‘On the Volga’ was created by Alexey Savrasov during the most prominent period of his artistic career. It was painted four years after the world-famous emblematic painting ‘The Rooks Have Come Back’. By then, Savrasov had fully discovered the muted beauty of Russian landscapes. The artist used to work near Moscow until the early 1870s when he started to spend more time in the regions: the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius, the Oka river, but most often the Volga region — Yaroslavl, the outskirts of Kostroma, and Nizhny Novgorod.
In most of his paintings of the Volga, Alexey Savrasov combined landscape with genre scenes. Genre painting refers to everyday scenes in which artists reflect their contemporaries’ usual routine; genre painters of the 19th century preferred to depict the labor of peasants and workmen, common activities in shops, queues at chancelleries, and yardmen in courtyards. In this picture, Alexey Savrasov paid attention to the typical Volga workers — barge haulers pulling a barge against the river current. In this particular case, the hard work is done by women.
The artist completed the genre scene with a suspenseful pre-storm landscape. The sky is the main subject of the picture: the leaden storm clouds spread to the horizon together with the light clouds, brightly illuminated by the setting sun. By using complex contrasts of natural phenomena, Alexey Savrasov seemed to emphasize how intricate a human life can be. The thunderous landscape symbolizes a hidden protest against the social oppression forcing people to work hard for a low fee.
Alexey Savrasov was one of the first artists to appreciate the genuine beauty of provincial landscapes with their puddles on the roads, spring thawed patches and the all-embracing sky. Once, in a fit of temper, he chided his students:
In most of his paintings of the Volga, Alexey Savrasov combined landscape with genre scenes. Genre painting refers to everyday scenes in which artists reflect their contemporaries’ usual routine; genre painters of the 19th century preferred to depict the labor of peasants and workmen, common activities in shops, queues at chancelleries, and yardmen in courtyards. In this picture, Alexey Savrasov paid attention to the typical Volga workers — barge haulers pulling a barge against the river current. In this particular case, the hard work is done by women.
The artist completed the genre scene with a suspenseful pre-storm landscape. The sky is the main subject of the picture: the leaden storm clouds spread to the horizon together with the light clouds, brightly illuminated by the setting sun. By using complex contrasts of natural phenomena, Alexey Savrasov seemed to emphasize how intricate a human life can be. The thunderous landscape symbolizes a hidden protest against the social oppression forcing people to work hard for a low fee.
Alexey Savrasov was one of the first artists to appreciate the genuine beauty of provincial landscapes with their puddles on the roads, spring thawed patches and the all-embracing sky. Once, in a fit of temper, he chided his students:
