Viktor Vasnetsov

Biography

Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov was born on May 3, 1848, in Lopyal. He was a Russian painter and graphic artist known as a representative of “national romanticism” and one of the most prominent Moscow artists during the counter-reforms and the Silver Age. In addition to painting, Vasnetsov engaged in architecture and sculpture. He is regarded as one of the founders of the "Russian style" in art at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries and a forerunner of symbolism and Art Nouveau in Russia. Vasnetsov served as a professor and full member of the Imperial Academy of Arts. He was also a founding member of the Society for the Revival of Artistic Russia and participated in the activities of the Peredvizhniki (Itinerants), the Union of Russian Artists, and the Kuindzhi Society. In 1914, Vasnetsov was awarded the rank of Actual State Councillor. His creative work spanned historical painting and symbolism. Among his well-known works are "Alyonushka," "The Knight at the Crossroads," and "Ivan Tsarevich on the Grey Wolf." Vasnetsov’s oeuvre included many disciplines: he worked as a painter, illustrator, architect, designer of postage stamps, draftsman, stage designer, designer, watercolorist, mosaic artist, graphic artist, and theatrical designer. He died on July 23, 1926, in Moscow.