptions about Dostoevsky’s system of beliefs relevant to his aesthetic production.