‘Perov and Mussorgsky’ by Vladimir Stasov (published in 1883)

This is an article written by the critic Vladimir Stasov, who was very well known in Russian artistic circles of the second half of the 19th century. While he played an important role in promoting some composers and artists, he was also famously harsh in his judgements and intolerant to differing opinions. In this article Stasov looks at the parallels in the works of the composer Modest Mussorgsky and the artist Vasily Perov. This article is interesting in that it shows Stasov’s interpretation of some of the negative aspects of Russian tsarist-era society and shows how he saw these topics being reflected in visual art and music.

Stasov’s interpretations of the paintings are very emotional, however, sometimes partially surprising, and personally I don't agree with a few of them (for example with some aspects of his reading of the painting ‘The Drowned Woman’). I have added figures with Perov's paintings into the translation file.

Vasily Grigoryevich Perov, Receiving the traveller seminarist [Приём странника-семинариста], 1874. https://gallerix.ru/pic/_EX/21028680/700045776.jpeg

Vasily Grigoryevich Perov, Troika [Тройка], 1866, Oil on canvas. https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3149337