Picture “Scene at the Grave”, Perov 
- Author: Vasily Grigoryevich Perov
- Museum: Tretyakov Gallery
- Year: 1859
Overview of the painting :
The scene at the grave is Perov. 1859. Oil on canvas. 58×69
Russian folklore has been a source of inspiration for artists for many centuries. Before us is a picturesque interpretation of Russian folk song about crying for the deceased. Three women at the grave: mother, sister, wife.
The fearless grief of the old mother, she hugs the grave of her son, as if she wants to hug him, not tear her from the wooden cross.
The sorrow of the sister is quiet and calm. Heals time, erases memories, comforts grief.
The grief of the young widow, breastfeeding an orphan, is gone. Heathro looks at a soldier passing nearby. About her grief resembles only a mourning black scarf, almost falling from her shoulders. Sorrow is her concurrent, insincere.
The allegorical composition is full of symbolic sound. Behind the fresh grave, on which my family mourn, several abandoned graves with broken crosses are visible. Human memory is short, the death of a loved one, so hard experienced at first, over time passes, giving way to a new life that does not break for a minute.
The difference between their heroines is emphasized by the color of their clothes: mother – black and dark blue, sister – light brown, wife – white and orange.
Compositely, all figures fit into a triangle with a vertex – a cross.
The sky in the work is written difficult. On the one hand, it is not impeccably clean, on the other hand it cannot be called heavy. As if life itself, with gaps and dark spots, the sky only softens the difficult atmosphere of grief at the grave, introducing a touch of sad optimism.
Undoubtedly related to genre realistic painting, the picture in its symbolic and allegorical content is clearly written under the influence of the best examples of Western painting of the classicism era. For this work, the artist was awarded a small gold medal of the school.