Focus on In the Ploughed Field: Spring and analyze the History.
The precise date of the creation of In the Ploughed Field: Spring is disputed. In her 1949 monograph, Russian art critic Zinaida Fomicheva suggests that the painting was created in the 1810s, while Soviet art historian Aleksei Savinov suggested that the painting was created in the early 1830s in his 1955 book. This ambiguity stems from Venetsianov's refusal to sign or date any of his paintings. Nonetheless, modern researchers believe that In the Ploughed Field: Spring was created by Venetsianov in the first half of the 1820s, which is supported by the Tretyakov Gallery catalogue.In the Ploughed Field: Spring is the first painting in Venetsianov's series of paintings depicting peasant labour, which also includes the paintings At the Harvest. Summer and Haymaking. The series is sometimes referred to as the "Seasons" (spring, summer and autumn), and a fourth painting representing winter is thought to exist, but no evidence of such a painting has been found.The majority of Venetsianov's peasant-themed artworks were created during his stay in the villages of Tronikha and Safonkovo in the Vyshnevolotsky Uyezd (both now part of the Venetsianovo village in the Udomelsky District of Tver Oblast). According to local historian Dmitry Podushkov, who researched Venetsianov's life, he lived in Tronikha from 1819 to 1832 before moving to Safonkovo. He spent the rest of his life in the Tver countryside and was at his most creative during this time.The painting was known by various names in the first few decades after its completion. In the 1830s, it was titled Peasant Woman in the Field, Leading Horses (Крестьянка в поле, ведущая лошадей), and in 1838, it was titled Village Woman with Horses (Деревенская женщина с лошадьми). In 1840, it came to be known as Woman harrowing the field (Женщина, боронящая поле).The history of the painting from the 1840s to 1893 and the identities of its first owners are unknown. It is only known that Pavel Tretyakov purchased the painting in 1893. Art critic Svetlana Stepanova writes: "The appearance of such a canvas as In the Ploughed Field: Spring seems to be a kind of mystery, if not a miracle. There is no mention of it either by the artist himself in his letters and autobiography or by his contemporaries. The previous owners of the painting and how Tretyakov acquired it are unknown."
Vyshnevolotsky Uyezd Tver Oblast harrow Venetsianovo Dmitry Podushkov Russian Tretyakov Gallery monograph Pavel Tretyakov Svetlana Stepanova Aleksei Savinov Udomelsky District