Mikhail Vasilyevich Nesterov went down in the history of Russian art as an artist with unique style and deep philosophical meditations that he translated through his works. The artist’s introspection into the subject of the national religion is reflected in his paintings. Nesterov’s works are always recognizable, we can see his own ‘nesterov’s’ motives in people’s and nature’s depiction, we can distinguish his color scheme.

“Anchoret”, painted by the artist in 1888-1889, was the first work where the artist’s talent and individual style were revealed. It was exhibited during the 17th exhibition of the Society for Travelling Art Exhibitions and was a big event. A young Nesterov was spoken about much. It is interesting that Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov, a man of great feeling for art, had acquired the canvas before the exhibition opening.

One of the most famous artist’s works “The Vision to the Youth Bartholomew” (1889-1890) continues the subject of spiritual quest. For painting it Nesterov borrowed the story from “The Life of St. Sergius of Radonezh” by Epiphanius the Wise. Sergius of Radonezh’s image was the embodiment of moral ideal to the artist. After making this painting Nesterov was invited a lot to decorate the walls of cathedrals. In total he dedicated more than 22 years of his life to monumental church painting and icon painting.

Mikhail Nesterov had an idea to show Christ in real Russian surroundings at the beginning of the 20th century. Many pre-revolutionary artist’s works were dedicated to his thoughts on the future of Russia and Russian people. However, he was only able to realize his project in 1921. Till that moment the October Revolution and the Russian Civil War recalibrated the artist’s life. In 1920 he returned to Moscow from the Caucasus, where he stayed from 1918 till 1920. After the revolution the artist didn’t paint much and mostly worked on the portraits of other artists and scientists. “Anchoret” was an exception. In his letter written in August 10th, 1921 Nesterov told his friend Alexander Andreevich Turygin about the painting, “Its content is as follows: on a summer day, surrounded by the fields, the Anchoret and a peasant walk around and have a discussion. A passerby woman greets an Anchoret with a bow. This is it. The painting is not big, in total around 1,5 arsheens. It is one of the intended series, the smallest one by its size and the contents”.