“Bogatyrs”: description of the painting. Three heroes of Vasnetsov - heroes of the epic epic

Who among us has not heard about the most glorious epic heroes: Ilya Muromets, Dobrynya Nikitich and Alyosha Popovich. Which boy hasn't dreamed of being like them? And there is definitely no one who has not seen the painting “Three Heroes” by the artist Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov - its reproduction was not only published in several school textbooks.

So who are they, the epic heroes?

In his life, Ilya not only fought gloriously, but also became a monk, and was even canonized by the Church, which testifies to the outstanding contribution of the hero in the formation and strengthening of the Orthodox faith. The incorrupt relics of St. Ilya of Muromets are kept in the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra; parts of the relics were transferred at different times to various Orthodox churches in Russia and Ukraine. Repeatedly, the relics of St. Ilya Muromets were examined by medical commissions, the last one was organized by the Ministry of Health of Ukraine in 1988. Scientists equipped with advanced equipment of that time found that Ilya, as the epic tells, was bedridden until he was about thirty years old, the cause of which was a spinal disease. By the way, it is for the recovery of those suffering from paralysis that one should pray to the Monk Ilya of Muromets. The same study established for certain the cause of Ilya’s death - he died from a spear blow to the heart - the spear also pierced the hero’s left hand. The very fact of such a death was assumed back in the nineteenth century, but research in the 1960s cast doubt on this version: as if the monks pierced the corpse with a spear after the death of the hero.

He was a large man with well-developed bones and muscles. Ilya was 182 centimeters tall, despite the fact that the average height of adults at that time was no more than 160 centimeters. For the people of that time, Ilya Muromets looked approximately the same as for us the famous strongmen Vasily Virastyuk or Alexey Koklyaev, and these guys were able to move a loaded truck or a medium-sized plane.

It is known that he was the brother of Malusha, the mother of Prince Vladimir the Great, the patron of Rus'.

During his life, Dobrynya changed many “professions”: he was also a “yard” boy in Princess Olga’s mansion, where he often had to do the most menial jobs; was a gridnem - an elite warrior of the princely squad of Svyatoslav; “nanny”, educator and teacher of his young nephew Prince Vladimir, and when he became a prince, he was his regent and first adviser; in the tough and often bloody political struggle of that time, he headed the “Slavic” party, which opposed the “Varangian” party led by governor Sveneld.

The birthplace of Dobrynya is considered to be the capital of the Drevlyans - the city of Iskorosten (now Korosten, Zhitomir region). After the burning of the city by the army of Princess Olga, the captive 10-year-old Dobrynya was brought to the tower of the Kyiv princess, where he and his sister lived as palace servants. The prince experienced a lot of humiliation from low people with whom he suddenly found himself in the same position.

The princely carpenter made a wooden sword for the boy, and Dobrynya practiced martial arts in the evenings, and even at night, on the banks of the Dnieper.

When Dobrynya grew up, Kyiv's policy towards the outskirts of Rus' became softer, the attitude towards Dobrynya and his sister changed, and the future hero was assigned to the princely squad. The centurion of the Varangian mercenaries, an experienced and skilled warrior, decided to test the newcomer. Imagine the surprise of the warriors when Dobrynya knocked the Varangian’s sword out of his hands with his own technique!

After the birth of Vladimir, Dobrynya was assigned to be his teacher. The experienced warrior had to master pedagogical wisdom. The role of Dobrynya in the fate of Vladimir the Great does not end there. It was he who persuaded the ambassadors from Novgorod to ask Vladimir to become prince; it was he who, in fact, served as his regent in Novgorod itself, quickly gaining authority among the townspeople. The active Dobrynya rallied opponents of Varangian rule from all the lands of Rus'. The “Slavic” party soon managed, often in battles, to win primacy in the important lands of Rus': Novgorod, Drevlyan, Pskov; it was on it that Vladimir relied, having obtained the princely table in Kyiv.

Dobrynya also played a significant role in the baptism of Rus' by Vladimir the Great. He not only took part in the decision to accept Christianity from Byzantium, but also actively converted his “fellow citizens” to the new faith.

Dobrynya was married to a warrior woman named Nastasya. It is interesting that the future wife once defeated Dobrynya in a kind of “sparring”, just as Dobrynya himself once defeated the Varangian centurion.

It is known that he was one of the best, and perhaps the best, Russian knight of his time. Alyosha won not so much by strength as by skill and ingenuity. He enjoyed authority among the army. He served in the squads of the princes of Rostov and Kyiv. He lived at the beginning of the tragic 13th century in the history of Rus'. Born in Rostov. He died heroically in 1223 in the battle on the Kalka River.

Vasnetsov painted the painting Three Bogatyrs in 1898; he worked on this truly original Russian painting masterpiece for about twenty years. Three heroes proudly stand on a hilly plain under the gloomy cloudy sky of their homeland; at any moment our heroes are ready to repel the enemy and defend their beloved homeland, Mother Rus'. If today this picture of three heroes consists of two words, then Vasnetsov’s title of the picture was quite long, as the master himself intended: Bogatyrs Alyosha Popovich Ilya Muromets and Dobrynya Nikitich.
Ilya Muromets is our epic hero, he is the strongest and wisest on a black horse, peering into the distance from under his muscular arm, from which hangs a heavy damask club, in his other hand, a sharp spear at the ready. To the left of Ilya Muromets, on a white horse, Dobrynya Nikitich menacingly takes out his heavy heroic sword. Just the sight of these first two heroes may make the enemy flinch and turn back. To the right of Ilya Muromets, Alyosha Popovich sits on a red-golden horse, holding in his hands a well-aimed bow, the arrow of which no enemy can dodge, his strength lies in his cunning and ingenuity. This Great Russian trio will never be bored with him; during rest hours he can even play the harp.
The characters of the Three Heroes are conveyed by Vasnetsov truly indisputably; they reflect a majestic calm in which there is a spirit of a just cause, which no one is allowed to stop.
As is known from historical legends, the hero Ilya Muromets came from a peasant family that lived in the village of Karacharovo in the vicinity of the city of Murom or Muromlya, in the Vladimir province, another version says that Ilya Muromets was a native of the Chernigov region, but we will leave this to the judgment of historians. As a child, he was sick and immobilized, suffered from paralysis, prayed a lot for recovery, and was cured thanks to the elder healers. The character of the hero is balanced and humble, deeply religious and of course fair. I never questioned my strength in front of my surroundings. In battles with enemies, he always won and had no defeats, and sent the defeated to four directions, so the fame of Ilya Muromets quickly spread among the people as a gallant hero with many positive qualities, respected by everyone, including his enemies.
According to historical data, Dobrynya Nikitich was born in the city of Ryazan into a merchant family. As a child, he was taught various literacy skills, creatively gifted, played folk musical instruments, a master of chess, they say that he once beat the Tatar Khan himself in this game, an excellent shooter, brave and courageous, the first hero of Prince Vladimir. The character is fair and diplomatic.
According to well-known chronicles, Alyosha Popovich was born into the family of a Rostov priest. Compared to his colleagues Ilya Muromets and Dobrynya Nikitich, he is not so strong, he is lame in his leg, but he has other important character traits, he is cunning and savvy, an intriguer and a Casanova, he plays the harp fervently. Despite the more fragile figure of Alyosha Popovich, according to epic legends he defeats Tugarin the Serpent.
The painting of the three heroes is the most significant in Vasnetsov’s work; in Russian painting, no artist has gone so deep. like Vasnetsov, giving himself completely to epic stories. After finishing this work, the work with three heroes was bought by Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov and today the masterpiece is in the Tretyakov Gallery.

Viktor Vasnetsov was born into the family of a priest. The artist’s homeland was the Vyatka region - a place where at that time ancient rituals and customs, folk tales were remembered and sacredly revered. The boy's imagination was captured by the poetics of fairy tales, epics, and songs. During his years of study at the Academy of Arts (1868 -1875), Vasnetsov studied the history of his people and Russian heroic epics with avid interest. One of the artist’s first works was the painting “Vityaz,” which depicts a calm hero guarding the border of the Russian land. With great enthusiasm, the young artist worked on illustrations for fairy tales: “The Little Humpbacked Horse”, “The Firebird”. A passion for the epic fairy-tale genre made Viktor Vasnetsov a real star of Russian painting. His paintings are not just a depiction of Russian antiquity, but a reproduction of the powerful national spirit and meaning of Russian history.

The famous painting “Bogatyrs” was created in the village of Abramtsevo near Moscow. This painting is often called “Three Heroes” today. Vasnetsov gave a short but succinct remark: “The heroes Dobrynya, Ilya and Alyosha Popovich are on a heroic outing - they are noticing in the field whether there is an enemy somewhere, whether they are offending anyone.”

The hilly steppe, covered with feather grass and here and there with young fir trees, stretches widely. She herself, like the acting characters, speaks of the strength and courage of Russian heroes. Let us note this before describing the picture. The three heroes of Vasnetsov are full of readiness to stand up for the defense of their native land and their people.

Work on the great canvas took the artist almost seventeen years, and it began with a pencil sketch in distant Paris. The artist had barely made the final touch when Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov bought the canvas for his collection. This is how this painting by Vasnetsov found its place in the Tretyakov Gallery. Three heroes still look at us from the wall of the famous gallery.

The artist understood his work on the painting as “a creative duty, an obligation to his native people.” He noticed that even in moments when he left work on a work, his “heart was always drawn to him and his hand reached out to him.” What can you see when trying to make a sufficiently deep description of the picture?

Three heroes

Vasnetsov was captivated by heroic characters. By creating these monumental images on canvas, the artist sought to endow them with an impressive appearance and memorable features. Ilya Muromets in the center of the composition is an extraordinary person, he is powerful, calm, collected, and one can feel wisdom and confidence in his appearance. His hand, raised to his eyes, easily holds a heavy club, the spear in his other hand sparkles sharply. Nevertheless, the hero’s appearance is not intimidating - he breathes all over with peaceful kindness.

To the left of Ilya is Dobrynya, the second most important in the heroic trinity. A prince by birth, a warrior by vocation, Dobrynya Nikitich is smart and educated. In a decisive pose and a sharp gaze, the artist emphasizes the remarkable character of the snake fighter Dobrynya (he is the one who defeats the Serpent Gorynych in the epics). In his hands is a sword, which the hero holds not with reckless abandon, but with confident strength. Looking at the hero, we are convinced that he will be able to skillfully use a weapon at the right moment. To the right of his senior comrades, Alyosha, the son of a Rostov priest, sits on a horse. He easily holds the bow in his hand and glances with cunning. Alyosha Popovich plays with youthful enthusiasm, and one feels that the boy will rush with passion in a moment of danger to protect his friends and the land.

Without characteristics of the horses, the description of the picture will not be complete. The three heroes of Vasnetsov see friends and comrades in their horses. The appearance of each animal is associated with the qualities of the hero. Under Ilya is a solid, stubborn and loyal crow. Dobrynya's white horse is proud and full of dignity. Alyosha's red horse is elegant and simple, with a harp attached to his blanket.

Composition and landscape

Every detail is full of meaning, and it is important to say this when making a detailed description of the picture. Vasnetsov’s three heroes seemed to become close to the landscape, subtly conveying the heroic mood of the picture. The figures are located in the center of the border between earth and sky, a rebellious free wind is blowing, a strong bird is soaring over the hills in the depths of the canvas. There is tension and anxiety in the air. But the appearance of the heroes - warriors and godly people of the Russian land - exudes confidence and reliability.

The heroes are celebrating a significant anniversary. 140 years ago, Viktor Vasnetsov made the first pencil sketch of three epic heroes - Dobrynya Nikitich, Ilya Muromets and Alyosha Popovich. The titanic work on the canvas took almost 20 years.

Three heroes of Vasnetsov: Dobrynya Nikitich, Ilya Muromets and Alyosha Popovich. Powerful, strong, unshakable. Neither blizzards, nor hurricanes, nor centuries are afraid of them.

“Vasnetsov was just remembering that he saw three oak trees in Abramtsevo. He saw them from the window of his workshop and they helped him create a heroic image, that is, a heroic spirit,” says Elena Mitrofanova, deputy director of the State Historical, Artistic and Literary Museum-reserve "Abramtsevo".

From a pencil sketch of the heroes to the start of work on a huge canvas - 10 years of thought. Vasnetsov studied folk tales, thought over the details, and most importantly, looked for models for the heroes.

Here everyone is still named Rakhmanovsky. Once upon a time, their ancestor's landowner lost at cards, so the whole family of the Polish stove maker moved to a new master in the Moscow region. Almost all of Rakhmanov's were unusually tall, broad-shouldered and stately. Vasnetsov wrote sketches from them.

True, in the end, as a model for Ilya Muromets, the artist still chose a peasant from a neighboring village - a Russian peasant named Petrov. In another heroic image, the author himself is guessed - Vasnetsov drew Dobrynya Nikitich from himself. But the choice of a sitter for Alyosha Popovich is still called the most mysterious.

“It’s hard to say why he became a model. After all, he started painting him as a boy, and on the canvas there is a young man, and not just a young man, but a hero of Russian nature,” says Svetlana Volkova, leading researcher at the State Historical, Artistic and Literary Museum-Reserve “Abramtsevo” ".

The son of entrepreneur Savva Mamontov, the aspiring artist Andrey was only 13 years old when Vasnetsov began to paint Alyosha Popovich from him. Eight years later, in the midst of work on the painting, the young man caught a cold in Kyiv while he was painting the Vladimir Cathedral, and died upon arrival home. Viktor Mikhailovich completed it from memory.

Vasnetsov spent a long time choosing a landscape worthy of his heroes. Until one day, while walking around a friend’s estate, he came out onto a wide field, protected on almost all sides by a dense, impenetrable forest. What is not a symbol of the beauty and greatness of the Russian land!

Vasnetsov literally settled on the field - a workshop was built for him here, sitters came here and horses were brought here.

The most expensive, so-called improved, Russian horse with an admixture of oriental blood - for Dobrynya Nikitich, a princely warrior. For the Rostovite Alyosha Popovich - a steppe horse, and for the peasant Ilya Muromets - a Russian heavy truck.

“Under the riders, the horses stand rooted to the spot, because every day they participate in transitions, combat operations, and men sit on them and, as they say, you won’t spoil them,” says the trainer-teacher of the Moscow Agricultural Academy. K.A. Timiryazeva Tatyana Demina.

The epic heroes had to look as realistic as possible. The artist spent hours wandering around the historical museum, studying weapons and armor. But the 10th, 12th and 13th centuries, to which the heroes belong, were still little studied in the 19th century.

“Their weapons, of course, should have been different: they should have had chain mail, they should have had helmets in the shape of an elongated cap,” says Natalya Astashova, leading researcher at the archeology department of the State Historical Museum.

According to experts, Vasnetsov’s ancient Russian heroes are armed more like medieval warriors. But this is also the greatness of the picture. The defenders of the Russian land seemed to have passed through time and stopped. On eternal guard of our native borders.

The most famous treasure of world painting, a folk masterpiece kept in the collection of the Tretyakov Gallery, is considered to be the painting “Three Heroes” by Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov. Artist on canvas depicted three epic heroes of Rus', whose names are known to every Russian. Work on creating the painting lasted almost 30 years and was completed in 1898. It was purchased by collector and philanthropist Pavel Tretyakov.

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Description of work stages

The famous Russian artist V.M. Vasnetsov wrote a huge number of paintings on folklore themes, where the plot is based on folk tales, legends, traditions.

At any mention of his name, Tsarevich Ivan riding on the Gray Wolf, tenderly hugging Elena the Beautiful, Alyonushka yearning by the pond, and the stern and majestic Ilya Muromets immediately appear before our eyes.

The return of such a form as an essay to the list of control materials creates a need for schoolchildren to acquire skills in writing techniques.

Analysis of the painting Three Heroes by Vasnetsov

Painting Three heroes

Completion

An essay on the painting can be supplemented with the important idea that the artist Vasnetsov embodied in it the dream of the Russian people about wise and fair rulers, as well as brave and strong defenders. This is exactly what Ilya Muromets and Dobrynya Nikitich are. The territory inhabited by Russians attracted for a long time attention of barbarian tribes who carried out periodic raids for the purpose of robbery. But any enemy attacks were quite successfully repelled by the princely squads, the devastated villages were restored again, Rus' rose from the ashes.