The image of a Russian orphan girl, hardworking and kind, simple and modest, excited the artist’s sensitive heart and inspired him to create the painting. However, this picture is not an illustration of a fairy tale. Vasnetsov did not create fairy tale character, but a true image of a poor peasant girl. The painting “Alyonushka” was painted in 1881 and is in the Tretyakov Gallery.
Looking at the painting
- -What do you think Alyonushka is like? Does your idea of Alyonushka differ from the artist’s? (No, the artist probably depicted the heroine at the moment when her brother turned into a little goat. Alyonushka is very sad and sad).
- - What can you say about the title of this picture? (It resembles the Russian folk tale “Sister Alyonushka and Brother Ivanushka”)
- - Right. The concept of the painting is inspired by a Russian folk tale. “I have always lived and live in Russia,” V.M. said about himself. Vasnetsov. The artist spent his childhood among peasants. He knew the life of the people well, so in the film by V.M. Vasnetsov reflected not only the fairy tale, but also reality itself.
Comprehensive analysis of the picture under the guidance of a teacher
What impression does the picture make?
What feelings does it evoke?
Description of Alyonushka
Who do you see in the center of the picture?
Why did Vasnetsov depict Alyonushka in the center, in the foreground of the picture? (The artist wants us to immediately pay attention to her, she - main character in this picture)
Where is Alyonushka? (She sits on a stone by the lake)
Describe the girl's pose. (Alyonushka sits alone by the lake on a gray cold stone, clasped her knees with her hands, bent over, put her head on her clasped hands)
Why did she take this pose? (She looks sadly at the water, thinking about something sad. She became sad, drooped)
What is Alyonushka’s mood? (Sad, bleak, gloomy, dull, joyless, contrite, melancholy, sad, depressed; she thought)
What do you think is the reason for Alyonushka’s sadness? (She has a problem; she is sad about her brother, she has a difficult, joyless fate, she is left alone)
What words can describe Alyonushka’s grief? (great, great, inconsolable)
How did the artist show that she has a bleak fate? (Worn clothes, a torn, dilapidated sundress, an old blue jacket faded with time, no shoes on your feet)
How does Viktor Mikhailovich feel about his heroine? (He loves her, pities her. Her face is shown to be kind and charming. This is a sincere, warm-hearted girl)
With the help of which artistic techniques does the artist draw attention to Alyonushka’s face? (He made it light, but everything around is dark)
Description of nature
What can you say about the nature surrounding Alyonushka?
Describe everything you see in the foreground and background.
What time of year is shown in the picture?
What details indicate this? (Yellow leaves are hidden on the surface of the water, birch trees are strewn with yellow leaves, thin tremulous aspen trees are frozen in silent silence, the gray gloomy dull sky)
Why do you think the artist chose autumn? (Autumn is a sad, sad time of year. Nature fades, dies. This causes sadness.)
The artist shows that nature is sad along with the poor girl.
By what means did the artist show this? (The young thin birch trees became silent. The aspens bent and bowed their branches to the water, and here and there the sedge leaves drooped)
Who else in the picture sympathizes with Alyonushka’s grief? (Birds)
Why do you think so? (If they were having fun, they would fly and frolic, but in the picture they are depicted sitting next to Alyonushka, as if listening to her melancholy, but they can’t do anything)
What colors does the artist use to create a sad, inconsolable mood? (Cold tones, gloomy colors create a sad impression)
Summarize what was said. (Strong student)
The girl’s pose, the expression of her eyes, clothes, the time of year, the dark forest, the gray sky, the cold, joyless tones of the picture evoke a sad, melancholy mood.
Relation to the picture
Express your attitude to the picture, to Alyonushka? (The picture expresses sadness, one wants to feel sorry for the main character, the image of Alyonushka evokes compassion)
What is Vasnetsov’s attitude towards Alyonushka? (He loves his heroine and has compassion for her)
Yes, the artist really loved this image. He tried to excite the viewer with the image of a simple, poor, but charming girl. This picture evokes feelings of excitement and anxiety, compassion and sadness. She leaves no one indifferent and makes us feel sad along with the heroine.
Alyonushka
The creation of the painting “Alyonushka” was completed in 1881. She is one of many famous works author. A famous painting based on the fairy tale about “Sister Alyonushka and Brother Ivanushka.” The work is done in oil. The heroine of the picture was a simple village girl from Akhtyrka.
In the center of the picture we see a young woman on a large stone, beautiful girl who sits with his legs tucked under him. With her head on her knees, a lonely girl looks into a deep lake sad eyes orphan's share. The girl's eyes show pain and sadness. All her thoughts are about brother Ivanushka, who is lost. Although the girl is very young, her look is quite mature. The artist created an accurate psychological picture heroine and managed to make her image understandable.
The girl's clothes are simple and modest, which was typical for simple Christian families. An old black skirt with flowers, a blouse and bare feet indicate that the girl is poor. The dark tones in which the work is done contrast with the blush of a simple girl.
The beginning of autumn is the time of year that is depicted in the picture. This is evidenced by the fallen leaves on the water of a dark and deep lake. The surface of the water is smooth, from which sedge grows. The creator of the picture conveyed the girl’s sadness and pain so realistically. That even nature senses this. Dense and inhospitable forest background, the autumn sky is frowning. The picture creates the feeling that everything around has frozen, not a single branch is moving.
Only a flock of swallows that bring positivity and pleasant feelings.
With the help of paints, the creator achieves the desired impression. The overall tone of the picture is dim, green and gray colors predominate.
The artist tried to understand and express the Russian spirit and he succeeded.
This picture evokes a feeling of pity and sadness in every person.
Essay description of the painting by Alyonushka Vasnetsova
This is not the first time I have come across the painting “Alyonushka” by Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov. I remember this illustration from infancy, when my parents read me fascinating fairy tales and showed me pictures from books. I saw this image at many exhibitions along with works of world significance. The painting “Alyonushka” was a frequent guest in books with Russian fairy tales; it became a real symbol of Russian folk tale.
Such popularity is not particularly surprising, because the canvas was written outstanding master, which definitely deserves such popularity.
Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov, was born on May 15, 1848 in a family with a speaking, ancient Russian surname. Studied at religious school and of course he took drawing lessons, by the way, his younger brother followed in the footsteps of his elder and also became an artist, but did not gain such popularity as Victor. Already in 1893, Vasnetsov became a full member of the Academy of Arts. He made an incomparable contribution to the development of all Russian art, and especially painting, as he was an unsurpassed painter and master of the brush.
The painting “Alyonushka” was created in 1881, but before starting work on the painting, the artist wrote a number of sketches that depicted forest landscapes, and in the final version, it was as if he had combined them together and added a girl. It turned out to be a beautiful, fabulous canvas. In the background you can see a spreading dense forest, which at the same time beckons, but also terrifies with its blackness and impenetrable spruce trees; in the foreground we see a pond on which already yellowed leaves float imposingly, which indicates the approach of autumn.
Giant boulders lie calmly on the coast, and a young girl sits on one of them, she bows her head on her knees and looks at the water with a sad look. What is she thinking about? About your fiance? About brother Ivanushka? Or about the evil Baba Yaga who lies in wait for her? Everyone invents their own story, composes their own fairy tale. You can pay attention to the small birch trees growing on the shore, they say that this is Russian land and only Russian, that Alyonushka is a simple Russian girl with her rich spiritual world.
You can admire this work of art endlessly; in any case, it evokes a lot of thought in both adults and children, and allows you to look behind the scenes famous fairy tales, awaken the dormant Russian spirit within you.
5th grade, 6th grade
Essay on a painting
She is so sad and unhappy! And even so, beautiful.
Alyonushka has red hair. Dark sundress with flowers, White skirt under a sundress and a light jacket. It doesn't look like it was a festive outfit... And in general, the picture doesn't look cheerful at all. The colors are dark, the girl is sad. There is a thicket around her, and she sits above the dark water - above the pool. Sad, thinking all sorts of things.
It’s scary that she’ll throw herself out of sadness into this pool. It would be a pity for her, because she is so beautiful. She should find a guy, and not be so sad here.
She's like a princess in cartoons. But this is the plot of the fairy tale. She is sad because of her stupid brother. He got into another mess, of course, and she had to help him out. I think he drank from a puddle! Well, I drank stupid dirty water(with germs) so I got poisoned. Almost ended up in the hospital! In the fairy tale this is called “became a kid.” And he drank from a puddle, which was shaped like a goat’s hoof print.
By the way, all demons also have goat prints! Not without the tricks of evil spirits here and dark forces. So Alyonushka sits and cries. How can we live with such a brother now? What if someone fries him?!
It's autumn in the picture. Next to the heroine there are even small trees - fir trees and birches. They look a little like her. Autumn on the surface of the water yellow leaves. The sky is gray and rainy. It's about to rain!
Alyonushka wouldn’t sit here, otherwise she’d get wet and get sick. Why cry over such a stupid brother?
When she breaks his spell, and she definitely will, even if she needs to go through a hundred tests, she will also forgive him. This one won't kind girl scold him, but he will regret it. And after that he will never remember his stupid act. And in the end he will hit something again. And she has to pull him out again!
But really, why not take a risk? If your older sister stands up for you, she will get you out of any trouble.
There are birds on a branch above Alyonushka. If only they, like in the cartoon, would tell her how not to be so kind!
Of course, now we need to help our brother out, okay. You can attribute this behavior to his young age. But then let him answer for himself! So that he doesn't grow up to be a kid.
Viktor Vasnetsov - Alyonushka. 1881. Oil on canvas. 173 × 121 cm
State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow
The plot was based on the fairy tale “About Sister Alyonushka and Brother Ivanushka.” Alyonushka, tired of the fruitless search for her brother, sits in a lonely pose on a large stone by a gloomy pond, bowing her head to her knees. Anxious thoughts about brother Ivanushka do not leave her. Alyonushka is grieving - she couldn’t keep track of her brother - and the nature around her is grieving along with her...The artist began work on the painting in 1880. At first he painted landscape sketches on the banks of the Vori in Abramtsevo, near the pond in Akhtyrka. 3 sketches from that time have survived.
Pond in Akhtyrka 1880
Alyonushkin Pond (Pond in Akhtyrka), 1880
Sedge, 1880
In Vasnetsov’s painting Alyonushka, the landscape is very beautifully painted in which Alyonushka is closely interconnected with nature, which is also saddened, like our heroine Alyonushka.
In the picture, not a single fragment distracts the viewer from the main thing, at the same time, every detail of the picture is material for thoughtful reflection.
Victor Vasnetsov. Sketches for the painting “Alyonushka”, 1881
Initially, Vasnetsov called the painting “Fool Alyonushka,” but there is nothing offensive or ironic in the artist’s attitude towards his heroine. The fact is that the word “fool” in those days was used to describe holy fools or orphans. Let's remember the fairy tale - after the death of their parents, Alyonushka and her brother Ivanushka are left alone, and despairing of finding a naughty brother, Alyonushka feels like an orphan, lonely and abandoned.Some critics insisted that it was not fairy tale image, but the embodiment of the orphan lot of poor peasant women that could be found in every village. An old sundress with faded flowers, disheveled hair, and rough bare feet reveal Alyonushka not as an abstract fairy-tale character, but as a very real girl from the people.
The work was completed in the winter of 1881 in Moscow, after which Vasnetsov sent it to the Traveling Exhibition. Critic I. E. Grabar called the picture one of best paintings Russian school.
Vasnetsov himself spoke about his painting like this:“Alyonushka” seemed to have been living in my head for a long time, but I really saw it in Akhtyrka when I met one simple-haired girl who captured my imagination. There was so much melancholy, loneliness and purely Russian sadness in her eyes... Some special Russian spirit wafted from her.
Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov
(1848-1926)
Russian artist-painter and architect, master of historical and folklore painting.
Born on May 15, 1848 in the Russian village of Lopyal, Urzhum district, Vyatka province, in the family of an Orthodox priest Mikhail Vasilyevich Vasnetsov, who belonged to the ancient Vyatka family of Vasnetsov.
At first I was going to follow in my father's footsteps. But in his last year of theological seminary he left his studies and went to St. Petersburg to enter the Academy of Arts.At first, Vasnetsov wrote on everyday subjects. Subsequently, he developed the so-called “Vasnetsov style” - epic-historical at its core with a strong patriotic and religious bias.
Vasnetsov performed in all kinds: he was a historical painter, a religious painter, a portrait painter, a genre painter, a decorator, and a graphic artist. In addition, he was an architect - the church in Abramtsevo, the facade were built according to his designs Tretyakov Gallery, Tsvetkovskaya Gallery and his own house with a workshop in Troitsky Lane.
Viktor Vasnetsov died in Moscow on July 23, 1926, at the age of 79. The artist was buried at the Lazarevskoye cemetery, after the destruction of which the ashes were transferred to the Vvedenskoye cemetery.
Despite the fact that the most popular work Viktor Vasnetsov was written based on a Russian folk tale, painting "Alyonushka" cannot be called a simple illustration. The artist pursued a different goal - not so much to recreate a well-known plot, but to “revive” a fairy-tale character, make the image relatable and understandable, organically fit into surrounding nature, create a psychologically accurate portrait of the heroine.
Vasnetsov admitted to Roerich that “Alyonushka” was his favorite work. He began painting the picture in the summer of 1881 in Akhtyrka, near Abramtsevo - the estate of Savva Mamontov, where they gathered best artists that time. And he finished his work in the winter in Moscow, where the artist often visited musical evenings from the Tretyakovs - perhaps this is one of the reasons that the picture came out so lyrical.
An old sundress with faded flowers, disheveled hair, and rough bare feet reveal Alyonushka not as an abstract fairy-tale character, but as a very real girl from the people. Although many people guessed in her facial features a resemblance to Savva Mamontov’s daughter Vera, the same one who posed for Serov for “Girl with Peaches,” all other details indicate that the prototype of the heroine was a peasant woman. Vasnetsov saw her in Akhtyrka, where he was at that time.
This version is confirmed by the words of the artist himself: “The painting seemed to have been living in my head for a long time, but I really saw it when I met a simple-haired girl. There was so much melancholy, loneliness and purely Russian sadness in her eyes... some special Russian spirit wafted from her.”
Initially, Vasnetsov called the painting “Fool Alyonushka,” but there is nothing offensive or ironic in the artist’s attitude towards his heroine. The fact is that the word “fool” in those days was used to describe holy fools or orphans. Let's remember the fairy tale - after the death of their parents, Alyonushka and her brother Ivanushka are left alone, and despairing of finding a naughty brother, Alyonushka feels like an orphan, lonely and abandoned. Some critics insisted that this was not a fairy-tale image, but the embodiment of the orphan lot of poor peasant women who could be found in every village.
The artist creates the general mood with the help of precise landscape details: the quiet autumn withering of nature, the dark pool at Alyonushka’s feet, muted tones, the gray sky in the clouds, fallen leaves on the shore and in the water seem to emphasize the melancholy and hopelessness on the heroine’s face. At the same time, the landscape cannot be called conventional or abstract - it is the recognizable nature of central Russia.
This was one of the first paintings in the history of Russian painting where a person’s inner experiences were conveyed through a subtly reproduced state of nature. Considering that the picture was created based on a fairy tale, this is quite justified - psychological parallelism is inherent in many works of oral folk art.
What will be the fate of the “girl with peaches”- Vera Mamontova.
“Deep Legends of Antiquity” came to life thanks to the brush of Viktor Vasnetsov. Bogatyrs and princesses went beyond book lines and illustrations. The artist grew up in the wilderness of the Ural forests, listening to Russian fairy tales that sounded accompanied by the crackle of a splinter. And already being in St. Petersburg, I did not forget my childhood memories and transferred those magical stories to canvas. We look at fairy-tale paintings with Natalia Letnikova.
Alyonushka
Barefoot bare-haired girl on the bank of a forest river. With inexpressible sadness he looks into the deep pool. The sad picture is inspired by the fairy tale about sister Alyonushka and brother Ivanushka, and he drew the orphan from a peasant girl from the Okhtyrka estate, adding, as he himself admitted, the features of Verusha Mamontova, the daughter of a famous Moscow philanthropist. Nature echoes the girl’s sadness, intertwining with the poetry of folk tales.
Ivan Tsarevich on the Gray Wolf
Gloomy dark forest. And a gray wolf, quite expected for such a thicket. Only instead of an evil grin the predator has human eyes, and on it there are two riders. Wary Ivanushka carefully holds Elena the Beautiful, submissive to fate. We recognize not only the plot of the Russian fairy tale, but also the image of the girl. The artist endowed fairy-tale heroine with real features - the nieces of Savva Mamontov, Natalya.
V.M. Vasnetsov. Alyonushka. 1881
V.M. Vasnetsov. Ivan Tsarevich on gray wolf. 1889
Bogatyrs
Victor Vasnetsov. Bogatyrs. 1898
One of the most famous paintings Vasnetsov devoted 20 years of his life to Russian painting. “Bogatyrs” also became the artist’s largest painting. The size of the canvas is almost 3 by 4.5 meters. Bogatyrs are a collective image. Ilya, for example, is the peasant Ivan Petrov, and the blacksmith from Abramtsevo, and the cab driver from the Crimean Bridge. The picture is based on the author’s childhood feelings. “And so it appeared before my eyes: hills, space, heroes. A wondrous childhood dream."
Song of Joy and Sorrow
Victor Vasnetsov. Sirin and alkonost. A song of joy and sorrow. 1896
Alkonost and Sirin. Two half-birds with illusory promises of a cloudless paradise in the future and with regrets about the lost paradise. Vasnetsov embellished asexual birds by giving mythical creatures beautiful women's faces and rich crowns. The singing of the Sirin is so sad that the leaves of the century-old tree have turned black; the delight of the alconist can make you forget about everything... if you linger with your gaze on the picture.
Carpet plane
Victor Vasnetsov. Carpet plane. 1880
Painting for Management railway. Not a train or even a postal service. Carpet plane. This is how Viktor Vasnetsov responded to Savva Mamontov’s request to paint a picture for the industrialist’s new project. The fabulous flying machine - a symbol of victory over space - puzzled the board members and inspired the artist himself. Mamontov purchased the painting, and Vasnetsov discovered new world. In which there is no place for routine.
Three princesses of the underworld
Victor Vasnetsov. Three princesses underground kingdom. 1884
Gold, copper and coal. Three riches that are hidden in the depths of the earth. Three fairy princesses- the embodiment of earthly blessings. Proud and arrogant golden, curious copper and timid coal. Princesses are mistresses of mountain mines, accustomed to commanding people. There are two paintings with such a plot at once. On one of them, in the corner, there are figures of two men as supplicants, obsequiously looking into their beautiful, cold faces.
Koschei the Deathless
Victor Vasnetsov. Koschei the Deathless. 1917–1926
Rich mansions with chocolate, red and gold shades. The luxury of brocade and rare types of wood is a worthy frame for heavy treasure chests, and the main treasure that Koschey is not given into his hands is a young beauty. The girl is interested in the sword, which, however, cannot defeat Koshchei. Viktor Vasnetsov spent nine years writing the image of the main fairy-tale villain. Chronologically, the painting was the last for the artist.
