In order to better imagine how Maslenitsa was celebrated, we suggest viewing a selection of paintings famous paintings on the theme of Maslenitsa festivities. These pictures can be used by educators and teachers as visual material when conducting thematic classes about Maslenitsa.
V.I. Surikov "Taking the Snowy City"
Surikov depicted an ancient Cossack game, which has long been organized in Siberia on Maslenitsa.
Pieter Bruegel "The Battle of Maslenitsa and Lent" (1559)
On the last day of the carnival, a comic battle between Maslenitsa and Lent was held in Dutch cities and villages. They prepared for the street performance in advance, sewed costumes, organized rehearsals, and prepared food. In the painting in the center of the square, a comic battle flares up between the Maslenitsa retinue and the Lent fans. Maslenitsa, a pot-bellied fat man in a cap, sits on big barrel from under the wine. He holds in front of him a spit with a pig's head and a chicken skewered on it. The embodiment of Lent is a thin man in a robe. He extends his weapon towards Maslenitsa - a shovel on a long handle, on which two herrings lie lonely.
Boris Kustodiev "Maslenitsa" (1919)
Between 1916 and 1920 Kustodiev addressed the topic of Maslenitsa several times.
Boris Kustodiev "Winter" 1916
Variant of the painting "Maslenitsa"
Boris Kustodiev "Maslenitsa" 1916
Boris Kustodiev "Maslenitsa" 1920
Boris Kustodiev "Maslenitsa" 1920
Boris Kustodiev "Village Maslenitsa (Harmonist)" 1916
Boris Kustodiev "Maslenitsa" 1919
The “Maslenitsa” shown here is very typical of Kustodiev’s work. Created in 1919, during the civil war, famine, devastation, the picture is imbued with faith in the immortality of Russia, its people, holidays, and history. In it, the artist takes viewers into a world of light, joy, and prosperity, where people are happy with life: elegant troikas and light sleds rush through the streets, diving on slopes, frost and garlands of multi-colored balls sparkle under the sun, colored flags flutter on carousels and booths. Where this holiday is, in which city of Russia is unknown. Yes, it doesn’t matter. This is the image of Russia as the great artist saw it
N. Serracapriola "Rolling Mountains on the Big Neva" 1817
Colorized engraving
Surikov depicted an ancient Cossack game, which has long been organized in Siberia on Maslenitsa.
Pieter Bruegel "The Battle of Maslenitsa and Lent" (1559)
On the last day of the carnival, a comic battle between Maslenitsa and Lent was held in Dutch cities and villages. They prepared for the street performance in advance, sewed costumes, organized rehearsals, and prepared food. In the painting in the center of the square, a comic battle flares up between the Maslenitsa retinue and the Lent fans. Maslenitsa, a pot-bellied fat man in a cap, sits on a large wine barrel. He holds in front of him a spit with a pig's head and a chicken skewered on it. The embodiment of Lent is a thin man in a robe. He extends his weapon towards Maslenitsa - a shovel on a long handle, on which two herrings lie lonely.
Boris Kustodiev "Maslenitsa" (1919)
Between 1916 and 1920 Kustodiev addressed the topic of Maslenitsa several times.
Boris Kustodiev "Winter" 1916
Variant of the painting "Maslenitsa"
Boris Kustodiev "Maslenitsa" 1916
Variant of the painting
Boris Kustodiev "Maslenitsa" 1920
Boris Kustodiev "Village Maslenitsa (Harmonist)" 1916
Boris Kustodiev "Maslenitsa" 1919
The “Maslenitsa” shown here is very typical of Kustodiev’s work. Created in 1919, during the civil war, famine, devastation, the picture is imbued with faith in the immortality of Russia, its people, holidays, and history. In it, the artist takes viewers into a world of light, joy, and prosperity, where people are happy with life: elegant troikas and light sleds rush through the streets, diving on slopes, frost and garlands of multi-colored balls sparkle under the sun, colored flags flutter on carousels and booths. Where this holiday is, in which city of Russia is unknown. Yes, it doesn’t matter. This is the image of Russia as the great artist saw it.
N. Serracapriola "Rolling Mountains on the Big Neva" 1817
Colorized engraving
A.M. sign "Farewell to winter in old Krasnoyarsk" 1996
Pyotr Nikolaevich Gruzinsky "Maslenitsa" 1889
Semyon Kozhin "Maslenitsa. Farewell." Russia 17th century
Rudolf Fedorovich Frenz "Maslenitsa", 1903
Anna Vinogradova "Maslenitsa" 2005
Valentin Belykh "Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. Maslenitsa" 1908
Valery Syrov "Maslenitsa" 1998-1999
K. E. Makovsky "People's festivities during Maslenitsa on Admiralty Square in St. Petersburg" 1869
Shelyakin Anatoly Nikolaevich "Maslenitsa" 2001
Anna Cherkashina "Maslenitsa" 2002
N. Fetisov "Wide Maslenitsa" 1990
In order to better imagine how Maslenitsa was celebrated, we suggest viewing a selection of paintings famous artists on the theme of Maslenitsa festivities. These pictures can be used by educators and teachers as visual material when conducting thematic classes about Maslenitsa.
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View Maslenitsa in paintings by Russian artists:
V.I. Surikov "Taking the Snowy City"
Surikov depicted an ancient Cossack game, which has long been organized in Siberia on Maslenitsa.
Pieter Bruegel "The Battle of Maslenitsa and Lent" (1559)
On the last day of the carnival, a comic battle between Maslenitsa and Lent was held in Dutch cities and villages. They prepared for the street performance in advance, sewed costumes, organized rehearsals, and prepared food. In the painting in the center of the square, a comic battle flares up between the Maslenitsa retinue and the Lent fans. Maslenitsa, a pot-bellied fat man in a cap, sits on a large wine barrel. He holds in front of him a spit with a pig's head and a chicken skewered on it. The embodiment of Lent is a thin man in a robe. He extends his weapon towards Maslenitsa - a shovel on a long handle, on which two herrings lie lonely.
Boris Kustodiev "Maslenitsa" (1919)
Between 1916 and 1920 Kustodiev addressed the topic of Maslenitsa several times.
Boris Kustodiev "Winter" 1916
Variant of the painting "Maslenitsa"
Boris Kustodiev "Maslenitsa" 1916
Variant of the painting
Boris Kustodiev "Maslenitsa" 1920
Boris Kustodiev "Village Maslenitsa (Harmonist)" 1916
Boris Kustodiev "Maslenitsa" 1919
The “Maslenitsa” shown here is very typical of Kustodiev’s work. Created in 1919, during the civil war, famine, devastation, the picture is imbued with faith in the immortality of Russia, its people, holidays, and history. In it, the artist takes viewers into a world of light, joy, and prosperity, where people are happy with life: elegant troikas and light sleds rush through the streets, diving on slopes, frost and garlands of multi-colored balls sparkle under the sun, colored flags flutter on carousels and booths. Where this holiday is, in which city of Russia is unknown. Yes, it doesn’t matter. This is the image of Russia as the great artist saw it.
N. Serracapriola "Rolling Mountains on the Big Neva" 1817
Colorized engraving
A.M. sign "Farewell to winter in old Krasnoyarsk" 1996
Pyotr Nikolaevich Gruzinsky "Maslenitsa" 1889
Semyon Kozhin "Maslenitsa. Farewell." Russia 17th century
Rudolf Fedorovich Frenz "Maslenitsa", 1903
Anna Vinogradova "Maslenitsa" 2005
Valentin Belykh "Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. Maslenitsa" 1908
Valery Syrov "Maslenitsa" 1998-1999
K. E. Makovsky "People's festivities during Maslenitsa on Admiralty Square in St. Petersburg" 1869
Since ancient times, the Sun Festival has been rushing to us.
He is one of the earliest to look out the windows on a spring day.
This is Maslenitsa rushing along the streets of our loved ones.
The whole village drinks, walks, eats pancakes in a large piece:
With sour cream and nardek, with fish, meat and caviar...
Poems: Iraida Mordvina
Yuri Vereshchagin. Big Maslenitsa
Maslenitsa week has arrived - another great occasion
for fun, walks, meetings with family and friends!
Maslenitsa is an original Russian holiday, preserved since pagan times. 
Boris Mikhailovich Kustodiev. Maslenitsa (Maslenitsa skating). 1919
Maslenitsa festivities begin 8 days before Lent and mark the end of winter. In the old days, this week was literally overflowing with festive activities.
Sergey Yurievich Sudeikin. Maslenitsa Parsley
Ritual and non-ritual activities, traditional games and activities filled all the days to capacity.
Petr Nikolaevich Gruzinsky. Maslenitsa. 1889
There was enough strength, energy, and enthusiasm for everything, since the atmosphere of liberation, general joy and fun reigned.
Konstantin Egorovich Makovsky
Folk festivities during Maslenitsa on Admiralteyskaya Square in St. Petersburg. 1869
Of course, this festive fun, imbued with the Russian spirit and national flavor, could not help but be reflected in the works of Russian artists. Boris Kustodiev addressed the topic of Maslenitsa several times.
Boris Mikhailovich Kustodiev. Winter. Maslenitsa festivities. 1919
Maslenitsa is represented in his different options, but with the same degree of talent and accurate transmission of the unique flavor of the festival.
Boris Mikhailovich Kustodiev. Winter. Variant of the painting “Maslenitsa”. 1916
Korabelnikov Alexey. Pancakes with caviar
And even today, this wonderful, bright and colorful holiday does not escape the attention of artists.
Shibanov Evgeniy Nikolaevich
Yugova Lyudmila. Pancake still life...
Interesting paintings from the “Pskov Maslenitsa” series by Igor Shaimardanov, the main artist of the “Young Man” theater in Izhevsk.
“I often visited Pskov Maslenitsa: both on Oktyabrskaya Square and in the Finnish Park. Everyone was remembered for something: there was a holiday and fun. The crowd scenes were inspiring.
This theme is inexhaustible and fertile for a narrative figurative artist. Theater artist, it seems to me that the director is always a little...
And since he does not dare to take on productions, he finds an outlet for himself on canvas. That’s where he moves the masses as he wants. Such a “Pskov Maslenitsa”...
Pskov deserves such a feature even in the sense of its geographical location: nearby foreign neighbors, Moscow, St. Petersburg. These days, as you know, carnival celebrations take place throughout Europe.
How great it would be if Pskov joined this string of traditions with Maslenitsa and was on par with the most famous world festivals.”
Igor Shaimardanov
Studying artistic canvases, we are faced with a rare phenomenon: different Russian artists have a painting of “Maslenitsa”.
V. Syrov. Fair in Zdemirovo. 1998-1999
Alexander Nikolaevich Benois. Maslenitsa. XX century
Peter Frolov. Maslenitsa. 2010s
Pavel Nikolaevich Filonov. Maslenitsa
Frans Hals. Merry people at Maslenitsa. 1617
The Maslenitsa holiday seems to have been honored at all times. In the paintings of the old masters we see the plot of this action.
Pieter Bruegel the Elder. Battle of Lent and Maslenitsa. 1559
On the last day of the carnival, a comic battle between Maslenitsa and Lent was held in Dutch cities and villages. They prepared for the street performance in advance, sewed costumes, organized rehearsals, and prepared food. In the painting in the center of the square, a comic battle flares up between the Maslenitsa retinue and the Lent fans.
Pieter Bruegel the Elder. Battle of Lent and Maslenitsa. Fragment. 1559
Maslenitsa, a pot-bellied fat man in a cap, sits on a large wine barrel. He holds in front of him a spit with a pig's head and a chicken skewered on it. The embodiment of Lent is a thin man in a robe. He extends his weapon towards Maslenitsa - a shovel on a long handle, on which two herrings lie lonely.
Egorova Galina. Maslenitsa.
As you can see, the Maslenitsa artists’ paintings are varied in genre and execution.
Anna Cherkashina. Maslenitsa. 2002
Bagrov Viktor Yurievich. Pancakes.
Landscapes and still lifes, portrait sketches, stylization folk print in the works of masters of Russian painting they not only reveal certain aspects of the culture, life and beliefs of their ancestors, but also bring the past closer, making it understandable and familiar.
Boris Mikhailovich Kustodiev. Maslenitsa. 1919
Art, like a time machine, takes us from one era to another,
not allowing you to lose touch with your roots and making you once again feel your blood connection with all of humanity.
Pankratieva Valentina. Lace Maslenitsa
May Maslenitsa come to your house with a delicious pancake,
The sun will take over the room and light a spark of happiness.
Sochivko Sergey. Maslenitsa
This holiday foreshadows everyone who is seeing off the winter,
That fun awaits you, that luck is only to come!
Andreeva Maria (shambala)
This year Maslenitsa fell on last week February, from the 20th to the 26th. It has long been customary in Rus' to celebrate this holiday widely and on a grand scale. Festivities lasted the whole week and were accompanied by numerous games and fun. Wall-to-wall fist fights, taking over a snowy town, triple-skiing and sledding, etc. Paintings by famous Russian artists allow you to imagine how the celebration of Maslenitsa took place more than a century ago.
"Taking the Snow Town" is one of the most famous works V. Surikov, which depicts an ancient folk pastime: on the ice of the river, a fortress with towers and gates was built from snow, the participants were divided into defenders and attackers. They fought back with snowballs, twigs and brooms. The winner, who was the first to break into the fortress, faced a test - swimming in an ice hole. This ancient Cossack game has long been played in Siberia on Maslenitsa.
Troika and sleigh rides are another favorite pastime of the people during Maslenitsa week. B. Kustodiev dedicated several of his paintings to this topic. Modern critics call the indisputable advantage of Kustodiev’s works the elegant combination of the principles of popular prints and Venetian painting of the Renaissance. But the artist’s contemporaries considered this a drawback: the purchase of “Maslenitsa” (1916) by the Academy of Arts was accompanied by a scandal - some members of the council spoke out against the acquisition of this “popular print that has nothing to do with art.”
Kustodiev explained his chosen style of writing as follows: “I consider diversity and brightness to be very typical of Russian life.” Painted sleighs, dashing troikas, folk theaters and booths, multi-colored carousels are the constant attributes of Kustodiev’s Maslenitsa. Village women in bright scarves and skirts, accordion players, hawkers, merchants and merchant women are regular participants in the holiday and characters in its paintings.
Kustodiev’s paintings were created during a difficult period both for the country and for the artist himself - 1916-1920, the time of revolution and Civil War. Kustodiev was seriously ill, he painted these paintings in wheelchair, overcoming the pain. The artist recreates the scenes of cheerful folk holidays from memory, as if contrasting them with troubles, bloodshed and disease.
P. Gruzinsky. Maslenitsa, 1
The same plot - riding in troikas along snow-covered village streets - was depicted in the painting “Maslenitsa” by P. Gruzinsky. The paintings of V. Belykh and A. Stepanov are devoted to the same topic. And L. Solomatkin wrote a scene of skating on an ice slide. To build a slide, they rolled snowballs and piled them up, compacted the snow, and then filled the pile with cold water.
Another tradition that has existed in Rus' since ancient times is hand-to-hand combat. Wall-to-wall fist fights were a popular pastime during Maslenitsa - before Lent, people wanted to not only get plenty of drink and food, but also to give free rein to their fists. This was an imitation of a battle between two enemy units on a real battlefield. Spectators gathered at the site of the skirmishes, and with them - peddlers with goods and beaters with hot mead and beer. The battle opened with “bullying,” “flirting,” and “touching,” which often lasted more than an hour: the opponents were getting ready for a fight, shouting battle cries and taunting their opponent. In Moscow, battles took place on the ice-covered Moscow River near the Babyegorodskaya dam, at the Simonov and Novodevichy monasteries and on the Sparrow Hills, in St. Petersburg - on the ice of the Neva and Fontanka.
