2. Alexey Savrasov. The Rooks Are Back Again /1827/.

This oil was on view at the first display arranged by the society for Circulating Art Exhibitions in 1871, and was at once proclaimed to mark the beginning of a new and exciting stage in the development of Russian landscape painting. It helped artists to discover for themselves the simple, unostentatious, but deeply poetical Russian scene. The painting is flooded with soft spring sunlight. The charm of the picture is in the mood rather than in action: the artist has turned an ordinary event into a poetic tale of spring's awakening. One seems to hear the hubbub of the rooks echoing the quiet murmur of the running water. The melting snow is set aglow by reflections from the gold-tinged clouds. The fragrant freshness of a spring day so miraculously captured by the artist invests the scene with inimitable beauty. The harmonious combination of colours and the subtle modulations of tone place this painting among the most delightful works in Russian art.

3. Vasily Surikov. Menshikov in Beriozovo/ 1883/.

The ability to perceive the general in the particular is one of Surikov’s distinguishing traits as a history painter. Menshikov in Beriozovo narrates the fate of the powerful associate of Peter the Great; after the latter’s death Menshikov was sent with his children into distant exile. In this picture the artist makes history come alive in the way he reveals the personal drama of the Menshikov family.

The dramatic conflict is made specially acute by the contraposition of the different characters involved. Melancholy thoughts haunt Menshikov, whose huge frame barely fits into the confined space of the hut. In this tragic image the artist succeeded in conveying a sense of the loss of power. Sorrow and hopelessness pervade the figure of the elder daughter; she shivers and wraps in her fur coat. Least perturbed is Menshikov’s younger daughter, with her golden hair and delicate features, who is reading the Bible.

An extremely gifted colourist, Surikov at the same time brilliantly solves the artistic problems of this composition. The colours in the picture glow like precious stones, blending together to form a magical whole. Nesterov, one of Surikov’s contemporaries, wrote that this picture was the most “ Shekespearean” of all Surikov’s dramatic works, in its depiction of the eternal , the inevitable destinies of men.

4. Konstantin Korovin. Fishes, Wine and Fruits/ 1916/.

A truly versatile master, Konstantin Korovin excelled in the still-life genre, in which his painting proficiency found a particularly striking expression. The sparkling, gem-like colours are a marvellous symphony of yellowish, red and light silvery tones. The spirited, broad and generous strokes of the brush make haste to catch the play of light, which is particularly beautiful on the fishes’ scales and the wine bottle. The composition has all the spontaneity of a sketch. In this piece Korovin’s brushwork is truly brilliant; the colouring is remarkably emotional and the forms are highly expressive.