"Troika" is the most emotional painting by Vasily Perov: the tragic story of its creation

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

"Troika (Apprentices artisans carry water)" - an incredibly emotional canvas created by the Russian artist Vasily Perov. Three children, harnessed to a sleigh, doomedly pull a huge barrel of water. Very often the picture is cited as an example, talking about the difficult fate of the peasant. But the creation of this picture was a real grief for an ordinary village woman.

Vasily Perov has been working on the painting for a long time. Most of it was written, only the central character was missing, the artist could not find the type he needed. Once Perov was walking in the vicinity of Tverskaya Zastava and looked at the faces of the artisans, who, after celebrating Easter, were returning from the villages back to the city to work. It was then that the artist saw the boy, who would subsequently rivet the eyes of the audience to his picture. He was from the Ryazan province and walked with his mother to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra.

The artist, excited by the fact that he had found "the one", began to emotionally beg the woman to allow him to paint a portrait of his son. The frightened woman did not understand what was the matter and tried to accelerate her pace. Then Perov invited her to go to his workshop and promised an overnight stay, since he learned that the travelers had nowhere to stay.

In the studio, the artist showed the woman an unfinished painting. She was even more frightened, they say, it is a sin to draw people: some of this wither away, while others die. Perov tried to persuade her as best he could. He cited the example of kings, bishops who posed for artists. In the end, the woman agreed.

While Perov was painting the boy's portrait, his mother talked about her hard life. Her name was Aunt Marya. The husband and children died, only Vassenka remained. She doted on him. The next day, the travelers left, and the artist was inspired to finish his canvas. It turned out to be so heartfelt that it was immediately acquired by Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov and exhibited in the gallery.

Four years later, Aunt Marya reappeared on the threshold of Perov's workshop. But she was without Vassenka. The woman in tears said that her son had contracted smallpox a year earlier and died. Later, Perov wrote that Marya did not blame him for the boy's death, but he himself did not leave a feeling of guilt for what happened.

Aunt Marya said that she worked all winter, sold everything she had, just to buy a painting depicting her son. Vasily Perov replied that the painting was sold, but you can look at it. He took the woman to the gallery to Tretyakov. Seeing the picture, the woman fell to her knees and sobbed. “You are my dear! Here is your knocked out tooth! she lamented.

For several hours the mother stood in front of the image of her son and prayed. The artist assured her that he would paint a portrait of Vassenka separately. Perov fulfilled his promise and sent the portrait of the boy in a gilded frame to the village to Aunt Marya.

Serious passions were seething around another of Perov's paintings. The painting "Hunters at Rest" some were compared with the best hunting stories of I. Turgenev, while others accused of excessive theatricality.