Vasily Surikov’s Time (Reflection on the Spiritual Challenges of the Era)

Abstract

The article examines an ideological and cultural context of V. I. Surikov’s work. His artistic activity fell on a period of religious crisis manifested most fully in the minds of the Russian intellectuals in the second half of XIX century. The article shows that ideological leaders of the post-reform intelligentsia (A. I. Herzen, M. Bakunin, L. N. Tolstoy) actively formed an environment fighting against God. Vasily Surikov's work, on the contrary, was initially filled with a deep Christian meaning, nourished by the traditional atmosphere of his life and work. Orthodoxy became an organic feature of his life. In contrast to the popular ideas of the time and its typical view of the people, Surikov deeply and vitally expressed an element of people's life. Reflecting on the artist's heritage, it is clear to see three main basic themes of his work that manifest his spiritual and aesthetic concepts. There are Orthodoxy, nationality, historicism.