Viktor Vasnetsov

Viktor Vasnetsov — historian-religious painter, icon painter, graphic artist, architect, theatrical artist, collector. His creative versatility and connection to national roots brought him worldwide fame as the multifaceted «singer» of Ancient Russia. His circle of acquaintances included Emperor Nicholas II, Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, Pavel Tretyakov, Savva Mamontov, Pavel Chistyakov, Ilya Repin, Fyodor Shalyapin, and Mikhail Nesterov. The brightness of his talent was combined with exceptional modesty. Living in St. Petersburg and Moscow, he remained the same Vyatich, the son of a rural priest, who always preferred the family circle and the silence of his workshop to official ceremonies and verbose meetings. Many have written about Viktor Vasnetsov, but no one has said more about his art than he did himself: «As an Orthodox and sincerely believing Russian, I could not, even for a penny, fail to light a candle for the Lord God. Perhaps this candle is made of coarse wax, but it is lit from the soul».