Overview of the painting by Victor Vasnetsov “Alenushka”, 1881 
- Author: Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov
- Museum: Tretyakov Gallery
- Year: 1881
-
Overview of the painting :
Alenushka – Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov. 1881. Oil on canvas. 173×121
Alenushka, a sad girl at the pond, is one of the favorite paintings of V.Vasnetsova. The artist successfully uses a fabulous plot to reveal the complex and ambiguous Russian character.
The girl’s sadness is very adult. The sadness in her eyes borders on despair. Unassembled red hair, dark eyes, gently scarlet lips – form an easily read image of a child with a difficult fate. There is absolutely nothing fabulous, fantastic in Alenushka. Actually, the whole storytelling of the plot is emphasized by only one detail – a group of swallows sitting above the heroine’s head. With this symbol (as you know, swallows symbolize hope) the artist balances the full longing image of the heroine, gives hope for a happy ending of the old Russian fairy tale.
Vasnetsov filled the background landscape with an atmosphere of silence and sadness. The artist was well fortunate enough for the water surface of the pond, reed, man, ate. Everything is motionless, quiet, calm. Even the pond reflects heroin very delicately, slightly. Young aspens tremble a little. The autumn sky is barely frowning. Dark, green tones of the landscape contrast with the blush on the face of the heroine, and autumn sadness with bright colors on the Alenushka skirt. The viewer feels: another moment and the tale will continue…