1821
watercolor on paper
13.5 x 16.8 cm (5 1/4 x 6 1/2 in.)
signed and dated lower right; indistinctly signed and dated on verso


LOT NOTES
Alexey Venetsianov is renowned for his paintings devoted to peasant life and ordinary people. In 1811 the Board of the Academy of Arts awarded him the title of Academician. In 1819, devoting himself purely to art, Venetsianov left the service and settled in the village of Safonkovo. During this time he painted scenes from nature that he observed around, creating the works of prime importance in his career, including the present lot. He was probably the first to depict peasant life in Russian art. Venetsianov painted portraits of peasants, and scenes illustrating rural life. His works achieved great success at the exhibition of 1824, where he received critical praise. By the middle of the 1820s he had a group of followers, and established his own school of painting.