Vasily Grigorievich Khudyakov was born into a family of serfs in a small village in the Ulyanovsk region. The owner’s son Nikolai Polivanov noticed the boy’s talent early on, and encouraged Khudyakov’s artistic career. At the age of 19, the young men went on a boat trip along the Volga — Khudyakov used this experience in his outstanding painting “Captive Queen Syuyumbike leaving Kazan.” Nikolai Polivanov’s father became convinced that Khudyakov possessed an artistic talent and set him free. Thus, with the help of his efforts and talent, the painter had his fate completely changed.
Vasily Khudyakov studied at the Stroganov School for Technical Drawing, and then at the Moscow School of Painting and Sculpture. It was during that period that the artist painted “Portrait of an Old Man with a Stick” and “The Girl in a Russian Costume” that are on display in the museum. Later Vasily Khudyakov spent four years in Italy, and upon his return he became a professor at the Imperial Academy of Arts. Pavel Tretyakov bought Khudyakov’s painting “Finnish Smugglers” as one of the first — this purchase started the Tretyakov gallery collection.
The image of “The Girl in a Russian costume” against the background of a fictitious landscape resembles the paintings of Vasily Tropinin and Alexey Venetsianov. However, Khudyakov’s portrait lacks the natural simplicity of Venetsianov’s models who are naturally depicted in the rural landscape. The girl looks more like a young lady dressed as a peasant. Her curly auburn hair frames her gentle, pretty face with sad blue eyes. Her head is slightly tilted to the shoulder — this strikes a melancholy note of loneliness in the bosom of nature. The flowers of blue bindweed and pink wild roses are scattered in the girl’s lap — they make a stark contrast with her dark red sundress. The girl’s white blouse with blue, gray and pink shades crowns this colorful image. The light and translucent fabric is conveyed by free brushstrokes, which emphasize the tender purity of the image and the talent of the colorist Vasily Khudyakov.
Vasily Khudyakov studied at the Stroganov School for Technical Drawing, and then at the Moscow School of Painting and Sculpture. It was during that period that the artist painted “Portrait of an Old Man with a Stick” and “The Girl in a Russian Costume” that are on display in the museum. Later Vasily Khudyakov spent four years in Italy, and upon his return he became a professor at the Imperial Academy of Arts. Pavel Tretyakov bought Khudyakov’s painting “Finnish Smugglers” as one of the first — this purchase started the Tretyakov gallery collection.
The image of “The Girl in a Russian costume” against the background of a fictitious landscape resembles the paintings of Vasily Tropinin and Alexey Venetsianov. However, Khudyakov’s portrait lacks the natural simplicity of Venetsianov’s models who are naturally depicted in the rural landscape. The girl looks more like a young lady dressed as a peasant. Her curly auburn hair frames her gentle, pretty face with sad blue eyes. Her head is slightly tilted to the shoulder — this strikes a melancholy note of loneliness in the bosom of nature. The flowers of blue bindweed and pink wild roses are scattered in the girl’s lap — they make a stark contrast with her dark red sundress. The girl’s white blouse with blue, gray and pink shades crowns this colorful image. The light and translucent fabric is conveyed by free brushstrokes, which emphasize the tender purity of the image and the talent of the colorist Vasily Khudyakov.
