Polenov Vasily Dmitrievich

Among the most talented of Russian artists from the second half of the 19th century, Vasily Polenov was an active member of the Itinerants Association and a regular participant in their art exhibitions. Most famous for his landscape painting, he also painted a series of original biblical pictures. His other major contribution to Russian art was his teaching: he was a Professor at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture, where his pupils included Konstantin Korovin (1861–1932), Isaac Levitan (1860-1900), Abram Arkhipov (1862-1930), and Mikhail Nesterov (1862–1942). Patronized by the art collector Pavel Tretyakov (1832-1898), he was also a participant in Savva Mamontov's Abramtsevo art circle. Polenov's best known paintings include his landscapes Moscow Courtyard (1878, Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow), Overgrown Pond (1879, Tretyakov Gallery), and his Biblical art like Christ and the Woman Taken in Adultery (1887, Russian Museum, St Petersburg).