Two centuries of the Russian classics Two centuries of the Russian classics 2686-7494 IWL RAS https://doi.org/10.22455/2686-7494-2026-8-2-118-207 Research Article Articles “The Immutable Laws of Reflection.” The Physical and Spiritual Optics of Nikolai Gogol Vinogradov Igor A. red@rusklassika.ru 25 06 2026 8 2 118 207 Nikolai Gogol biography creativity poetics interpretation optical effects camera obscura laterna magica transparencies hagiography iconography realism naturalism spiritual heritage Copyright © 2026, IWL RAS 2026 The article analyzes numerous examples of Gogol’s keen attention to optical phenomena. It examines a number of images from Gogol’s works related to optics: camera obscura, laterna magica, microscope, telescope, luminous transparencies, etc. The possibility of Gogol’s acquaintance with the Schellingian theory of light is assessed, as well as the writer’s rootedness in the Orthodox tradition of understanding the image. The influence of Lomonosov, Derzhavin, Gnedich and others on Gogol’s ideas about the nature of light is noted. Primary attention is paid to analyzing Gogol the artist’s own little-studied views on the visual-expressive aspect of the artistic image. The article outlines the poetics of “light” paintings, common to most of Gogol’s works — the stories “Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka,” “Mirgorod,” the St. Petersburg cycle, the fragment “Rome,” “Dead Souls,” and others. The organic connection between Gogol’s physical and spiritual optics is emphasized, as well as its structure-forming significance for the writer’s work. The article concludes that Gogol was constantly concerned with the circulation of positive and negative ideas in society and various models of behavior that determine everyday life, national traditions, and the character of the people according to the “laws of reflection.” Bocharov, S. 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