Viktor Vasnetsov (1848-1926)

The present work is one of four illustrations Vasnetsov produced to illustrate Mikhail Lermontov's (1814-1841) A Song about Tsar Ivan Vasilievich, the Young Oprichnik, and the Valorous Merchant Kalashnikov, often known as The Song of the Merchant Kalashnikov, in a collection of Lermontov's essays published by I. N. Kushnerev. Ivan Aivazovsky and Vasnetsov's younger brother, Apollinary, also produced illustrations for the publication. Written in 1837, Lermontov's poem tells the story of Kiribeevich, a member of the Tsar's guard who has abducted Alena, the wife of the merchant Kalashnikov. A fist-fight ensues and Kiribeevich is killed. Despite Alena's pleas, Kalashnikov is condemned to death.