Thaw is one of the finest works in both the art of Fyodor Vasilyev and the road theme in general. Without introducing external actions, the genre elements of the landscape increase the inner tension of the picture. The figures of the peasants disappearing into the unknown distance are perceived as wanderers following predetermined paths. The heavy, murky sky, the flock of black ravens in the foreground, the slush and the lopsided peasant hut create an impression of hopeless sorrow, reflecting the artist’s own troubled state of mind.

Vasilyev Fyodor

Vasilyev, Fyodor Alexandrovich
1850, Gatchina (St Petersburg Province) -1873, Yalta
Painter, landscapist. Studied under Ivan Kramskoi at the evening classes of the School of Drawing, Society for the Encouragement of Artists (1863-67) and under the restorer Ivan Sokolov at the Imperial Academy of Arts (from 1865). Worked under Ivan Shishkin on the island of Balaam (1867). Extern student of the Imperial Academy of Arts (1871; did not attend classes). Accompanied Ilya Repin and Ivan Makarov on a trip down the Volga (1870). Class artist (1872), reduced to honorary fellow (1873). Member of the Society for the Encouragement of Artists (from 1868). Contributed to the exhibitions of the Society for the Encouragement of Artists (1867-73; with interval), Imperial Academy of Arts (1872, 1873) and Moscow Society of Lovers of the Arts (1872).