This winter landscape was painted according to the traditions of academic art. The clear distinction between the areas of the perspective as well as the subdued colors palette enhance the perception of the sublime austere nature. The winter city is rendered from the side of the left bank. In the 19th century, people crossed the Angara by boat or ferry. The Moscow roadway reached the left bank of the Irkut, to the place where the river joins the Angara. A wooden bridge spans the small channel — the starting point of the crossing. Carts carrying passengers and luggage, as well as walking travelers, rode a ferry to the opposite bank of the Angara, where Moscow Street started — today, it is called Dekabr’skikh Sobytiy street. A triumphal arch, called the Moscow Gate, was erected there. The gates were at the exit from Irkutsk and marked the Moscow roadway that led in the direction of the European part of Russia.

The picture was painted by Nikolai Dobrovolsky, a graduate of the Imperial Academy of Arts. Born in the Tambov governorate, Dobrovolsky graduated from the First Moscow Cadet Corps and served in the Starodubovsky dragoon regiment until 1863. Before becoming a painter, he studied a lot: he took classes in private studios, spent several years studying photography. At the age of 37, Dobrovolsky became a non-matriculated student at the Imperial Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg. Two of his paintings — “The Bay of Kiel” and “In Tow” earned him the title of the 1st-degree class artist, which was awarded to the holders of the gold medal.

The search for new ideas made Dobrovolsky one of the first artists from the capital to go beyond the Urals, to the far off Siberia. He chose to stay in Irkutsk, where he worked throughout 1886. In Irkutsk, the painter created a series of landscapes depicting the city and the harsh environment. In the same year, he organized a solo exhibition with the help of his new acquaintance Vladimir Sukachev, the mayor of Irkutsk and the owner of an art gallery. While the wealthy Irkutsk public bought some of the paintings immediately, the other canvases were taken by the artist back to the capital, where they ended up in the private collections of art lovers. Dobrovolsky sold two paintings to Vladimir Sukachev — “The Angara at Night” and “The Irkut Near Shimki”. Later, Sukachev’s extensive collection formed the basis of the displays at the Irkutsk Art Museum.

The painting ‘Crossing of the Angara in Irkutsk’ by Nikolai Dobrovolsky entered the museum collection in 1969. It was donated from a private collection of the Ministry of Culture of the RSFSR.