As an artist Kustodiev was influenced by the trend for romantic views of Russia, and he turned to the period of the 16th and 17th centuries, the time of the streltsy; they were the first regular foot soldiers in Russia, being established during the reign of Ivan the Terrible. Streltsy lived apart with their families in special settlements, and spent their free time when away from military service in farming, commerce or trades. The painting shows a chance scene outside a tavern. The artist was interested in the actual atmosphere of the past epoch, in its uniqueness and colour, and he conveys these through the movement that fills the composition, the expressiveness of poses and faces and the genuineness of the landscape setting.

Kustodiev Boris

Kustodiev, Boris Mikhailovich (1818, Astrakhan - 1927, Leningrad)
Painter. Studied under Vasily Savinsky and Ilya Repin at the Higher School of Art, Imperial Academy of Arts (1896-1903). Fellow of the Imperial Academy of Arts in France and Spain (1903-1904). Academician of painting (1909). Founding member of the New Society of Artists (1904) and member of the Union of Russian Artists (1907), World of Art (1910) and the Association of Artists of Revolutionary Russia (1923). Contributed to exhibitions (from 1900). Contributed to the periodical exhibitions of the Moscow Society of Lovers of the Arts (1900-1901), Spring Exhibitions of the Imperial Academy of Arts (1900-1903) and the exhibitions of the New Society of Artists (1904-1908), Union of Russian Artists (1907-1910), World of Art (1910-1924), Association of Artists of Revolutionary Russia (1923, 1925) and the International Exhibitions in Munich (1901, gold medal; 1909) and Malmo (1914, gold medal). Designed for theatres in Moscow and St Petersburg (from 1911).