Russian painter, Apollinary Vasnetsov (1856-1933), was born in Vyatka governorate to Mikhail Vasnetsov who had a philosophical inclination and whose father was an icon painter. Art was not new to the family and Apollinary along with his sibling Victor Vasnetsov where well known for their art. While Victor was strongly associated with mythological and religious subjects, Apollinary became well known for landscapes and moving depiction of medieval Moscow. In 1883 he shifted to Abramstevo with his brother. While both the artists were working there, they got influenced by Vasily Polenov who was associated with Peredvizhniki, a 19th century Russian artist group who broke away from the traiditional constraints imposed by the imperial academy of arts to create a nationalist, socially conscious art style. The Landscapes, one of which we see here, from his body of work are painted from Vasnetsov's experiences of travelling through Europe. We see in this work, a mountainous region with a lake. The use of dark tones of red along with carefully rendered light and shade, gives a misty quality to the scenery. There are a few trees and shrubs in the foreground, realistically depicted. The background with layered ranges of mountain create an expansive feeling and the gradually lightening tones, with purple and blue hues in the distant sky, adds to it.
The art piece conveys the local beauty of the Ural mountains through the intentional use of angle of painter from which he allows the observer to view the beauty of the mountains. The fallen tree as an element allows observer to grasp the depth and span of view of the painting.
