Painting. Russian artists. Victor Vasnetsov (1848-1926)

Among the historical painters of the turn of the nineteenth century Victor Vasnetsov is noted for his depth of feeling and power of style. A painter, draftsman and graphic artist, Vasnetsov played a principal part in the development of Russian art from realistic traditions of the Wanderers towards Art Nouveau with national historical tendency.
Victor Vasnetsov embodies Russian historical painting. His works of art are not only the product of his great imagination and pictorial skill; they are also the result of discipline and self control. Born in the village of Lopiyal, Viatka Province, and, like his grandfather and father, destined to be a priest, Victor Vasnetsov gave up his theological career and came to St. Petersburg in his late adolescence to study draughtsman ship at the drawing school of the Society for the Encouragement of the Arts in St Petersburg. There he was trained by Ivan Kramskoy. Victor Vasnetsov mastered his skill at the Academy of Arts, St. Petersburg. In 1869-74 the young painter joined the Wanderers. The year 1878 marked the watershed in Vasnetsov's creative activity. From that time it falls into two periods. The first period of Critical Realism was demonstrated at the Circulating Art Exhibition. At that time Vasnetsov's imaginary characters were 'little men', portrayed in the spirit of the time when the Wanderers movement was at its prime. This period is exemplified best of all by such paintings as From Lodging to Lodging, of 1876, and the Preferance, of 1879. Both of the pictures are based on the tradition of genre painting derived from Dutch painting. The former depicts a poverty-stricken old married couple dragging themselves along the dark Palace Embankment in search of cheaper lodgings. All the superfluous details are omitted; this makes the snow-covered surrounding space even more deserted and dreary and the protagonists' prospects more dismal. His painting was warmly received by the public. The Preferance is a moralising picture done in the spirit of William Hogarth. Vasnetsov was impressed by his stay in Paris. This resulted in a large canvas Fairground Booths in Paris, of 1876-77.
The last decade of the 19th century witnessed a powerful upsurge of public interest in Russia's ancient past. It was brought about by the Old Russian Revival. Vasnetsov became one of the founder-figures of this artistic movement.
In March 1878 Vasnetsov left St Petersburg and settled permanently in Moscow, a real Russian city with its patriarchal mode of life. Here Vasnetsov's art entered a new phase. The first painting of this period was After Prince Igor's Battle with the Polovtsy, of 1880. A monumental composition was inspired by the great epic of the early Russian state. It became a new departure in Russian historical painting. The key-note of this colossal canvas is not only grief over the outcome of the fateful battle, it is a glorification of those who died for their patrimony. A Knight at the Cross-roads, of 1882, is a poetic picture full of nostalgia for the irrevocable old days covered with the "grass of oblivion".

Ivan Tsarevich Riding the Grey Wolf, of 1889, depicts a scene from a popular Russian fairy tale. The magical plot has been reflected in numerous literary works and musical pieces. The greater part of the enormous painting was done in Kiev, where Vasnetsov was working on murals for St. Vladimir Cathedral. But the landscape background was derived from the studies made in Abramtsevo. The landscape is very important. The forces of evil surround Ivan Tsarevich and Helen the Fair. The impassable wall of the wood rises in front of them. The artist's imagination has transformed an ordinary wood near Moscow into a fantastic, mysterious wildness.

A subject that occupied Vasnetsov in his mature years was the feat of the Russian knights. The Legendary Heroes is Vasnetsov's most outstanding accomplishment. It was designed in 1871 and completed only in 1898. Whatever Vasnetsov was working on during those years, the robust horsemen at the cross-roads always stood before him, attracting him with their irresistible force. The completion of this painting Vasnetsov considered to be his artistic and civil duty. The images created by the artist are extraordinary. A powerful patrol standing guard at the frontier of their native land, their grand horses embody the heroic spirit. This is felt in the open expanse of the landscape, in the outline of hills in the distance, and in the severe cloudy sky. Although the scene does not represent any actual movement, it gives a sense of force and dynamism. The mighty epic knights look as if rooted in the earth. The perspective is calculated for the eye level of a person of average height standing on the floor below. The legendary figures seem to be cast of iron. One feels that no force could move them from where they stand. In scope and monumentality this work is incomparable. High artistic merit and profound conception, has become the pride of Russian national culture. Tsar Ivan the Terrible was accomplished in 1887. On a narrow vertical canvas we see Ivan IV descending the stairs. Looking at him from below the beholder feels himself one of the crowd awaiting the Tsar outside the palace. This gives the figure its grandeur and majesty.

Vasnetsov was a brilliant portrait painter, book illustrator and stage designer. His sketches for the theatre settings represent an innovation in the Russian stage design. Vasnetsov also drew up the decorative composition for the facade of the Tretyjakov Gallery in Moscow in 1906. His house built to his project in 1894, was turned into Vasnetsov House Museum in 1953.
 

Literature: Book "Russian art" A.P. Minyar-Belorucheva