Vasily Grigoryevich Perov (21 December 1833 [2 January 1834], Tobolsk — 29 May [10 June] 1882, Kuzminki, Moscow Governorate) was a Russian painter, representative of democratic realism, one of the most significant Moscow artists of the post-reform era, a teacher and writer.[1] He was the illegitimate son of the Tobolsk prosecutor Baron Georg Karl von Kridener and a meshchanka (townswoman) A. I. Ivanova; in official documents he was registered under the surname Vasilyev, after his godfather's name, while the nickname "Perov" was given to him by a literacy teacher — a church deacon — who had noted the boy's diligence in penmanship.[1] His childhood and youth were spent primarily in Nizhny Novgorod Province, where he studied at the Arzamas District School (1843–1846) and at the Stupin's Arzamas School of Painting (1846–1849, with interruptions).[2] He became an Academician (from 1866) and Professor (from 1870) of the Imperial Academy of Arts, and was one of the founding members of the Society for Travelling Art Exhibitions (1870).[2]

Connection with the Nizhny Novgorod Region

After his father was dismissed from government service, the family moved in 1842 to Sablukowo in Arzamas Uyezd of Nizhny Novgorod Governorate, where his father took up a position as manager of the Yazykov estate.[1] There Vasily contracted smallpox, which left him with poor eyesight for the rest of his life.[1] The boy's interest in painting was kindled by watching a visiting artist at work.[1] From 1843 to 1846 he studied at the Arzamas Uyezd school, lodging with a teacher named Favorsky, and from 1846 to 1849 (with interruptions) at the Arzamas Art School of A. V. Stupin, who allowed Perov to work in oils earlier than the other pupils, having recognized his exceptional talent.[1] In 1871 Perov made Arzamas.[2] The painting "Fishermen" (1879, oil on canvas, 104×179 cm) is held in Nizhny Novgorod.[3] Also held there is the canvas "A Wandering Woman in a Field" (1879, oil on canvas, 63×94 cm).[3]

Creative Career and Teaching Activity

Perov graduated from the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture in 1861 with the title of First-Class Artist and the right to a funded study trip abroad; his teachers were E. Ya. Vasilyev, A. N. Mokritsky, M. I. Scotti, and S. K. Zaryanko.[2] Even during his student years he received awards from the Imperial Academy of Arts: in 1856, a small silver medal for "Portrait of N. G. Kridener"; in 1858, a large silver medal for "The Arrival of the Stanovoy for an Investigation"; in 1860, a small gold medal for "The First Grade"; and in 1861, a large gold medal for "A Sermon in the Village".[2] From 1862 to 1864 he lived in Paris as a pensioner of the Imperial Academy of Arts, traveled through Italy in the autumn of 1864, and returned to Russia ahead of schedule.[2] In 1866 he received the title of Academician for the paintings "Troika" and "The Arrival of the Governess at a Merchant's House," and in 1870 the title of Professor for "The Bird Catcher" and "The Wanderer."[2]

From 1871 to 1882 he taught at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture; his students included A. E. Arkhipov, S. V. Ivanov, N. A. Kasatkin, S. A. Korovin, I. I. Levitan, M. V. Nesterov, and A. P. Ryabushkin.[2] In 1871–1872 he also taught in the painting classes of the Moscow Society of Art Lovers.[2] He worked as a genre painter, portraitist, and landscape artist, created paintings on historical, evangelical, and literary subjects, and engaged in lithography and literary writing.[2] Hunting and fishing themes appear in a number of his works: "The Bird Catcher" (1870), "Hunters at Rest" (1871), an autograph replica of "Hunters at Rest" (1877), "On the Flight" (1877), "Bear Hunting in Winter" (1879), and "Fishermen" (1879).[3]

The "Arzamas Academy" Exhibition at the Nizhny Novgorod State Art Museum

A joint project of the Tretyakov Gallery and the Nizhny Novgorod State Art Museum — the Exhibition "Arzamas Academy. To the 250th Anniversary of A. V. Stupin"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" — opened in Nizhny Novgorod in 2026 and runs until 15 November 2026.[4] The exhibition traces the history of the Arzamas School of Painting and its influence on the development of Russian art in the nineteenth century, and is displayed across five halls.[4] The project's curators are Olga Tikhomirova, head of the Russian Art Department at the Nizhny Novgorod State Art Museum, and Irina Basova, curator of the Eighteenth- to First-Half-of-the-Nineteenth-Century Painting Department at the Tretyakov Gallery.[4]

A prominent place in the exhibition is given to works by Perov as one of Stupin's best-known pupils. The Tretyakov Gallery contributed four of the master's works: "Hunters at Rest" (1871), "A Scene at the Graveside," "The Return of the Reapers from the Field in Ryazan Governorate," and "The Drawing Teacher."[4] "Hunters at Rest," which had recently undergone restoration during which new details of the sky and foreground were uncovered, greeted visitors at the entrance to the exhibition.[4] The exhibition presents Perov's works as one of the latest and best-known examples of the heights achieved by artists who emerged from the Arzamas milieu.[4]

Sources

  1. Wikipedia (ru) — Perov, Vasily Grigoryevich (archive)
  2. artinvestment.ru — Artist Perov Vasily Grigoryevich (archive)
  3. gallerix.ru — Vasily Grigoryevich Perov, 186 images (archive)
  4. sammlung.ru — The Arzamas Academy at the Nizhny Novgorod State Art Museum — KOLLEKTSIYA Magazine (archive)