1848 -1926

Viktor Vasnetsov studied with I. Kramskoi at the Drawing School of the Society for Encouraging Artists (1867-68, Petersburg). He took classes at the Petersburg Academy of Arts for 6 years. The artist stayed in Petersburg until 1878, then moved to Kiev for a six-year stay, and resided in Moscow till the rest of his life.

In early years he made many drawings and painted genre scenes but after moving to Moscow, he painted history and folklore images. Vasnetsov participated in the Circle of the Itinerants exhibitions and in 1880s he became an organizer and a participant of the Abramtsevo Art Circle led by S. Mamontov. Victor Vasnetsov designed theatrical backdrops for Mamontov's private staging of the opera Snowmaiden, which initiated the reform movement in Russian theatrical decorative arts.

1885-1896 the artist painted a huge mural in St. Vladimir's Cathedral in Kiev. He also completed a number of architectural projects, including the Tretyakov Gallery facade.

Vasnetsov represented the national- romantic trend in Russian realism.

Vasnetsov painted  princesses of gold, iron, and precious stones according to a fairytale, where peasant boy Ivan meets them. They symbolize the richness of the Earth.

Moving House.1876. Oil on canvas. 58.3 x 67.2 cm. Tretyakov Gallery.