Visit to the princess of the convent Vasily Ivanovich Surikov (1848-1916)

Description of Vasily Surikov’s painting A Princess’s Visit to a Nunnery

"The Tzarevna’s Visit to a Female Convent" is the last of the great Russian artist Surikov’s outstanding paintings.

The canvas does not carry the semantic load of some significant event that was in reality in a certain period of time. It reflects, above all, the way of life and the way of life of Russia before the ascent to the throne of Peter I.

The picture tells the viewer about the joyless event. The fact is that in those days the religious foundations did not allow the princesses to marry. The fate of the girls of the royal family was unenviable - the only way for them was to go to a monastery.

The tsarevna visits the place in which she would have to live her entire life. There would be no more simple joys for her - in time her thirst for joy would fade away for good.

The artist paints diligently the image of the princess. She is dressed in white luxurious clothes that contrast with the gloomy outfits of the nuns. The tsarevna’s skin is snow-white. One can see how young she is. Her face is the face of a child rather than of a young woman. There is a distinctive touch of naivety on her face.

Accompanying the Princess is an entourage befitting her status. Immediately behind the girl is a noblewoman, overseeing the necessary trappings of the procedure. The eyes of the nuns, who are still very young women, but who nevertheless have already forgotten the joys of life, look with some envy on the young Princess. Each holds a church candle in her hand.

What kind of life awaits the young girl? Nothing joyful awaits her. It is no coincidence that in contrast to her youth and beauty, the faces of the young nuns are depicted dry and joyless. In a short time the Princess will become like them. Alas, there is no escape from such a fate. The young Princess understands all this, and has already resigned herself to such a necessity, but somewhere deep down she still hopes for a miracle that she will be able to escape life in a nunnery and remain in her usual way of life.