View of the Volga. Barques.

Fyodor Vasilyev’s View of the Volga. Barques (1870) is one of a kind examples of the nineteenth-century Russian landscape painting, where nature takes the leading role and actively engages the viewers in the emotional experience. It was created during the artist’s trip down the Volga River with Ilya Repin and Yevgeny Makarov in 1870, a period that also marked critical changes in the Russian art realm. Painters started to get more and more interested in depicting every day-life scenes and ordinary landscapes instead of classical traditionalism. Vasilyev’s picture is full of contrast as the tall masts throw sharp shadows down the river, while the dark clouds in the sky create a clear contrast against the light fluffy wisps. This choice of the composition, along with the use of low horizon line which gives ample space to the sky, makes the atmosphere of the work even more prominent. Thus, the painter makes the landscape the real protagonist of the picture, attracting attention away from the small figures of the people down the shore. This downplays the role of man, which can be considered typical for the realism period. At that, the cargo boats depicted in the picture make it impossible to see the scenery as only the river. In fact, the way the boats are incorporated into the composition represents the general concept of the work, which is a rural impression. According to the Russian Museum, Vasilyev aimed to paint the “state and life of nature” as opposed to solely illustrative intentions. The painter managed to combine two approaches – the realistic one and the romantic one – resulting in a work that has both the socially important theme and the atmosphere of a lyrical piece. This makes View of the Volga. Barques one of the central works of Russian landscape painting of the period, depicting the local scenery as well as the spirit of the times. The working river is transformed into a lyrical symbol of the nineteenth-century Russia.