Mikhail Ivanovich Avilov, one of the greatest battle painters of the 20th century, was born on September 18, 1882, in St. Petersburg. He began to study painting at the age of 11 — first at the Drawing School of the Society for the Encouragement of the Arts, then at the Academy of Arts. He participated in art exhibitions and received the title of artist in 1913.

After the First World War had broken out, the young artist volunteered to go to the front and served the entire war as a private. At the front, Avilov used the moments of calm to draw, and his sketches were published in the magazines of Petrograd. After the Russian Revolution, he spent several years in Siberia teaching, working with publishing houses and theaters, and creating posters. Upon his return to Petrograd, he worked at the arts and industry technical school and was a member of the Artists’ Union of the USSR.

Avilov’s work was dedicated to the history of the Russian people and the Russian Civil War. The artist was always interested in battle themes, as he had specifically attended the class of battle painting, yet his personal experience furthermore intensified his attention to the details of uniforms, weapons, and posture. Avilov built historical subjects as multi-figure compositions with a plot and dynamic action, taking into account the psychology of his characters.

The artist’s paintings are held in private collections and in the collections of the most famous Russian museums, including the Russian Museum and the Tretyakov Gallery.

The Khimki Art Gallery presents a work called “The Troika”. This is a preparatory sketch for a painting, which plot can be attributed to the 19th century. It depicts a late winter evening; the center of the painting shows a festive-looking troika harness with three fast horses that has just come to a stop. The trace horse is still chomping at the bit, pulling the reins. The coachman is trying to restrain the impatient horse, but his attention is drawn to what is happening near the sleigh. A young lady, with a red fur-lined coat thrown over her shoulders, has just got off the cart a moment before. An old servant, bent in an awkward bow, is putting the fur on her coat straight. The lady is headed towards a bright light. And although the sketch does not show the source of the light, one can assume that she is expected at the house with the door left wide open for her. The artist managed to accurately capture the moment when the tranquility of a quiet moonlit night was disturbed by the lady’s arrival.