PIOUS WOMEN ON PILGRIMAGE (detail), 1878 (oil on canvas)

Study for Religious Procession in Kursk Province 1878//Oil on canvas In Orthodox Russia, pilgrims traveled from monastery to monastery or from convent to convent, to pray before their miraculous icons. This study shows two women, on their way to their destination, charged with their modest effects. The insertion of figures in a vast landscape as well as the profusion of realistic details of costumes and accessories give this sketch an imposing dimension. The painter gives these women a real presence, while, in the final painting, they will fit in a more archetypal way within a group.