The art of the Soviet painter Nikolay Pozdneyev is characterized by the interest in depicting simple life in the countryside.

The future artist was born into a Leningrad family of teachers in 1930. His father came from a dynasty of clergy. After returning from evacuation in 1944, Nikolay Matveyevich Pozdneyev enrolled at the Secondary Art School of the Academy of Arts.

In 1950, he entered the painting department of the Academy of Arts. In 1956, he graduated and received the title of artist. He studied in the studio of Viktor Mikhailovich Oreshnikov, a Soviet painter, teacher, portraitist, and People’s Artist of the USSR.

At the beginning of his career, Nikolay Pozdneyev quickly became one of the leading artists in Leningrad. He worked in various genres, experimenting to find his own style.

According to contemporaries, the rapid development of Pozdneyev’s talent was promoted by his first visits to Akademicheskaya Dacha (the creative base of Russian artists) and the circle of artists he communicated with. The painter traveled to the Urals and Vyatka regions, working in the boarding houses for artists.

He was most closely connected with the vicinity of Vyshny Volochyok, particularly with the village of Maly Gorodok, near Akademicheskaya Dacha, where the family of his wife, Vera Vasilyevna, lived. The artist spent a lot of time there and gained insight into the rural way of life.

The genre of rural life took a prominent place in Nikolay Pozdneyev’s work. For the first time, he turned to this subject while he was still a student at the Academy. He selected this motif for his graduation project.

The Pskov Museum Reserve houses the painting “Walking Home from School” with a simple and straightforward composition.

A group of schoolchildren walks from the back of the painting to its front part. In the background, rural houses can be seen. The painting was created using energetic brushstrokes and the impasto technique. The work by Nikolay Pozdneyev received the highest score from the Academy Council members.