N. V. Gogol’s Portrait and V. F. Odoevsky’s Opere del cavaliere Giambattista Piranesi: Ethics, Aesthetics, Poetics

The article analyzes Opere del cavaliere Giambattista Piranesi by V. F. Odoevsky and Portrait by N. V. Gogol. Changes in the editions of the stories and roll calls in the texts are discussed in detail. The article reveals both the similarity of images and motifs, ethical and aesthetic views of Gogol and Odoevsky, as well as the difference in the outlook and manner of the writers. The central idea in both works is the responsibility of the artist for the God — given talent. Improper treatment leads to disastrous consequences. The common features of the works are: the mystical intensity of the narrative; the motifs of earthly immortality and madness; the absence of a love conflict; and in the first editions, the place of the beginning of the action is small St. Petersburg shops. The ethical views of writers are developing in a similar direction. Gogol and Odoevsky are becoming more demanding of themselves, the word and the artists. The aesthetics of their works in the second editions differ more than in the first. Gogol refuses to personify Fantasy, describes in more detail the everyday realities of Russian life. Odoevsky takes the action to Italy and enhances the mystical flair. At the same time, both writers remain alien to the principles of the “natural” school: art, in their opinion, should not copy, but transform life.