In Russian art, the thematic focus on Sverdlovsk — the Soviet-era name for Yekaterinburg — gained significant momentum in the second half of the 20th century. This interest reflected a broader trend in landscape painting during the 1970s and 1980s, when artists increasingly turned their attention to the modernizing urban environment. Their works often depicted wide avenues, public squares, and parks.
In his painting “The City Rises”, Boris Mikhailovich Vitomsky portrays the rapid expansion and architectural metamorphosis of one of Sverdlovsk’s emerging districts. The artist was born into a working-class family: his father was a blacksmith employed at the local VIZ factory. Vitomsky himself worked at the same plant after completing tenth grade. It is therefore not surprising that the artist depicts his native surroundings. Beyond documenting urban development, Vitomsky masterfully evokes the delicate, luminous atmosphere of a winter evening.
The district depicted in the painting — VIZ — is one of Sverdlovsk’s oldest urban quarters. Originally a separate settlement, it developed around the Verkh-Isetsky factory, founded in 1726. Over time, the modest village of Verkh-Isetsk grew into a substantial industrial community. By the early 19th century, the Verkh-Isetsky Plant had become the administrative and economic center of the surrounding mountain district, prompting the construction of key civic structures: the Assumption Church, the factory manager’s residence, and the administration building. In effect, a fully formed urban enclave emerged.
The settlement was historically divided into two parts: the left-bank and right-bank sections, the latter now corresponding to the modern VIZ district. A stretch of undeveloped land once separated Verkh-Isetsk from Yekaterinburg, traversed by Verkh-Isetsky Boulevard. Along this boulevard stood the Verkh-Isetsky Hospital, which became a defining architectural landmark. By the beginning of the 20th century, a racetrack had been established nearby, further signaling the area’s growing importance as a social and cultural hub. In the 1920s, Verkh-Isetsk was formally incorporated into the expanding city of Sverdlovsk. Then, during the 1960s and 1970s, the district underwent large-scale reconstruction:
Boris Mikhailovich Vitomsky (1918–1975) was one of the most celebrated Soviet masters of the winter landscape. He enrolled at the Sverdlovsk Art College in 1937. His studies were interrupted by the Great Patriotic War; he fought and was wounded in combat. Vitomsky was discharged in 1945 and returned to Sverdlovsk, where he completed his education at the college in 1947. In 1955, he was admitted to the Union of Artists of the USSR.
