Vasily Grigor'evich Perov () (
January 2 1834 (December 21
1833 Old Style) -
June 10 (May 29 Old Style)
1882) was a
Russian painter and one of the founding members of
Peredvizhniki, a group of Russian
realist painters.
Vasily Perov was born
January 2 1834 (December 21
1833 Old Style) in
Tobolsk. After completing a course at
Arzamas uezd school, he was transferred to the
Alexander Stupin art school also located in Arzamas. In
1853 he was admitted to the
Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, where he learned from several renowned artists.
In
1856 he was awarded with a minor silver medal for his sketch of a boy's head, presented to the Imperial Academy of Arts. Later the Academy awarded him many other awards: in
1857 a major silver medal for
Commissary of Rural Police Investigating, a minor golden medal for the
Scene on a Grave and the
Son of a dyak promoted to first rank, in
1861 a major golden medal for
Sermon in a Village.
After receiving the right to a state-paid trip abroad together with a golden medal, in
1862 Perov went to
Western Europe, visiting several
German cities, and then
Paris. During this time he created paintings depicting scenes from European street life such as the
Vendor of statuettes, the
Savoyard, the
Organ-Grinder in Paris, the
Musicians and the Bystanders, the
Paris Ragpickers.
Returning to Moscow early, from 1865 to 1871 Perov created his masterpieces
The Queue at The Fountain,
A Meal in the Monastery,
Last Journey,
Troika, the
Lent Monday,
Arrival of a New Governess in a Merchant House, the
Drawing Teacher,
A Scene at the Railroad, the
Last Tavern at Town Gate, the
Birdcatcher, the
Fisherman, the
Hunters at Rest.
In
1866 he received the title of an
academician, and in
1871 the position of a Professor at Moscow School of Arts, Sculpture and Architecture. It was around this period that he joined the
Peredvizhniki.
Perow died on
June 10 (May 29 Old Style),
1882 in the village Kuzminki (now part of
Moscow) from
tuberculosis. His body was interred at the
Donskoe Cemetery.
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