July 25, 2016

Vasnetsov, Painter and Planet: An Art Gallery


Vasnetsov, Painter and Planet: An Art Gallery

You’ve got to paint some really good landscapes to get a planet named after you. Apollinary Mikhaylovich Vasnetsov was born on July 25, 1856, and Planet 3586 was christened Vasnetsov in September of 1978. What happened in between those two birthdays was a fruitful painting career that spanned two centuries and vast political change throughout Russia.

Vasnetsov is known for a unique painting genre in which he recreated historical landscapes of Russia’s past based on information from history books and archeological records. Many of his most renowned works use nineteenth-century painting techniques to bring medieval Moscow to life in an unprecedented way.

In the below image of Moscow’s most famous square, for example, although the familiar domes of St. Basil’s Cathedral loom in the background, if you’re used to Red Square being red, the white walls of the Kremlin may surprise you. The style of dress and stalls in the marketplace – unlike booths today selling matrioshkas painted like Putin or The Beatles – indicate Vasnetsov’s imagination in portraying a time long gone.

Red Square in the Second Half of the XVII Century (1925)

While Vasnetsov's Red Square takes on perhaps the most famous site in the Kremlin, Vasnetsov’s paintings of the past lead viewers all over Moscow, creating a visual map of the city’s past.

Heralds, Early Morning in the Kremlin, Beginning of the XVII Century (1913)
Old Moscow. Street in Kitai Gorod at the Beginning of the XVII Century (1900)

Vasnetsov specialized in representing Russia’s past, as the above images demonstrate. Yet his prowess in painting architecture transcends the limits of centuries in his portrayals of landmarks that remained constant, at least during his lifetime.

The Kremlin (1892)
Blagodat Hill (1890)

Though scenes of cities, past and present, make up much of Vasnetsov’s body of work, he is also known for his landscapes and representations of nature. His paintings of the countryside capture the vastness of the Russian expanse, while also picking up on unique elements within the chosen field of vision. Clearly, Apollinary knew just how to find the right spot to sit down for a paint.

Grey Day (1883)
After the Rain (1887)

In After the Rain, the light streaming through the clouds suggests that calm and hope have returned, perhaps following a violent storm. The rays shining just in front of the walker in the center of the canvas indicates that he still has a long way to go, but his destination will be worth the trek.

Though Apollinary Vasnetsov was a skilled painter in his own right, he was often overshadowed by his more famous brother, Viktor Vasnetsov. Apollinary, eight years Viktor’s junior, studied under his brother, so similar methods and themes can be seen in the siblings’ paintings. Both had a fascination with depicting history in a way that made it feel present to the viewer.

While Apollinary specialized in city scenes and landscapes, Viktor was more interested in the mythological past and visualizations of folklore. Bogatyrs, one of his most famous paintings, shows three knights from Russian myth on the lookout for new adventure.

Bogatyrs (1898)

The Vasnetsov brothers captured the beauty of Russian nature, history, and mythology. The planet Vasnetsov is named in honor of both of them. While the planet too distant to see with the naked eye, if the brothers had been around to spot it through a telescope when it was discovered in 1978, they surely would have expanded their artistic abilities to new frontiers. Still, when they died – Viktor in 1926 and Apollinary in 1933 – they left a shared legacy of exploring new horizons through their artwork.

All works pictured are in the public domain in Russia and accessed via wikimedia.org.

You Might Also Like

Modigliani and Akhmatova in Paris
  • March 05, 2016

Modigliani and Akhmatova in Paris

We know comparatively little about the relationship between Akhmatova and Modigliani, but sometimes a few pictures can speak volumes. In honor of Anna Akhmatova's birthday (June 11, old style; June 23 new style), we reprint this essay, originally published in Russian Life, Jan/Feb 2011.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

The Moscow Eccentric

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.
The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

A beloved Russian classic about a resourceful Russian peasant, Vanya, and his miracle-working horse, who together undergo various trials, exploits and adventures at the whim of a laughable tsar, told in rich, narrative poetry.
Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

This astonishingly gripping autobiography by the founder of the Russian Women’s Death Battallion in World War I is an eye-opening documentary of life before, during and after the Bolshevik Revolution.
The Samovar Murders

The Samovar Murders

The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.
Fearful Majesty

Fearful Majesty

This acclaimed biography of one of Russia’s most important and tyrannical rulers is not only a rich, readable biography, it is also surprisingly timely, revealing how many of the issues Russia faces today have their roots in Ivan’s reign.
Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

In this comprehensive, quixotic and addictive book, Edwin Trommelen explores all facets of the Russian obsession with vodka. Peering chiefly through the lenses of history and literature, Trommelen offers up an appropriately complex, rich and bittersweet portrait, based on great respect for Russian culture.
Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

The Life Stories collection is a nice introduction to contemporary Russian fiction: many of the 19 authors featured here have won major Russian literary prizes and/or become bestsellers. These are life-affirming stories of love, family, hope, rebirth, mystery and imagination, masterfully translated by some of the best Russian-English translators working today. The selections reassert the power of Russian literature to affect readers of all cultures in profound and lasting ways. Best of all, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book are going to benefit Russian hospice—not-for-profit care for fellow human beings who are nearing the end of their own life stories.
The Latchkey Murders

The Latchkey Murders

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin is back on the case in this prequel to the popular mystery Murder at the Dacha, in which a serial killer is on the loose in Khrushchev’s Moscow...
Turgenev Bilingual

Turgenev Bilingual

A sampling of Ivan Turgenev's masterful short stories, plays, novellas and novels. Bilingual, with English and accented Russian texts running side by side on adjoining pages.
Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it of.
Survival Russian

Survival Russian

Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.
Chekhov Bilingual

Chekhov Bilingual

Some of Chekhov's most beloved stories, with English and accented Russian on facing pages throughout. 

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955