Contemplator, Kram – overview of the painting 
- Posted by Ivan Nikolaevich Kramskaya
- Museum: Museum of Russian Art, Kiev
- Year: 1876
Overview of the painting :
The contemplator is Kram. 1876. Oil on canvas. 85×215; 58 cm
The 1870s and 80s in Kramsky’s work were marked by the artist’s great interest in peasant life – the painter writes a lot of simple peasant people in their native surroundings, driven by their usual emotions. The film “Sozzer” is one of the most striking and characteristic works of that period.
On a snowy icy path, the viewer sees a standing peasant. He dressed in simple and pretty shabby clothes – the caftan below and on his sleeves is frankly cut off, half-broken bast shoes. It seems that this man with a windy face was walking through a rare forest and suddenly, suddenly stopped for himself, plunging into his thoughts. Looking at the face of a person, it is very difficult to understand what this poor man contemplates, however, intuitively you understand that his thoughts are more likely to be connected with his difficult life than the poetic love of the surrounding nature.
There is an opinion that the name of the picture was given by Pavel Tretyakov. The canvas aroused great interest in him, although it was not finished. Expressing admiration, the philanthropist for some reason refused to buy a job when Kramskaya made all the final touches. The Sozertsatel hung in the workshop of the painter for another two years until the public figure Fedor Tereshchenko bought it. Now most of his collection, along with the Kramsky canvas, belongs to the Museum of Russian Art in Kiev.