Yevgeny Ryabinsky is famous for his thematic and genre paintings, inspired poetic landscapes, heartfelt portraits and colourful still life work. What unites most of Ryabinsky’s works is his touching and sincere love for Tambov Region, to which his entire life is connected.

Ryabinsky was born in Tambov Region. It was here where he created most of his works. And it was here where he became a member of the Tambov Organization of the Union of Artists of Russia, where he was repeatedly elected Chairman of the Board. During the final years of his life, the artist set up a creative workshop in the village of Kulevatovo, Tambov Region. Ryabinsky was awarded the title of Honorary Citizen of Tambov for his services to the city.

Ryabinsky studied art in Moscow. He initially studied at the Moscow Institute of Applied and Decorative Art, but a few years later he transferred and eventually graduated from the V. Surikov Moscow State Academy Art Institute. After graduation, however, Ryabinsky decided to continue his creative career in his native Tambov Region. He was one of those artists who was not afraid to return to the provinces after earning his university degree to capture nature and the life of the Russian village in his works.

When viewing the painting Village Fence in Winter, you cannot help but feel the calm and contemplative mood of the artist, the warmth and honesty with which he depicts his subject. His treatment of colours, his choice of painting style, even the plots of his pictures contain traces of the art of the Peredvizhniki (Itinerants) artists, who allowed themselves to depart from the strict academic manner of painting and pre-defined topics. They painted landscapes, often from nature, using free lines and bold strokes to capture the beauty and variability of nature. Village Fence in Winter is just like that: it is realistic but does not look like a frozen photograph. It conveys the mood, the distinctiveness of nature in the winter. You can almost feel the air in the picture. This is achieved through the lively, somewhat uneven lines of the fence and the snow-covered trees in the background, the multidirectional strokes of snow, and the play of colours created by the skilful choice of shades. The artist avoids using pure white paint: even for snow, he prefers silver-grey and pastel-blue shades.

Silence, peace and tranquillity fill the picture, in which the picturesque language reveals the state of nature in the early evening.