The painting “From Apartment to Apartment” by Viktor Vasnetsov is a sad episode from the life of a bourgeois family
From Apartment to Apartment is a painting by Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov, painted in 1876. The author depicted an elderly couple wandering through the unfriendly winter Petersburg. A man leans on a stick with one hand, and supports his wife with the other. At first glance, it is clear that these are people of low income: modest, worn clothes and things that fit into one trunk. And the change of housing is clearly not the first in their lives. By the will of fate, the old people are forced to wander around rented apartments, each time choosing an increasingly cheaper option.
The whole picture is made in gloomy, lead-gray tones. Low stormy sky, yellowish snow. The old broken boat, past which the main characters keep on their way, seems to reflect their same unsightly life.
The name of the painting: “From apartment to apartment.”
Author: Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov (1848-1926).
Year of writing: 1876.
Size: 54 x 67 cm.
Style: Realism.
Genre: Household.
Technique: Oil painting.
Material: Canvas.
Location: State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow.
Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov – a talented Russian artist of the late XIX – early XX centuries
At the beginning of his work, the painter, under the influence of the Wanderers, concentrated on everyday scenes. It is to this period that the painting “From apartment to apartment” belongs. While studying in St. Petersburg, Vasnetsov showed a pencil sketch to his senior colleague Ivan Nikolaevich Kramskoy. He approved the idea, recommending to bring the old people to the fore and remove all unnecessary. A few years later, Vasnetsov realized his plan already in the form of a full-fledged work. The author managed to create very lively and characteristic characters, when looking at them, their history immediately becomes clear.
A petty clerk and his wife, who did not earn any decent living conditions by honest labor. They hold on tightly to each other, knowing full well that no one needs them except themselves. Perhaps even a small dog that faithfully accompanies its owners in endless wanderings. Vasnetsov presented his work at the fifth exhibition of the Wanderers, where she won the most rave reviews from critics. The painting “From Apartment to Apartment” by Viktor Vasnetsov shows the harsh truth of the life of that time and evokes in the viewer an invariable feeling of empathy for the heavy share of the main characters.
