By 1874, Vasily Surikov had received four silver medals from the Academy of Arts and was awarded the right to participate in the competition for the 2nd gold medal. He was looking forward to starting this work. In January he wrote to his family: ‘On March 9, they will define the subject of a picture to compete for the gold medal.’ He submitted to the jury a sketch of this planned competition painting, the subject of the painting was ‘Merciful Samaritan’, the subject was approved, and the young artist began to work on the picture. He was so busy that he did not write home to Krasnoyarsk for several months.

The story of merciful Samaritan is described in the Gospel and Jesus Christ told this story to his pupils.

The artist depicted the moment of the story when the Samaritan, bending over the poor man, is trying to help him. In the distance, you can see the silhouette the Levite walking away. Vasily Surikov used the image of a servant, who was not mentioned in the story. This additional character was needed to create a balanced composition. The artist showed the atmosphere of a hot, lifeless desert with the help of diffused sunlight, soft contours and transparent shadows. This was the first completed large-scale artwork created by Vasily Surikov. For this painting the artist was awarded a small gold medal of the Academy of Arts.

In November 1875, Vasily Surikov graduated from the Academy of Arts and received the title of class artist of the 1st degree. As a sign of his deep gratitude, he presented the picture to the merchant Pyotr Kuznetsov, from Krasnoyarsk. This person was a kind of ‘merciful Samaritan’ for him, he supported the aspiring artist when he decided to move to St. Petersburg and enter the Academy. So the painting moved to Krasnoyarsk.