The composition of Vasnetsov’s “The Snow Maiden”


The painting “Snow Maiden” was written by Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov in 1899. The author wrote this picture for the sets when staging the play of the same name by Ostrovsky, which was written for folk motives. Inspiration for writing this picture was the folk art of that time. Based on the Russian folk tale, the beautiful young girl Snegurochka is a cold child of Moroz and Spring. It is pure, like white snow, but its cold soul did not know love.

The heart of a beautiful girl to ascend to discover this feeling. But at the very moment when love opens to her heart, she must perish. The purest creature that united in itself and the earthly and unearthly, so captivated the soul of the artist, which became real, embodied in the master’s canvas. Deeply imbued with the image of Snow Maiden, the author of the painting very deeply explained the fullness of his understanding of this image.

The painting is painted in cool colors. The purest untouched snow, which

takes half the picture and is represented in its foreground, reflects the purity of the girl’s soul and the coldness of her heart. Her image is written in motion, she went to the clearing of the winter forest and looks around, as if wishing to recognize something in the opened landscape. She’s beautiful! Her wonderful face radiates purity and tenderness. This author has supplemented the fine image of the young girl with a wonderful fur coat from expensive material – brocade. A pretty little hat gives the image of Snow Maiden purity and femininity and tenderness.

She is charming, even nature herself admires the beauty of her creation. The picture is highlighted from below by snow, as if everything around is even more wanting to emphasize the extraordinary beauty of a young girl. The mystery of the forest in the background, speaks of the depth of the Russian soul, which can not be understood by reason. There, in the depths of the picture, houses are seen, where life is filled with meaning. In the image of Snegurochka, VM Vasnetsov embodied his understanding of female beauty, which is inseparable from the depth of the Russian soul and the purity of its image. This canvas of the author amazes with penetration and depth of saturation of feelings.


1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

The composition of Vasnetsov’s “The Snow Maiden”