Description of the picture:
The Drowned Woman – Vasily Perov. 1867. Oil on canvas. 68×106
The tragedy of ruined young life – this is how the plot of the picture can be described. The masters are indignant at the indifference and indifference embodied in the figure of the smoking gendarme. The artist sincerely experiences the death of a young girl.
The background of the work is the panorama of the Moscow Kremlin in the morning fog. The sun is about to rise. Birds woke up, the water on the river is quiet, almost motionless.
The picture is full of details, revealing the tragedy of the plot. There is a piece of rope, a hook, wooden bridges of the pier, an old boat – everything creates an atmosphere of hopelessness, despondency, melancholy. The heroine’s black clothes, wet hair on a bare pavement, as well as a miniature drowned pen make the viewer’s heart shrink from pity.
The artist makes the viewer think about the cause of what happened and feel his involvement in the tragedy. The viewer sympathizes with the deceased and is indignant at the indifference of the gendarme, and the approaching flock of crows looks ominously.
The color of the work is surprisingly reliable. The author managed to convey all the colors of early morning, the freshness of autumn. Which further emphasizes the tragedy of the plot.
It is known that the main character of the work had a prototype – a female model, walking part-time. It is not known whether the gendarme depicted had a prototype, but the artist managed to convey the type accurately and convincingly.
A usual, unremarkable event for a big city, in the eyes of the author rises to the level of high tragedy."