The original title of this Vasnetsov painting is “Alyonushka (simpleton)”. Proof – for example, the catalog of the Society of Itinerant Art Exhibitions from the year 1889. Nowadays, they write that orphans were called simpletons back then, but honestly, I can’t find any evidence for this. In Dal’s dictionary, a simpleton is someone mentally disabled or insane. But according to the fairy tale, she and her brother Ivanushka (who later turned out to be a goat) were left without parents, completely alone, so the term orphan would fit.
I did some research, and here’s what I found: an art journal from 1881, which published a review of the itinerant exhibition, and similarly described every interesting painting, including Alyonushka. I quote:
“…Strictly speaking, she is not a simpleton. She is named thus, as Ostrovsky named his Vera— a savage; everyone calls Alyonushka a simpleton. She is a homeless, shelterless orphan, she grew up among strangers; she has no kin, no corner of her own…”
Over time, the term ‘simpleton’ was dropped, and only Alyonushka remained. Fair?
Hi, I'm Rauf Aliev. 