VIKTOR MIKHAIILOVICH VASNETSOV (1848-1926) Maslenitsa [Shrove Tuesday¬¬]. Peasant with a sledge

signed, titled in Cyrillic and dated in pencil ‘V. Vastets/ Maslenitsa/ 1873’ (lower right), inscription by Ilya Efimovich Repin in Cyrillic ‘Ris. Viktor Vasnetsov… Ilya Repin’ (lower left) pencil on paper 32 x 20.3 cm (à vue) executed in 1873 Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov was a major Russian painter associated with the national romantic movement and Russian Art Nouveau. He is best known for works inspired by history, fairy tales, and Slavic legends, helping to shape a distinctly Russian national imagery. Vasnetsov also created monumental frescoes and decorations, notably in Saint Vladimir’s Cathedral in Kiev. His style, combining realism with epic imagination, had a profound influence on Russian art at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. Vasnetsov studied at the Imperial Academy of Arts in Saint Petersburg from 1868 to 1875. Later, he joined the Peredvizhniki movement, a group of realist painters who rebelled against academic conventions. During this period, Vasnetsov formed a close friendship with Ilya Repin.