How artist Apollinary Vasnetsov “revived” old Moscow in his paintings.

Apollinary was the younger brother of Viktor Vasnetsov and, unlike him, Apollinary had no professional art education. He was a self-taught artist. And his brother Viktor introduced him to many artists, bringing him into their circle.

Apollinary began as a landscape painter, sketching fields, forests and views of the Abramtsevo Estate, where, together with Vasily Polenov, Ilya Repin and other artists, he honed his skills.
In 1891, he moved to live in Moscow, settled on a Moskva River embankment and watched walls of the Kremlin and the golden domes of its cathedrals from his window every day. The artist then became vividly interested in the history of ancient Russia and began to create historical paintings, recreating views of medieval Moscow.

With scientific accuracy, studying ancient engravings, he depicted the ancient buildings of the Kremlin and Kitay-gorod with details of everyday urban life; in fact - a Moscow that no longer existed. According to art historians, his ‘Old Moscow’ series has no analogues in world art.
Below are the most famous works by Apollinariy Vasnetsov:
— ‘All Saints Bridge. Moscow at the end of the XVII century’ (1901)
— ‘Messengers. Eaarly morning in the Kremlin’ (1913)
— ‘Medvedchiki (entertainment). Old Moscow’ (1911)
These and other paintings can be seen at the ‘Vasnetsovs. The Link of Generations’ exhibition at the New Tretyakov Gallery until November 4, 2024.

📷 Tretyakov gallery, Yaroslavl art museum

🔔 Russia Beyond