Surikov, Vasily (1848-1916) - 1881 The Morning of the Execution of the Strelsi (Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow)
Vasily Ivanovich Surikov was the foremost Russian painter of large-scale historical subjects. His major pieces are among the best-known paintings in Russia. He was born in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia, where a monument to him was recently opened by his great-grandsons. In 1869-1871 he studied under Pavel Chistyakov at the Imperial Academy of Arts.
In 1877, Surikov settled in Moscow, where he contributed some imposing frescoes to the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. In 1881 he joined the Peredvizhniki movement. From 1893 he was a full member of the St.Petersburg Academy of Arts. Surikov painted images from Russia's past that focused on the lives of ordinary people. His works are remarkable for the original way in which they represent space and movements of people. In some cases he seems to have painted the same image in more than one size, probably as a prototype to a bigger image which he has in his mind, or he may have liked the smaller version so much that he decided it would look nicer when enlarged.
Surikov, Vasily (1848-1916) - 1881 The Morning of the Execution of the Strelsi (Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow)
Vasily Ivanovich Surikov was the foremost Russian painter of large-scale historical subjects. His major pieces are among the best-known paintings in Russia. He was born in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia, where a monument to him was recently opened by his great-grandsons. In 1869-1871 he studied under Pavel Chistyakov at the Imperial Academy of Arts.
In 1877, Surikov settled in Moscow, where he contributed some imposing frescoes to the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. In 1881 he joined the Peredvizhniki movement. From 1893 he was a full member of the St.Petersburg Academy of Arts. Surikov painted images from Russia's past that focused on the lives of ordinary people. His works are remarkable for the original way in which they represent space and movements of people. In some cases he seems to have painted the same image in more than one size, probably as a prototype to a bigger image which he has in his mind, or he may have liked the smaller version so much that he decided it would look nicer when enlarged.