Kouzma Petrov-Vodkin

He could become the continuer of the family business – a shoemaker. Or a railroad worker, which was his childhood dream. He was, however, predestined for something else entirely. Painting and graphics, theatre design and decorative arts, drama, scenography, pedagogy – Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin’s (1878-1939) range of creative interests was astonishingly broad and multifaceted.

Throughout his creative life, the artist repeatedly turned to representations of the Mother of God. Examples are the church apse of the Orthopaedic Institute in the Alexander Gardens, the murals in the Cathedrals of Kronstadt and Sumy, and, finally, the easel work The Mother of God of Tenderness Towards Evil Hearts, completed in 1915.

The Mother of God is the artist’s response to the tragic events of WW1. The gentle, serene and wise look of the Mother of God seems to penetrate the very soul of the viewer. It is one of the most heartfelt and sublime images created by this remarkable artist, and a unique example of interpretation of iconographic canons in easel painting.