Popov focused on stories that exposed acute social issues, inter alia, because of his own deprived childhood and youth. He was born into a poor peasant family, earned his own money for his studies in St. Petersburg. Out of dire need, he lived just on boiled potatoes for months, and was compelled to apply for free studies at the Painting School of the Imperial Society for the Encouragement of Arts. In 1903, he became a full member of the Itinerants Association that brought together artists interested in social issues.

Popov did not always use light to create dramatic tension, but he used it often to convey a special mood. In his painting “Writing a Letter”, which he created in the late 1890s – early 1900s, the dim light of the oil lamp implies intimate and personal nature of the message being written. In his canvas entitled “The Cellist”, an invisible light source focuses the viewer’s attention on the graceful shape of the musical instrument.