The image of the wondrous fairy creature — the bird-maiden Sirin — has always inspired artists of different eras. Sirin has the head of a woman of unsurpassed beauty and the body and wings of a bird. According to legend, the bird possesses a marvelous voice but is subject to the powers of darkness. Whoever hears her enchanting song faces loss of memory, oblivion and imminent death. The image of the bird Sirin goes back to ancient Greek mythology and is mentioned in the legend of Odysseus. The crafty king of Ithaca had to sail past the deadly island of the Sirens, and, following the advice of the sorceress Circe, he ordered his rowers to plug their ears with wax and had himself tied to the mast of the ship — thus Odysseus was able to survive and hear the singing of the sweet-voiced birds.
Hydria with depictions of roosters and sirens. Clazomenae, Eastern Greece. Third quarter of the 6th century BC. Collection of the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts
The bird Sirin is often mentioned in tandem with another paradisal bird — Alkonost. Alkonost is the antipode of Sirin, a bird of joy that symbolizes divine providence. The first known mention of the birds appears in the Russian chronograph of 1617. In Russian art the joint depiction of the paradisal birds Sirin and Alkonost is a traditional subject: it became particularly widespread in printed lubok pictures produced from the mid-18th century through the 19th century. In the Russian lubok the bird Alkonost was depicted as a woman wearing a crown and holding flowers. Sirin was shown without a crown, wearing a wreath and with wings instead of arms.
Paradisal bird Sirin. Lubok print. Mid-19th century. Collection of the State Historical Museum
Alkonost and Sirin. Lubok print. Mid-19th century. Collection of the State Historical Museum
The motif of the paradisal birds was popular in folk crafts. For example, the birds were engraved on gingerbread molds, used in motifs of Permogorsk painting and to decorate stove tiles, and clay whistle-figurines were modeled. The image of the paradisal birds continues to be widely used in applied arts today.
Menshikov Palace. Stove tile with the bird Sirin
Sirin whistle-bird. Ceramics. Torzhok, Tver Region. 1970s.
The theme of the paradisal birds was taken up by Viktor Vasnetsov, a chronicler of Russian epic and mythology. In the painting 'Sirin and Alkonost. Birds of Joy and Sorrow' Vasnetsov managed to combine the imagery of Russian folklore, pictorial realism and Art Nouveau decorative elements. The composition of the painting is divided into two parts: on the left sits the dark and sorrowful bird Sirin, and on the right — the light and joyful bird Alkonost. Notably, in the Russian tradition the left side was considered 'inauspicious', while the right was associated with joy and happiness. The birds sit on the branches of the same tree, which emphasizes their interconnection and the duality of the world order, where good goes hand in hand with evil, and joy with sorrow.
Viktor Vasnetsov. 'Sirin and Alkonost. Birds of Joy and Sorrow'. 1896. Collection of the State Tretyakov Gallery
Russian mythology is an inexhaustible source of inspiration for artists. Contemporary painters, like their predecessors, repeatedly turn to the rich theme of folklore and continue the traditions of the genre. To conclude the article I will share with you the work of the Russian painter Andrey Shishkin, 'The Prophetic Bird'. The painting is executed in the style of academic realism and contains clear references to Vasnetsov's fairytale style. The canvas is an original work of art and embodies a composite image of the paradisal birds, in particular the mythological bird Gamayun, who could foretell the future and knew everything in the world. Andrey Shishkin. 'The Prophetic Bird'. 2007.
Андрей Шишкин. «Птица вещая». 2007 г.
