Portret van Lev Tolstoj before 1891

This photograph of Lev Tolstoy was made in Russia by an anonymous photographer, likely towards the end of the 19th century. It depicts the famous author in later life, his flowing beard lending him the air of a prophet. The style of dress also seems to be deliberately folksy. Through this, we might consider the image’s politics, since Tolstoy was known for his renunciation of wealth and his critique of the Russian Orthodox Church, though he came from a noble family himself. Photographs like this one helped construct a public image of Tolstoy as a moral authority, an image carefully cultivated by Tolstoy and his followers, whose cult of personality has interesting parallels in religious history. To understand this image more fully, we need to delve into social and intellectual history, exploring not just Tolstoy's biography but also the cultural milieu in which his ideas gained traction. Only then can we begin to understand how images like this contribute to the making of cultural icons.