Viktor Vasnetsov
Bogatyrs
1898
Viktor Vasnetsov's 'Bogatyrs' (1881–1898) is a three-metre-tall national epic in oil, painted over seventeen years by the Russian master of folk-romantic revivalism. It portrays three legendary knights of Russian oral epic — Ilya Muromets at the centre, Dobrynya Nikitich at the left, and Alyosha Popovich at the right — mounted and pausing at the edge of the steppe, on lookout for the enemy of Holy Rus'. A foundational image of modern Russian national identity, the painting has hung since its completion in the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow, where it is one of the most visited works.
Exhibition Venue
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Image source: Wikimedia Commons