One sometimes gets the distinct impression that modern neural networks can do absolutely everything.
They write texts, compose music, and paint pictures gracefully stylized to any given era. The next logical step, naturally, was to hand them a task researchers had puzzled over for years: visualizing the world of Pushkin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But it is precisely here that the unexpected occurs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\ud83c\udfa8 The Illusion: Neural Networks as a Pushkinist’s Tool<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The initial idea was quite delightfully simple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If a neural network is perfectly capable of:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Reproducing artistic styles<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Combining compositions<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Building scenes<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
…then why on earth not use it to reconstruct a sketch by Pushkin? In our correspondence, we discussed various experiments with Midjourney and other such tools. In Alexandra\u2019s publications, nineteenth-century scenes had materialized with the greatest of ease:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Correct costumes<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Atmospheric lighting<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Plausible interiors<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Take, for instance, the image of a running noblewoman: “one of the options pleased me on the very first try.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At this stage, it seemed that just a little more effort would allow us to neatly “illustrate Pushkin.” But! When we actually attempted to have the AI “finish” Pushkin’s sketches, a rather curious fact emerged:
Pushkin is one of those authors who stubbornly resist algorithms.<\/p>\n\n\n\nAnd this became most glaringly obvious in the case of one rather small drawing\u2014”The Kiss.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n\ud83d\udc8b A Drawing That Gives Researchers No Peace<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\nPushkin left behind a splendid multitude of graphic sketches in his manuscripts\u2014from simple profiles to amusing caricatures.
Yet “The Kiss” occupies a rather special place among them.<\/p>\n\n\n\nFirstly, it happens to be one of Pushkin’s earliest genre drawings<\/strong>\u2014
not merely a portrait or a passing stroke, but a fully-fledged scene involving actual action.<\/p>\n\n\n\nSecondly, this drawing has long attracted the keen eye of researchers.
Abram Efros<\/strong>, a pioneer in the study of Pushkin’s graphics, believed that “the drawing imitates academic schemes” and that “The Kiss of 1818 could well be a copy, or at the very least, a variation.”<\/p>\n\n\n\nAlexandra instantly made a rather sharp observation: the composition of Pushkin’s “The Kiss” bears a striking resemblance to Fragonard’s painting, “The Stolen Kiss.”<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/alfoart.com\/derionzini\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Picture1.png\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/alfoart.com\/derionzini\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Picture2.png\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\nHere, a third and quite unexpected dimension presents itself: <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2014 Could Pushkin, consciously or subconsciously, have taken his cue from Fragonard?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
The history of the painting’s time in Russia offers no straightforward answer to this little puzzle. It might possibly be a copy of a copy. It is known that the Velho sisters copied paintings by European artists during their travels abroad. However, Alexandra finds it highly unlikely that Pushkin would have copied from ladies’ albums: the painting’s subject matter was far too provocative for the moral standards of the early nineteenth century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This very similarity became one of the main reasons we decided to examine the drawing as a possible:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Reworking<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Quotation<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Or even an attempt to reimagine a Western European model<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
To test this, we politely asked the neural networks to develop Pushkin’s sketch into a full, painted picture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n\n\n\u2699\ufe0f Where the Impossible Begins<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Pushkin’s “The Kiss” is not merely a scene.
It is a rather tangled knot:<\/p>\n\n\n\n- \n
- Biographical<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Cultural<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Visual<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
And all of this must somehow be tied together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But the neural network begins to quite literally fall to pieces when attempting to hold onto:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Specific characters<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Their interrelationships<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- And the required composition<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
“Absolutely everything appeared, except the scene we actually wanted.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The AI is perfectly capable of producing a beautiful image,
but it is entirely incapable of grasping the historical meaning of the scene<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/alfoart.com\/derionzini\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Picture3.png\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n\ud83e\udde9 From Generation to Assembly<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Gradually, it became delightfully clear:
pure AI simply does not work here.<\/p>\n\n\n\nInstead of generation, one must resort to assembly:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- The character is created separately<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- The background separately<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- The details separately<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Then everything is stitched together by hand<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Sometimes the final image consisted of several elements (up to five or ten)<\/strong>. In truth, this was no longer generation at all, but rather visual montage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n\n\n\ud83c\udfad The “Kiss” Test<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
It was precisely the scene of “The Kiss” that became our primary test.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because it demands, all at once:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Precise composition<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Recognizable faces<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Historical authenticity<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- And emotional tension<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Add to this the hypothesis of a possible connection to Fragonard\u2014
and the task becomes something approaching a proper art history problem. But the result was rather telling. Despite all our attempts to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n- \n
- Input exact prompts<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Use references<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Combine elements<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
\u2014the scene simply refused to come together.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/alfoart.com\/derionzini\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Picture1-1-238x350.png\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/alfoart.com\/derionzini\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Picture2-1.png\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/alfoart.com\/derionzini\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Picture6-e1778958122280.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/alfoart.com\/derionzini\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Picture7.png\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n