Vasili Vladimirovich Pukirev (1832 - 1890)

Vasili Vladimirovich Pukirev

Vasili Vladimirovich Pukirev (Russian: Василий Владимирович Пукирев) was a 19th century Russian artist. He is known as a master of domestic and religious genres. Vasili Pukirev also painted portraits of his contemporaries, icons for monasteries and illustrated literary works. The heroes of the paintings of the painter most often were representatives of the merchant class and peasants. In the biography of the master there were periods of successful creativity, and times of extreme need and poverty.

Vasili Pukirev gave much effort to teaching. He participated in the creation of the fundamental textbook "Course of Drawing", which was used in all public schools in Russia until the revolution of 1917.

Pukirev belongs to the number of artists who earned recognition by painting a single great masterpiece. Although the master's artistic legacy includes dozens of interesting works, the painting "An Unequal Marriage" brought him fame. For this work the Imperial Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg awarded Pukirev the title of honorary professor.