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Knight at the Crossroads,
1878
The work on the canvas is also connected with
Russian heroes. Vasnetsov based the plot on
the traditional plot for Russian fairy tales,
when the hero finds himself at the crossroads
of three roads. As the stone at the fork
narrated, two roads promised a happy life,
and the third — difficulties or death.
Specifically, Vasnetsov's trip to the right
promised marriage, to the left — wealth, and
straight ahead — "death — there is no way
for either passer-by, or passer-by, or fly-
by." According to him, he found such a
formulation in one of the books of the public
library. Such a crossroads in fairy tales and
epics was often used to test the strength of
the hero's spirit: if he is not afraid of
difficulties, then he will go straight and
find everything at once: both a wife and
wealth. In fact, it meant overcoming fears. 5
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Knight at the
Crossroads, 1878
Vasnetsov showed the first version of the
painting entitled "A Warrior in a helmet
with a chain mail" to the public in 1877,
but in 1882 he presented the final and
already more dramatic version at the
exhibition. In it, the viewer can think less
about the place from which the traveler came,
and focus more on his gloomy future, instead
of looking at the knight's face, immerse
himself in his choice. Even there is
virtually no choice left, since the artist
covers with moss those options that promise
the hero a happy outcome.
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you can
compare two
pictures
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Alenushka, 1881
The work of "Alyonushka" Vasnetsov is
called one of the best paintings of
Russian painting. However, the
picture was not immediately
appreciated. When the artist showed
the canvas at the exhibition, Pavel
Tretyakov ignored him altogether, and
Savva Mamontov bought it for five
hundred rubles. Perhaps the patron
did this because of the similarity of
the main character of the picture
with his daughter Vera (the same one
that Serova posed for his masterpiece
"The Girl with Peaches").
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Alenushka, 1881
Vasnetsov portrayed the image of an
orphaned child with a difficult fate.
Even the first title of the painting
"The Fool Alyonushka" tells us that
we have an orphan in front of us, who
were called that way in those days.
But the gloomy landscape and the
feeling of hopelessness are softened
by a group of swallows over the
heroine, personifying hope for a
bright future. Despite the cool
reception of the painting by the
public, Vasnetsov treated it as one
of the most beloved. And later it
became so for several generations of
viewers.
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Ivan Tsarevitch on the
grey Wolf, 1889
Vasnetsov glorifies another fearless hero
from his huge canvas "Ivan Tsarevich on the
Gray Wolf". Many people know this picture
from school, as they are often asked to write
essays on it. This painting is also called a
masterpiece of Russian painting. Vasnetsov
shows the image of the brave Tsarevich Ivan,
who fearlessly rushes through the forest and
carefully carries Elena the Beautiful. And in
this work Vasnetsov uses contrasts again: the
dark forest demonstrates difficulties, trials,
and the bright images of the main characters
and a blooming apple tree speak of hope for a
good outcome and a wonderful future. The
painting was presented at the Peredvizhniki
exhibition in 1889 and is currently in Moscow
at the Tretyakov Gallery. 11
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Ivan Grozny
This work does not show us a fairy-tale hero,
but it still speaks of strong-minded Russian
people. In its center was the first Russian
tsar, whose image has not left Vasnetsov
since he moved to Moscow in 1878. Walking
around the city, the artist studied
architectural monuments with great interest,
represented old Moscow and its ruler Ivan the
Terrible. Vasnetsov decided to show it to the
public only in 1897. It took him many years
to study ancient Russian architecture and the
attributes of that time, which was clearly
manifested in the smallest details of the
painting.
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(Nesmeyana)
The Unsmiling Tsarevna
The
Frog
The Sleeping Prin
Queen cess
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