One of the best works of the late Wanderer Vasily Maximov. In his work, he invariably relied on two pillars – genre and authenticity. The genre painter, as art critics call him, was also true to himself in this picture.
So what do we see? Due to exceptional authenticity, realism and carefully written images and emotions, the whole scene as if comes to life before our eyes, the characters acquire volumes, all the events slowly, but dynamically unfold before our eyes.
In the midst of a cheerful wedding feast, at the modern look, of course, a rustic, but rich in its authenticity, a sorcerer appears at the door of the house. An ancient grandfather in a snow-covered sheepskin causes in all the gathered neighbors and relatives of young people, frozen under images, a whole gamut of emotions – someone is taken aback, someone has confusion, someone has a poorly hidden concern. It is very difficult for today’s audience to understand why the rural wedding was so alarmed?
The fact is that the arrival of the sorcerer could promise, as well as happiness, and grief – no one knows whether the wise old man promises a long carefree life to the young or predicts difficult trials, or even worse, jinx or ail “speak”? That is why the musician threw a balalaika, a girlfriend whispers about something alarming, the young woman looks at the door with anxiety, and the parents of the young rush to appease the old man, welcoming him with bread and salt.
The artist’s brush wrote out each image separately, harmoniously putting together so many figures in a picture, embraced with one mood, which unfold a whole autobiographical story in front of us.
This picture today can be seen in the Tretyakov Gallery, like many years ago, it forces us to stop, look at the agitated faces, and understand the cause of this concern, and, of course, admire the skill of the author who made his images live on the canvas.
(3 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5)