To impart stately slenderness to them, Savrasov used canvas of elongated shape and contrasting combinations of light, shadows and sizes of trees and shrubs.

It was not the first painting where Savrasov pictured Sokolniki landscapes: in 1870, he was awarded first prize of Moscow Art Lovers Society for his painting ‘Elk Island in Sokolniki’. Entrepreneur and philanthropist Pavel Tretyakov was so impressed by the painting that he immediately bought it for his personal collection. However, the painting did have a chance to travel: in 1871, it was displayed at the first itinerant exhibition, and two years later, at Petersburg Academy of Arts.

Although Savrasov is considered to be one of the most prominent Russian landscape painters, chances were that he might not have become an artist. His father, Kondraty Savrasov, a 3rd guild merchant, wanted his son to engage in commercial matters.

Against his father’s will, Alexey Savrasov entered Moscow School of Painting and Sculpture in 1844, and as early as in 1851, he completed “View of the Kremlin from Krymsky Bridge in Inclement Weather”, the painting that won him his first fame.

Around the same time, life took a tragic turn for the artist’s family with the death of his fourth daughter, who was just a baby. There were other difficulties that plagued Savrasov. He was ordered to vacate his official quarters provided by Moscow Art School, as its management was unhappy with the artist deviating from teaching standards and giving his students too much freedom in their creative work. In 1876, his wife Sophia Hertz left him and moved with their daughters to Petersburg.

He died in 1897 at the age of 67 in the hospital for paupers in Khitrovskaya Square. The only two people who attended his funeral were Tretyakov and his favourite student Isaac Levitan, who, like Savrasov, is considered to be one of the most famous Russian landscape painters.