The Snow Maiden in the spring in Vasnetsov’s museum 1895. Vasnetsov’s painting “The Snow Maiden” is the embodiment of the spiritual beauty of the Russian people

  1. V.M. Vasnetsov is a fabulous painter.
  2. Foreground:
    • frosty night;
    • Snow Maiden girl;
    • Snow Maiden outfit;
    • description of the clearing;
  3. Background (dense forest, village);
  4. My attitude to the picture.

Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov is an amazing Russian painter. He was very fascinated by the theme of Russian fairy tales. That's why he wrote so much wonderful paintings on fairy tales. "The Snow Maiden" is one of them.

The painting depicts a snowy winter. Clear, frosty night. The edge of a dark, dense forest. The moon illuminates the snowdrifts with its cold whitish light. In the deep, dark sky, bright rare stars shine like diamonds.

A girl ran out of the thicket of the forest into a clearing filled with silvery light, leaving small footprints in the soft, fluffy snow. Her face is as pale as pure snow. She has expressive dark eyes, thin scarlet lips. It’s surprising that she wanders through the forest at night all alone. But she's not afraid. She knows every forest path here, every tree, because this is fairy-tale Snow Maiden, granddaughter of Grandfather Frost.

Not afraid of the cold, she ran out to the forest edge and froze for a minute, peering into the distance and as if listening to something. Maybe she's been waiting for her friend Blizzard? But she is delayed for some reason, because the night is quiet, clear, calm. Or maybe she sneaked away from her icy house and, taking advantage of the cover of darkness, decided to get to the nearest village and look behind the wooden shutters, look at the evening life ordinary people?
Painting of the Snow Maiden by Vasnetsov

The Snow Maiden is wearing a beautiful winter outfit: a long, warm, fluffy brocade fur coat, a round hat with white fur trim, and warm mittens embroidered with a colored pattern. The brocade on the fur coat and hat is embroidered with amazing patterns - either lace snowflakes or strawberries. The sleeves and hem of the fur coat are trimmed with hare fur. The same fur collar is raised up to keep out the cold and snowflakes.

In the radiant light, as if alive, small dark green Christmas trees, requested by snow, tremble from the frost. A young thin birch tree trembles from the cold. A fox recently left its footprints on a white snowy tablecloth. They have not yet been swept away, and they are clearly visible - a thin thread of footprints from small paws. Nobody here. There is peace and quiet all around. Everything froze in anticipation of miracles.

In the background, the forest stands like an impenetrable wall, casting huge dark shadows onto the clearing. And in the distance, like fireflies, they flicker in village huts rare yellow lights.

Vasnetsov was fascinated by Russian fairy tales; they warmed his soul with their magic and poetry. In this painting the artist reflected lyricism and beauty native nature. I really like this picture. It conveys the feeling of an approaching miracle. It seems that the fairy tale has come to life, looked at us for a moment and will soon, with quiet, quiet steps, go back into dark forest.

Cool! 5

announcement:

The essay presents an analysis of Vasnetsov’s painting “The Snow Maiden”: the plans of the canvas are described, the artist’s choice of color is explained, and an evaluative opinion is expressed on behalf of the writer.

composition:

Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov is a famous Russian artist. Many of his paintings are familiar to me early childhood. After all, they were used as illustrations for my favorite fairy tales and epics. Thanks to his works, the images of Ivan Tsarevich, Vasilisa the Beautiful, Ilya Muromets, Dobrynya Nikitich and Alyosha Popovich came to life before my eyes.

Having become an artist, Vasnetsov decided to turn to folk art, To epic stories. When creating each of his creations, the artist turned to the text folklore work, trying to convey as accurately as possible my feelings from what I read. Gradually his paintings became an independent national painting. Vasnetsov is a true Russian artist who loved the culture of his homeland and infected his admirers with this feeling.

My favorite work by Vasnetsov is the painting “The Snow Maiden”, created in 1899. It was written specifically for the scenery of Ostrovsky's play.

According to legend, Snegurochka is a girl born to Frost and Spring. She is meek, pure, like freshly fallen snow. She has never loved and wants to find out what it is. But just as the Snow Maiden’s heart was ready to reveal this secret feeling for her, she dies.

The canvas shows a dark forest. He even looks scary. We see only a part of it, but this is already enough to understand how scary it is to be in its very wilderness, where the sun and Moonlight where wild animals live.

The girl Snegurochka is opposed to the Black Forest. Vasnetsov depicted her in the very center. She is dressed in light nice outfit: a fur coat made of brocade with intricate patterns, a hat with white fluffy fur, warm mittens. A boot peeks out from under the long hem of the fur coat. She's charming. It seems that nature has frozen and admires its beauty.

She found herself completely alone on the edge of the forest. Her whole pose with her arms outstretched to the sides suggests that she doesn’t know where to go next. You can read strong excitement and even fear in your gaze. By the turn of her head, one can assume that she is looking around, as if expecting the arrival of a miracle that will prevent her from getting lost in the dense forest and dying.

Next to the Snow Maiden stands an equally young and equally lonely birch tree. At the very bottom of the picture, the artist depicted small fir trees casting their shadows on White snow.

If you look a little closer, you can see the lights of a distant village depicted in the background.

The sky has a greenish tint. Here and there the stars shine mysteriously. They know the right path to the village, but they cannot tell the Snow Maiden about this, and they can only shine stronger, so that she herself can determine the right road and stop being afraid.

I really liked this picture. She is so fabulous and at the same time realistic! I look at this picture and involuntarily make a wish that the lost Snow Maiden could find her way to people.

Even more essays on Vasnetsov’s painting “The Snow Maiden”:

The painting “The Snow Maiden” was painted by Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov in 1899. The author painted this picture for the scenery during the production of Ostrovsky's play of the same name, which was written based on folk motifs.

The inspiration for this painting was the folk art of that time. Based on Russian folk tale, the beautiful young girl Snegurochka is the cold child of Frost and Spring. She is pure as white snow, but her cold soul did not know love. The heart of a beautiful girl strives upward to discover this feeling. But at the very moment when love opens to her heart, she must perish.

The purest creation, combining both the earthly and the unearthly, so captivated the artist’s soul that it became real, embodied on the master’s canvas. Having deeply imbued with the image of the Snow Maiden, the author of the picture very soulfully outlined the fullness of his understanding of this image.

The picture is painted in cold tones. The purest untouched snow, which occupies half of the picture and is presented in its foreground, seems to reflect the purity of the girl’s soul and the coldness of her heart. Her image is written in motion, she entered the clearing winter forest and looks around, as if wanting to recognize something in the opening landscape. She's beautiful! Her wonderful face radiates purity and tenderness. This beautiful image The author complemented the young girl with a wonderful fur coat made of expensive material - brocade. And the cute little hat gives the Snow Maiden’s image purity, femininity and tenderness.

She is charming, even nature itself admires the beauty of her creation. The picture is illuminated from below with snow, as if everything around it wants to emphasize even more extraordinary beauty young girl. The mystery of the forest in the background speaks of the depth of the Russian soul, which cannot be comprehended by reason. There, in the depths of the picture, you can see houses where life is filled with its own meaning. In the image of the Snow Maiden, V. M. Vasnetsov embodied his understanding female beauty, which is inseparable from the depth of the Russian soul and the purity of its image. This painting by the author amazes with the penetration and depth of richness of feelings.

Source: seasons-goda.rf

A native of a Ural village, Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov connected his life with fine art. His talent was most clearly revealed in paintings that reflected Russian antiquity and, especially, Russian folklore. The artist’s works reflect the original beauty and power of the Russian people.

Designing N. Ostrovsky’s play “The Snow Maiden”, then creating the scenery and costumes for opera of the same name Rimsky-Korsakov, Vasnetsov was inspired by the image of the fragile tenderness and beauty of the heroine of the epic Snow Maiden.

In the foreground, against the backdrop of a forest clearing, among young fir trees and birch trees, the heroine of the painting, the Snow Maiden, is visible. Daughter of Images folklore Frost and Spring, born in the depths of a dense forest, dressed in a luxurious fur coat, hat and embroidered mittens, stands alone in a snowy forest.

A slightly bowed head and spread arms give the character the impression of an image walking towards fate. The lights of the distant houses of Berendeyev Posad beckon the daughter of Spring and Frost. Knowing that life among people and love will bring her death, she seems to be saying goodbye to dense forest and snow.

The miraculous appearance of the Snow Maiden, the author of the picture emphasized with several storylines. Firstly, the dark background and blue foreground emphasize the fabulousness and mystery of the picture. This contrast emphasizes unearthly beauty a beautiful girl. The shades create the impression that the Snow Maiden illuminates a fabulous Russian landscape.

In this image, Vasnetsov embodied his ideal of a Russian girl, full of mystery, magic and readiness for a great feeling of love.

Source: www.ote4estvo.ru

The creativity of the artist Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov fully manifested itself when he began to reproduce in his paintings the plots of fairy tales, epics, and poetry of Rus'. Talented artist was the designer of N. Ostrovsky’s play “The Snow Maiden” and the opera of the same name by N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov.

The motives of the magical plot of the Russian fairy tale inspired the artist to create the painting. The image of the Snow Maiden - the daughter of Frost and Spring, cold, pure, but striving for love. Vasnetsov in his work conveys the character traits of the Snow Maiden that N. Ostrovsky endowed her with. The master embodied on his canvas all the earthly and heavenly charm of a beautiful girl, creating his ideal woman.

With the cold blue-blue tones of the forest clearing into which the Snow Maiden emerged, with clean, untouched snow, the artist emphasizes the unearthly appearance of the girl. A cold, bright night allows you to see the rich outfit of Frost’s daughter - a rich fur coat, a hat and mittens, painted frosty pattern. The outfit sparkling in the moonlight conveys the purity and tenderness of the Snow Maiden’s image.

The author conveys in the girl’s movement indecision and at the same time the desire to know what is open to people. The picture is full of mystery, which is emphasized by the contrast of the landscape; light snowy foreground on a dark background. With this combination, Vasnetsov emphasizes the unearthly image of the Snow Maiden, ready to sacrifice herself for the sake of the real feeling for which she asked her mother Vesna.

The Snow Maiden is the creation by Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov of a deep, pure and strong Russian female soul.

Snegurochka is our pure Russian heritage, the product of the great and generous truly Russian spirit.
In no other New Year's mythology, except Russian, is there a female character. In Japanese folklore, there is a snow woman - Yuki-Onna, but this is a different type - a demonic character personifying a snow storm.
The life of the Snow Maiden is shrouded in secrets and legends. It’s not even very clear where this young companion of Santa Claus came from. In Russian folk tales, the Snow Maiden is in no way connected with him. According to one source, the Big Spruce gave birth to her. The girl suddenly appeared from under a fluffy spruce branch, according to

to others, she is the daughter of Spring Red and Frost, and perhaps she was fashioned from snow by childless old men Ivan and Marya. They sculpted it for their own joy, but they couldn’t save it...
The Snow Maiden fell in love with many and soon became the constant companion of Father Frost. Only their family ties underwent some changes over time - from a daughter she turned into a granddaughter, but she did not lose her charm.
Familiar to us appearance The Snow Maiden arose thanks to three great artists:

V.M. Vasnetsov, M.A. Vrubel and N.K. Roerich.
All the tales about the Snow Maiden were collected, recorded and studied by folklore collector A. N. Afanasyev. His

the book inspired the writer A. N. Ostrovsky, who wrote the famous play “The Snow Maiden” in 1873. However, the play was not successful with the public of that time and was forgotten for a decade, until it was taken under the wing of the world famous philanthropist Savva Ivanovich Mamontov, who decided to re-stage it on the stage of the Abramtsevo circle in Moscow. The play premiered on Christmas Day, January 6, 1882. It is noteworthy that the sketches of the costumes for the play were prepared by Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov. A moonlit winter night... The stars are twinkling... In a snow-white clearing of a dark, cold forest, in a painted brocade fur coat and hat, stands a confused girl - the daughter of Spring-Red and Santa Claus, going into the world of people...


This work has become one of the artist's most recognizable paintings. In 1881, Moscow philanthropist
Savva Mamontov decided to stage Ostrovsky’s play “The Snow Maiden” on his home stage. He invited Vasnetsov to write the scenery and make sketches of the costumes. Miraculously intertwined in Ostrovsky's play fairy tale characters and people who lived in Rus' in time immemorial, worshiped the god Yaril. Vasnetsov, following the author, created an amazing gallery of images of the ancient Russian people. Half a century later, the artist Grabar will say: “The drawings for the Snow Maiden”, in the sense of the penetration and flair of the Russian spirit, have not yet been surpassed, despite the fact that a whole half century separates them from our days... The painting was completed in 1899. The model for the Snow Maiden was Mamontov's daughter Sashenka.The artist liked the smart and nimble girl Sasha, who most of all loved to ride a sleigh with the wind...
The painting is in the State Tretyakov Gallery
Mikhail Alexandrovich Vrubel in 1898 created the image of the Snow Maiden on decorative panel in the house of A.V. Morozova.

This is how Vrubel’s Snow Maiden has come down to us, which he wrote with his wife, N.I. Zabela-Vrubel, who performed the role of the Snow Maiden in Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera of the same name.

Nadezhda Ivanovna remained for Vrubel an alluring mystery, the “Stranger,” the embodiment of that elusive mystery that always seemed to him in nature, and in music, and in the states of the human soul.
The painting is also in the State Tretyakov Gallery
A little later, in 1912, N.K. Roerich wrote his own vision of the Snow Maiden while working on the production dramatic performance about the Snow Maiden in St. Petersburg. But not all of the artist’s plans were successfully realized. It happened that in Roerich’s absence, the sketches fell into the hands of irresponsible artisans who distorted his plan. Nicholas Konstantinovich Roerich
the spring fairy tale of Ostrovsky and Rimsky-Korsakov captivated back in early years and, according to the artist himself, she was very close to him.

He also wrote on the themes of his favorite fairy tale individual paintings, and on the pages of the artist’s diaries and essays we will more than once encounter deep reflections evoked by the images of “The Snow Maiden”.
The drawings are in the State Russian Museum of St. Petersburg
The theme of the Snow Maiden is also very popular among modern artists and guardians of ancient crafts.



The painting “The Snow Maiden” was created by Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov back in 1899. The master specifically wrote this picture in order to use it as decoration for the production of Ostrovsky’s play of the same name, written based on folk motifs.

Folklore as a muse

The theme of the Snow Maiden ran as a leitmotif throughout the artist’s entire work. In 1881-1882 - scenery for an amateur performance in the Mamontovs' house (according to play of the same name Ostrovsky), in 1885-1886 - again scenery, but for the opera “The Snow Maiden” by N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov.

Vasnetsov’s painting “The Snow Maiden” is just one of the manifestations of the artist’s interest in folk art. Initially, this was the inspiration for the painting. Based on a Russian fairy tale, the attractive young girl Snegurochka is the child of Frost and Spring. She represents purity, like white snow, but, alas, her cold soul did not know love at all. With all its strength, the heart of a beautiful girl is trying to discover this unknown feeling. Unfortunately, by an evil irony of fate, just when love is about to open to the Snow Maiden’s heart, she is destined to die. This the purest creature, which combined earthly and unearthly qualities, captivated Vasnetsov’s soul so much that he embodied it on canvas. This is how the idea appeared, and soon Vasnetsov’s painting “The Snow Maiden” itself appeared.

Reviews from critics

The author of the picture was deeply imbued with the image of the Snow Maiden and therefore soulfully outlined the completeness of his understanding of the image of this winter beauty. It must be said that contemporaries greeted this painting unkindly. Moments of poetic convention, and indeed Vasnetsov’s entire painting “The Snow Maiden” caused controversy.

On the inadmissibility of such free interpretations folk stories critics and ordinary spectators spoke out. The painter was also accused of being deliberate artistic techniques. Critic V. Stasov wrote: “There is very little nature, and too much convention.”

Cold beauty

The painting by V. M. Vasnetsov “The Snow Maiden” is made in cold colors. Literally half of the canvas is occupied by pure, untouched snow; it is depicted in the foreground. According to the artist’s plan, this snow should reflect the purity of the girl’s soul and at the same time the coldness of her heart. But the image of the Snow Maiden is written in motion; she goes out into the clearing, looking around, as if she wants to recognize something in the opening landscape. Her sweet face radiates purity and tenderness. V. Vasnetsov complemented the image of the young girl with a wonderful fur coat made of expensive material - brocade. The look is completed by a wonderful hat, giving the Snow Maiden even greater purity and tenderness. She is charming, even nature admires her beauty. Vasnetsov’s painting “The Snow Maiden” has another “highlight” - the snow is illuminated by an unknown light. So the author wants to further emphasize the attractiveness of the young girl.

It should also be noted that the mystery of the forest depicted in the background creates an impression of the depth of the Russian soul, which is truly impossible to understand with the mind. In the depths of the picture you can see houses, which makes the picture even more complete.

The personification of folk beauty

It was in the image of the Snow Maiden that master V. M. Vasnetsov unusually managed to embody his understanding of real female beauty. Artist with special attention approached the choice of a model that was supposed to represent folk beauty, simplicity and at the same time significance. His choice fell on Sasha, the daughter of S. Mamontov. This extraordinary work of the author still amazes all viewers with its penetration and depth of feelings. And those feelings that inspire


One of the most popular New Year's characters and most beloved by children, starting with late XIX V. and still remains Snow Maidenunique image Russian culture. There are no similar ones in the New Year and Christmas mythology of other peoples of the world. female characters. Russian writers, artists, composers, and directors often depicted her in their works. Over the course of a century and a half, the image of the Snow Maiden has changed significantly - from the innocent granddaughter of Father Frost to sexually aggressive characters from erotic films.



The literary father of the girl who was molded from snow is considered to be A. N. Ostrovsky, who published the play “The Snow Maiden” in 1873. He drew this image from a Russian folk tale. In 1882, an opera by N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov was staged based on this play at the Mariinsky Theater. In Ostrovsky's play, the Snow Maiden was not the granddaughter of Father Frost, but his assistant. Later, she was traditionally portrayed as his granddaughter, but her age constantly varied - sometimes she was a little girl, sometimes an adult girl. To some, she looked like a peasant woman, to others, to the Snow Queen.



The image of the Snow Maiden attracted many artists. V. M. Vasnetsov, while developing costume sketches for the production at the Russian Private Opera of Savva Mamontov, first depicted her in a sundress, bast shoes and with a hoop. Later, in the painting of the same name, he dressed her in a fur coat, mittens and a hat. A. Benois said that it was in this picture that Vasnetsov managed to discover the “law of ancient Russian beauty.”





Sketches and costumes for N. Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera “The Snow Maiden” were also created by Mikhail Vrubel, and his wife Nadezhda Zabela was the main performer opera part. Nicholas Roerich also turned to the design of “The Snow Maiden” for opera and dramatic scenes four times; he created dozens of sketches and drawings for this production. In his work of 1921, the artist unexpectedly combines Slavic mythology and eastern influences on her: in the work “Lel and the Snow Maiden” he created an Asian ethnic type characters. The image of the Snow Maiden was captured in their works by many other artists: K. Korovin, B. Kustodiev, V. Perov, I. Glazunov and others.





Mine modern look The image of the Snow Maiden was received in 1935, when Soviet authorities allowed to celebrate New Year, previously considered a bourgeois relic, and the Snow Maiden was officially recognized. It was then decided that Snegurochka was Father Frost’s granddaughter. And in 1937, the characters appeared on stage together in the House of Unions and since then have become inseparable.





The role of the Snow Maiden in cinema was first performed by actress Evgenia Filonova in 1968. Three years later, the same role was played by Natalya Bogunova in the film “ Spring Tale" The most attractive actresses of Soviet cinema played the role of the Snow Maiden, creating the image of an unearthly, otherworldly beauty.