The Portrait (short story)

"The Portrait" (Russian: Портрет) is a short story by Nikolai Gogol, originally published in the short story collection Arabesques in 1835. It is one of Gogols’ most demonic of tales, hinting at some of his earlier works such as "St. John's Eve" and "Viy".

"The Portrait" is the story of a young and penniless artist, Andrey Petrovich Chartkov, who stumbles upon a terrifyingly lifelike portrait in an art shop and is compelled to buy it. The painting is magical and offers him a dilemma — to struggle to make his own way in the world on the basis of his own talents or to accept the assistance of the magic painting to guaranteed riches and fame. He chooses to become rich and famous, but when he comes upon a portrait from another artist which is "pure, faultless, beautiful as a bride" he comes to realize that he has made the wrong choice. Eventually, he falls ill and dies from a fever.

The first part of the story takes place in nineteenth-century St. Petersburg, Russia and follows a penniless yet talented young artist, Andrey Petrovich Chartkov. One day, Chartkov stumbles upon an old art shop, where he discovers a strikingly lifelike portrait of an old man whose eyes “stared even out of the portrait itself, as if destroying its harmony by their strange aliveness.” On an inexplicable impulse, Chartkov uses the last of his money to buy the portrait, which the art shop’s dealer seems glad to be rid of. Chartkov returns to his shabby apartment and hangs up the painting, but is so haunted by the old man’s stare he covers it with a bed sheet before going to bed.

That night, Chartkov dreams the old man in the portrait comes alive and steps out of his frame with a sack of money. Twice Chartkov wakes up and realizes he is still dreaming, but on the third time he wakes for real and realizes he imagined both the portrait’s movement and its money. However, “it seemed to him that amidst the dream there had been some terrible fragment of reality.” Shortly thereafter, Chartkov’s landlord arrives with a police inspector, demanding the rent. Chartkov is at a loss for what to do until the clumsy inspector accidentally cracks open the portrait’s frame, revealing a pouch filled with one thousand gold sovereigns. Dumbfounded, Chartkov pays what he owes and begins making grand plans for the projects he can complete with his newfound wealth, recalling the encouraging words of his old mentor to “ponder over every work” and nurse his talent, while ignoring the superficial, “fashionable” styles of the times.

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